We all have fears, and sometimes fear can be a great source of drive, but it can also be a source of destruction too.
Lots of people have a fear of sales, in fact, many consider sales to be a dirty word, and will go to extreme length’s to avoid using the term sale anywhere. You won’t find it on their business card, nor will you find it on their LinkedIn profile.
But the truth is, we are all salespeople, you have to be selling daily. Most of the time you just don’t realize it, and I often hear people say ‘I not a sales type person’.
The real reason people are scared of sales is they don’t understand it when you don’t understand something, you don’t enjoy it.
So to put it simply, if you don’t enjoy it, you sure aren’t going to be a winner at it.
The good news, like anything in life, if you challenge your fears, if you break through the barriers that are holding you back, you can conquer them. Sales are no different, you need to break through the fear barrier, start to understand sales better, and get into a habit of understanding that you need to sell every day, then really enjoy it.
Nothing gives you a buzz quite as you get from sales when you close a deal, especially when it’s a deal that you created from thin air. You have picked up the phone or spoke to a new contract, and that has turned into a deal. RESULT!
So here are my top tips to mastering sales:
1. Stop agonizing over it, just do it.
While ever you are worried about picking the phone up, introducing yourself to the new contact, or doubting the potential outcome. You aren’t moving forward. So just do it, what’s the worst that can happen? Someone tells you ‘NO’. Once you have received a few of them, it’s quite easy.
2. Study others.
Look around you, you will find lots of salespeople, people that are brilliant at selling. Ask to spend some time with them, find out what they do, really start to understand sales from someone who’s doing amazing already.
3. Believe in yourself & the product
You will have heard people over the years say that the product sells itself, but unless you expose the product to people they don’t know how good it is. Believe that you can do it, and believe in the product.
4. Its just a numbers game
Once you start to realize that sales are just a numbers game, the easier it becomes. Once you understand this, it makes it much more fun to play the game. The more people you speak with, the more opportunities you will find. Remember every NO brings you closer to a yes!
5. Persistence is not desperation
Many people I speak with don’t follow up leads because they feel it makes them come across as desperate. They follow up two, maybe three times then stop. However, 80% of sales occur on the 5th to 12th follow up
Here are some interesting facts about the sales process:
2% of sales occur on the 1st contact
3% occur on the 2nd contact
5% occur on the 3rd contact
10% occur on the 4th contact
and 80% occur on the 5th to 12th contact!
So keep pushing, chase those leads and stay persistent!
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