Strategies to Help You Avoid Fear of Rejection
Sales? Oh no, I could never do that!
I’ve heard it from people for years. “Oh, there’s no way I could be a salesperson. I just don’t have it in me to deal with that! I don’t like salespeople so why in the world would I ever want to become one?” They say that they don’t have that “gift of gab” or confidence, chutzpah, or whatever other secret Jedi superpowers people think great salespeople should have.
Well, the truth is that every job has skills that don’t match every person. But just because the match isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean learning at least a little bit about those skills is a waste of time.
No matter what business we find ourselves in, there is a certain amount of selling involved. All business is sales. We are in business and businesses sell things! Products! Services! Experiences!
When everyone has to touch sales, the questions then become:
- How do I build confidence in sales?
- How do I help my team avoid fear of rejection in sales?
How do I avoid fear of rejection in sales?
These days, those of us who are typically separated from direct selling are being given some sort of selling duty on top of what we’re already doing. Doctors, accountants, engineers, lawyers are all finding themselves having to “sell” to grow the business.
But the whole idea of requiring “non-salespersons” to be salespersons brings up frightening questions:
- What if they don’t like me?
- What if they reject me?
- What do I even say?
- What if I say something wrong?
For many of us it’s frightening to think that we’ll be thrown into the lion’s den with potential customers. It is daunting and terrifying!
Here’s the truth, though: confidence in a salesperson is essential. Confidence is what motivates us to pick up that phone, open that car door, go to that meeting, set up that zoom call, ask about what customers need and to ask: “So, do you want to go ahead with this?”
We need confidence to ask the questions we need to ask, to talk to people from the C-Suite on down the corporate ladder, and to handle the rejections that can follow. How do we build that confidence in order to be better able to help sales succeed? Well…
- By creating clear processes. A good plan that is laid out before us and that makes logical sense gives us confidence. Confidence is something we build and acquire through data, evidence and expertise.
- By understanding that it’s okay to feel fear. How much fear do you have about working to improve your sales skills? Whether you are a veteran or beginner salesperson, it’s not about getting over or rid of your fear — it’s about accepting and working through it. As Susan Jeffers tells us, “Feel the fear and do it anyways.”
- Invest in developing your sales skills. The more tools you have in your metaphorical toolbox, the easier it will be to have answers when they’re needed. Don’t rest on your laurels — continue to learn better ways to listen, handle objections, connect with empathy and bring sales to a close. The more skills you develop, the easier it’ll be to tap into your natural confidence because it’ll be backed by expertise.
How can the right sales training help me to build confidence in sales?
How can sales training help us get that confidence? By demystifying the journey. Effective sales training shows us a simple and logical plan to follow which gives us confidence.
Take Action Selling ® for example. We offer a logical, repeatable sales training process that — when followed correctly — makes the selling process easy and effective. This selling process syncs with the natural buying process that customers make when they are buying a product or service, making your sales team an ally of the customer. The salesperson becomes the customer’s back pocket resource; their “I got a pal in such-and-such field” that they trust with their needs.
Action Selling ® takes out the guesswork, ad-libbing, improv, gift of gab, over-talking, and winging-it aspects often associated with sales. Customers today are more sophisticated and aware of these tactics and reject them immediately. Their defenses are up and all they want is to be heard and understood instead of manipulated.
Confidence comes from being the salesperson that we would want to interact with ourselves. Confidence comes from being able to rely on a measurable, repeatable process that progresses logically and efficiently. It’s a real conversation completely based on what the customer actually needs.
Interested in building your sales confidence further and learning how to use strategy and empathy to significantly improve your close rate?
Contact our team about the skills you need the most help developing and someone will get back to you within 48 hours. If you’re not a contact form sort of person, you can give us a call at 800.232.3485.