A wise leader by the name of FDR once said, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” At the time he was talking about war and political issues. But the same thing applies in sales, too. We all feel BS fears that most of us flat out refuse to face.
Facing your fears isn’t easy. I get it. At the same time, most of the things you are fearful of, are things that will never happen. Fear is simply an emotions, derived from peptides in the brain.
In other words, fear is bullshit.
If you’re going to see any kind of real success in sales, you’re going to have to face your fears. The fact that people struggle with fear in sales, boggles me. It’s not like the prospect is going to kill you. It’s not like you will die if you don’t close the sale. Yet many salespeople are stricken with fear.
If you’re going to master sales, you’re going to have to face your fears #closer #salessavage
— Hardcore Closer (@hardcorecloser) May 28, 2016
You must man up and face these five fears if you’re going to earn any money in sales.
1. Fear of Rejection: If you cant’ get over this fear, you might as well just throw in the towel now. Yes. I’m aware fear of rejection is one of the biggest fears humans battle. To make it in sales, you gotta get over that shit and get over it quick.
The best way to get past the fear of rejection is to go out, pitch your product and get used to it. The more people that reject you (and it will happen) the more you will get used to it. Go ahead and get all the rejections out of the way and learn to be comfortable in sales whether you close or not. Rejection isn’t about you, it’s about them. Now, repeat that back to yourself.
2. Fear of Pissing People Off: If you’re going to sell stuff, you’re going to piss people off. You can’t make everyone happy. Some people, especially low end buyers, are just never happy. It’s your job to have uncomfortable conversations with people. If they get mad, f*ck ’em. It’s their problem not yours.
You should always push for the sale, if the person is the right prospect. Prospects often have some sort of BS objection they hit you with and when you press past it, friction exists. Don’t worry about that friction. Keep cool and keep closing. The end result will often be that they will buy from you and they will be glad you pushed them to the close. I’ve done it thousands of times.
3. Fear of Looking Stupid: We all say and do stupid sh*t. It’s human nature. From saying the wrong things to attempting to sell the wrong product, looking stupid is eventually going to happen to you. Just accept it’s going to happen and keep selling anyway.
The best and ONLY way to avoid looking stupid is to educate yourself on every single thing about your product. The more you know, the less you come off as ignorant and the less you will be prone to looking dumb. Study, practice and get over it.
4. Fear of Not Making Money: This is a legitimate fear IF you’re a lazy bastard with no ambition to work hard. In sales, it goes like this: the more hands you shake, the more money you make. Your job is to get out there and shake as many hands as possible. You talk to enough people, you’ll make enough money. That simple.
Sure, lots of salespeople have gone broke and had to go and beg for a job in HR somewhere. It happens. At the same time, if you work hard, know your product and stay consistent, you won’t have to worry about money.
5. Fear of Working on Commission: If you’re making the transition from salary to commission you’re in for a serious life change at first. It can be scary as hell, too. Killing only what you eat isn’t for the weak. Knowing it’s 100 percent up to you closing deals to get paid freaks a lot of people out.
Here’s the thing: you shouldn’t be scared of commission. You SHOULD be scared of working 40 hours a week for a job paying significantly less than you can earn in sales. Salaried workers are all over the place. Commission closers are strong minded people, who decide to win no matter what.
Don’t fear commission. Fear salary.
