4 Tips to Eliminate Fear from Sales

Author: Larry Chester, President

In my years of working with entrepreneurs, small business owners and even the top sales folks in companies there is one piece of ‘head trash’ that seems to be ever-present…Fear.

Some of us were raised with a fear of speaking about money. Our parents taught us that if we had money we don’t talk about it because you don’t want anyone to know. Or if you don’t have money you don’t talk about it because you don’t want anyone to know. Money is something that can cause anxiety and, at its worst, it can lead to an inability to make a decision from fear that the money we need might magically not be there somehow.

We also fear hearing the word NO. ‘No, I don’t want to buy your product.’, ‘No, this isn’t a good fit.’

Or even worse, the deadly….’Not right now….” UGH!

But here is the thing about fear most people don’t realize: YOU are in control of fear. You manufacture it, you give it power and YOU bring it to that meeting.

Here are our top 4 tips for eliminating fear in your sales meetings:

1. Have a process and a plan. How many of you ‘wing it’ when it comes to a sales call? How’s that working out for ya? Having a process to follow to get to your clients REAL (compelling) reasons to do business with you will empower you to ask the powerful questions that will uncover if this customer is a good fit for you, and vice versa.
2. Practice. I know, I know…totally uncomfortable. BUT if you have an accountability partner that can role play a sales call with you, help you verbalize the questions you want to ask and tell you when you need to change what you are doing you will walk in knowing that you are ready.
3. Set a good agenda and get permission. If your prospect thinks you are just there to present they will be primed to say yes or no based on the price only, not the real value of your service. Get permission to ask them tough questions about their business and THEN you can dive deep into the REAL reason they need to make a change.
4. Don’t let fear drive your actions. Let go of the head trash. You don’t have to feel bad talking about money. If you don’t have enough money to even pay for the coffee, you might get uncomfortable asking for a large sum from your prospect. Don’t sell with your own pocketbook. Your client is in a totally different situation than you are. Let it go. You are there because, hopefully, you can impact his organization in a major way. Don’t fail him by not selling him what he really needs.

All of this takes practice. You can read a million sales books, but if you really want to move forward you need accountability, real-life experiences, and practice.

“So don’t be fearless. Instead, fall in love with fear. It’s the beacon in the night, guiding each of us toward the next better decision.  It’s the challenge that asks us whether we’re strong enough to receive the benefits of all we’ve asked for. And it’s better than any alarm clock, giving us regular wake-up calls designed to help us rise to the next occasion.”
-Erika Napoletano

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