Most people don’t like selling. I used to be one of them. However, as entrepreneurs, we need to sell stuff all the time. We just don’t have a choice. So the question is how can we overcome the fear of selling?
Sell a Great Product
This might sound like an obvious answer, but it’s not. Unless you have an amazing product that you really believe in, calling someone to sell it to will always be hard.
Understand What Rejection Really Is
Have you ever walked into a store, a salesperson asked you if they could help in any way and you said, “no, thank you. I’m just looking.”? This happens all the time. It doesn’t mean you don’t like the salesperson; it just means that at that given time you didn’t need or want that given product. That’s what rejection is. It’s not personal. Some people want your stuff and others don’t. You don’t buy everything that is offered to you, so don’t expect your prospect to do it.
Be an Adviser, not a Seller
A seller would try to sell you something whether or not your need it. An adviser, on the other hand, will answer your questions and make a recommendation based on what he thinks you need. If you think as a seller, you’ll be thinking about the outcome (the sale) and you’ll forget about your customer needs. If you think as an adviser, you’ll realize that your customers have questions and you’re there to help them. This takes a lot of pressure of the buyer’s shoulders because he doesn’t feel you’re trying to sell him anything (believe me, people can smell a seller a mile away).
The funny part is that the harder you try to sell, the fewer sales you’ll make. I know this because I’ve experienced it myself several times. When I started to think of myself as a helper instead of as a seller, my sales increased immediately.
Liberate Yourself from the Outcome
The wrong way to think about sales is this: “If I closed the deal, it was a great call. If I didn’t close it, it was a bad call.” This is not true. Sometimes very motivated buyers will buy from you even when you do a terrible job. Sometimes a client really wants your product but he needs his partner’s approval and that’s why you didn’t close today. Focus on delivering value and helping your clients; sales will follow.
Get Rid of Excuses
We all have the perfect excuses not to call people: “my phone’s reception isn’t good here”, “he’s probably at lunch now”, “it’s the end of the month so I’m sure she’s really busy today”, “I don’t know where I put her phone number”, etc.
What you need to do is identify the excuses you give yourself and do something to eliminate them. For example, if your phone’s reception is not good where you are, you know that you need to be somewhere else (a quiet place with good reception) to call people. You should go there after lunch so lunch excuses can’t stop you. You should get a good phone with unlimited minutes and store all your contacts there.
There you go. Now you have run out of valid excuses. So, start calling your prospects and remember that your mission is to help them. If they need your product, they’ll buy it. Otherwise, they won’t. Either way, calling people is what you think it is. If you think it’s the world’s most awful nightmare, then that’s what’s going to be. If you think talking to others is fun, that’s exactly how you’re going to feel. Now pick up the phone, help some people and have some fun.
