Overcome Your Fear of Sales - And Sell Like Crazy!

There’s a four-letter word that we rarely speak openly about in this business because a lot of people just don’t like talking about it. The subject is “taboo” in the sales world, and some people get really uncomfortable just hearing it. That word is “FEAR.”

There’s no shortage of sales videos online where a jacked ex-navy seal in a muscle shirt yells into the camera for 45 minutes, basically telling you to suck it up and failure is all your fault and you are going to get devoured by Alpha bros if you don’t put on your big boy pants!

Conquering fear first requires that you define “fear.” Fear is simply an emotion caused by something that we believe is dangerous or threatening to us. It is not a sign of weakness, but rather an indication of being a deeper thinker. Introverts tend to have a wider view of the world. It is our nature to exaggerate the threat associated with our fears in business, often to the point where it can immobilize us and paralyze us from taking action. This is manageable.

Embrace some degree of fear as a stepping stone towards your ultimate goal. Fear by itself is irrelevant unless it is cemented by your own firsthand experiences to validate it. In professional sales, the greatest fear is that of failure and rejection, but train yourself not to take it too seriously. Failure is, after all, the best teacher.

The difference between a mediocre business and a super-successful one, is that the successful business has probably failed faster and more often than all the others. When they failed, they learned.

You see, failure is a data point, not an end point. Take what you've learned to make your process better. The failure that you fear is inevitable - and incredibly valuable on your road to success. It’s not meant to stop you, but rather, to test you and strengthen you.

How bad do you want that success, and can you turn this obstacle into a new and better direction?

Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

Everything that we fear, we avoid and stay far away from. But we can’t outrun those fears indefinitely, and in fact, if we don’t face them, they end up running towards us. Just imagine how much fuller our lives would be and how many more options would be available to us if we brought these vast spectrums of opportunity back into our lives instead of hiding from them.

What would life be like if we replaced fear and skepticism, with curiosity and optimism? You’re only a few decisions away from an entirely different set of circumstances that could massively impact the trajectory of the rest of your life.

Take a leap of faith, because everything you want is on the other side of fear.

Make a habit of asking for what it is you want:

Commit to saying, “I want this. Will you help me?”

Whether you choose to take action, or you just keep waiting for the right time, it becomes a part of how you operate. And over time, how you operate starts to dictate who you become. A habit of action or inaction. Daring to ask, or shying away from asking. Either way, it becomes a habit.

If you want something done, go to the person who can facilitate the job, open doors for you, or make that vital introduction to the right people...and ask. Understand that most people really do want to help others, especially those that are honest and genuine, and doing things for noble reasons.

Be bold and ask.

The diffusion of responsibility:

The more people there are out there that could possibly help you, the less clear it is to everyone involved exactly who should be the one to provide that help.

Agents often throw a vague request out into the universe with no response, but if you want something, like referrals or leads, or testimonials, you have to go directly to a specific individual and ask them. Not a generic social media post, or a tag line at the bottom of your email signature saying that you’re “never too busy for referrals.”

It simply doesn’t create any emotion in the recipient that you actually value their help, that you are choosing them and relying on them, that you specifically need them, and just how much it would mean to you if they could be the one to provide that help.