Just thinking about what holds sales people down and having a negative impact upon their results. As I thought about five major fears came to mind.
So why would I want to think about bad stuff that could have negative impact upon your sales success? Well, I have learned the starting point for eliminating or controlling fear is to be aware of it in the first place. The worst thing you can experience is not having a clue about these fears and letting them control your actions in the marketplace. Awareness allows you to choice how you want to deal with these issues.
So let me share these Five Fears that impact your b2b sales success.
Five Fears Impacting B2B Sales Success
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Fear of Rejection
This is the number one fear that shots down more sales careers than any other fear. Why? Because it is deeply rooted, usually from childhood and is based on the feeling of “I Have to”. which doesn’t sound very bad on the surface. However, this feeling of “I have to” puts a mental strain on our ability to function with confidence. And, when your self confidence fails you – you are in deep trouble regarding performance. The way to counter this feeling is to use a corny little phrase that Brian Tracy taught me – “I Like Myself” which you repeat out loud several times each morning. It repairs the cracks in the mental foundation, giving you back the self confidence you need to be a winner in sales.
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Fear of Objections
This one is sneaky as it causes you to talk too much during meetings with your prospects or customers. Why? Because you figure if your talking then they cannot offer up an objection which could kill your sale opportunity. Bad thinking! Objections are great. It shows the prospect or customer is interested in what you have to offer. Their problem is something is not totally right and they want to discuss what can be done to make it right? Realize that Objections are really just Questions. In fact, that is a common objection handling technique – convert the objection into a question and just answer the question.
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Fear of Closing
This is closely related to the Fear of Rejection since it is all about no wanted to ask for the business and getting a “no” for an answer. Realistically, you don’t have anything to fear but the fear itself. Ask for the business – early, often and late. The driver to most “Fear of Closing” is related to people who attached what they do to who they are. In other words, they fear if they ask the customer or prospect for the business and they say “no” to the offer – that they are also saying “no” to the person. Wrong! They said no to the offer. So stop feeling you must have everyone liking you or loving you. This type of stinking thinking keeps you calling on people to be their friend rather than their business advisor. Ask for the Business today.
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Fear of Cold Calls
Another of the sneaky fears, again set up by people telling you when you were a child – “Don’t trust strangers.” or “Don’t talk to Strangers!” Each of these statements become self limiting beliefs as an adult. It is interesting this is cause for so many sales people to run for the door when sales managers are handing out leads or targeted call prospects lists. Remember, while cold calls generally do not get a favorable reaction from anyone in sales, it is one of the skills that can allow to create a book of business from scratch. Your accounts – your business relationships. They need to start somewhere, how about calling a few strangers today and building some relationships.
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Fear of Looking Stupid
Here we have a combination of the fear of failure and a perfectionist attitude. A person who has this attitude is also in deep trouble when it comes to being successful in sales. They usually wait too long before launching on an opportunity and lose the sale since they started too late. This activity is also supported by a mountain sized ego that will never allow others to see them being unprepared or unsure of their position. Perfectionist must have everything done and re-done before meeting with a customer or prospect.
Here is the key to this “Done is better than Perfect.” Do something and learn on the fly. Stupid is not starting before the other guy does and losing due to timing issues rather than content or performance. Place your ego in the dumper and move forward to accomplish your goals as a b2b sales person.
These fears only remind me as a sales person, it is very important to have my own personal development focus. Since others may or may not care about your personal success, it is up to you to take responsibility for building your own mental strength and energy. Reading motivational books or listening to MP3 on your player allow you to stay ahead of the thundering herd of individuals who wait for others to hand them the rules of success. Take responsibility and hold yourself accountable for your own success. Then you will be in the winners circle for a lifetime.
Voss Graham
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