Overcoming Sales Anxiety

[Mr4213]

I think most, if not all salespeople get some form of sales anxiety. Especially when it comes to new entrepreneurs. It is something that needs to be overcome or you will never have any real success.

I grew up in a dysfunctional and extremely poor family. I didn't grow up knowing how to sell to people and my "parents" did a very poor job when it came to teaching me social skills. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety as a result of my childhood. So you can imagine how difficult if was for me to overcome internal obstacles and approach people. I'm certain many new entrepreneurs struggle with this as well.

This was such a problem for me that I feel compelled to talk about the subject so other people in similar situations can advance past it.

The thought of prospecting alone would shut me the hell down. It would paralyze me. "Oh I'll call them tomorrow instead. I'll go work on some website content today" or "I don't think its a good time to call, maybe they are busy? I'll call tomorrow" When it came time for me to prospect my brain would search for any other thing to do so I could avoid it.

In business nothing is as important as your ability to generate sales. I could spend 24/7 working on business systems not related to sales and I guarantee my business would never grow.

Here are a few tips for you that helped me

I gave myself reasonable goals. I would do at least one approach a day. Maybe I would do a cold call. Maybe I would call a local business. Maybe I would knock on one door. Ect ect. I took mental stock of myself and knew where I was in regards to my strengths and weaknesses. I didn't try and put unreasonable expectations on myself.

I would not do anything else until I accomplished my goal. I would sit down and stare at my phone. I would not do ANYTHING else until I made that one call. Hungry? Nope I'm not eating until I make this call. Friend texted me? Not texting him back until I make this call. This was and is very effective for me. In fact, if I did NOTHING else all day after I accomplished that goal I would go to bed happy.

I realized I was in control of myself, not the other way around. Sales anxiety is a natural reaction. Humans are designed to fear rejection.

Conversations in my head would usually be like "Are you really going to be controlled by fear? Are you a bitch? Do you want success? Most people can't do this and that is why they aren't successful. Do you want to be like that?"

I would then make my call. And you know what? I was super scared and anxious. But after that call I felt so liberated. I controlled myself. I accomplished my goal.

You're going to f*** up. But that is good. Screwing up is good. Its how you learn. Its how you get experience. If you are so scared to mess up that you cant even start, how will you ever get better? Some sales teams actually have people do cold calls and mess up on purpose.

You're going to get told no. Sales success is directly related to your number of approaches. That shouldn't shock anyone. The more people you talk to the higher your probability of getting a yes. You're going to have to shift through a lot of nos first.

These are just a few tips of mine. I definitely want to update this later with some more information but I have some other things I'd like to get started on.

If you have any tips please add them on here so people can use them to advance themselves.

 

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[AndrewNC]

There are a number of emotional release techniques that releases the anxiety from your body. I've made a few posts on here about them search for EFT on youtube or the book Timeline Therapy by Tad James.

These work directly with the unconscious (instant) - instead of going through the conscious mind (slow process)

 

[ApparentHorizon]

You can also allow your anxiety to take control of the sale.

Instead of using all of your energy fighting against it, maneuver around it.

For example

Don't like talking? Let the other person speak for the majority of the time. Use words like "ok" and "right" and then stare at them like you're expecting them to keep going.

All you have to do is just answer a few questions.

 

[HoneyBadger]

I'd like to add that getting a sales job at someone elses company could help people who are scared. In a previous sales position I had to make 20-30 cold call sales a day in recruiting. 80% of the time people don't answer, 10% hang up as you start talking, 5% genuinely can't/don't want your services at the moment and 5% are able to be sold to. Meaning you have to call 100 people to have 5 hot leads. Doesn't take long of doing that to get over it.

A sales job before that I worked at portrait studio where people would come in with $5 coupons for two wallet size print out. Our goal was to sell them a CD for $100 with all the photos of the session. That helped me learn how to frame a service/product to appeal to what THEY WANTED which ultimately helps with confidence.

 

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[eWomenNetwork]

Sales is really tough. It forces you to confront situations that are uncomfortable. The majority of business owners have worked hard to improve their pitch and build confidence - it's a process we all have to work at. To overcome the Sales Anxiety, you should Stop the negative self-talk. Yes, be confident and positive. When you begin to think negatively, immediately force yourself to stop and reverse it into a positive. If you aren’t aware, and don’t arrest it, you will train yourself to continue.

 

[Flybye]

Knowing, using, and liking the product I feel are some of the most important factors in overcoming sales anxiety.

If you like a product, you will probably feel enthusiastic talking about it to someone.
If you have used the product, talking about its various features and knowing how they can solve the customer's problems will flow right out.
If you know the product, then you probably wont stumble when talking about its various features.

I feel the stumbling part is what really stops people in their tracks. The anxiety goes into full speed once you start forgetting things.