In Part 2 I talked about 1) getting clear on the results you can achieve for your clients, 2) thinking of selling as a conversation about your passion, and 3) realizing that not everyone is a potential client and to be OK with that.
6. Learn from your failures. We put too much pressure on ourselves to gain every prospect as a client. If you think that way, then you might start thinking of yourself as a failure. What do you think THAT will do for your fear of selling? Make you even more fearful of course!
Very successful people have had huge failures. Thomas Edison's teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. And 3,000 failed attempts later, he invented the light bulb! Henry Ford's first two automobile companies failed, but that didn't stop him from incorporating Ford Motor Company and being the first to use assembly line manufacturing in automobile production.
Think of each failure as an opportunity to learn. Ask yourself, "what have I learned from this experience?" Find the lesson in each failure and then move on. If you are willing to make mistakes, you will learn much faster. For example, if you lost a prospect, ask them why. If it was price, then find out how your price compared to your competitors'. When you track this information, you'll be better equipped to offer a competitive price.
7. Discovering your sales process. The final step to overcoming your fear of selling is understanding the process. I like to compare it to riding a bike:
- At first you were a little scared
- Your parents coaxed you to get on the bike and then taught you how to ride
- You tried on your own and fell
- You got back on and fell again
- You got back on and started catching on, but had to really concentrate so you didn't fall off
- You got back on and started looking around and enjoyed the scenery around you without even thinking about falling off!
The sales process is just like riding a bike:
- You studied how to sell
- You practiced selling to your first few prospects and probably failed a few times
- You kept at it and started getting the hang of it
- You started closing more sales and actually started enjoying the process!
6. Learn from your failures. We put too much pressure on ourselves to gain every prospect as a client. If you think that way, then you might start thinking of yourself as a failure. What do you think THAT will do for your fear of selling? Make you even more fearful of course!
Very successful people have had huge failures. Thomas Edison's teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. And 3,000 failed attempts later, he invented the light bulb! Henry Ford's first two automobile companies failed, but that didn't stop him from incorporating Ford Motor Company and being the first to use assembly line manufacturing in automobile production.
Think of each failure as an opportunity to learn. Ask yourself, "what have I learned from this experience?" Find the lesson in each failure and then move on. If you are willing to make mistakes, you will learn much faster. For example, if you lost a prospect, ask them why. If it was price, then find out how your price compared to your competitors'. When you track this information, you'll be better equipped to offer a competitive price.
7. Discovering your sales process. The final step to overcoming your fear of selling is understanding the process. I like to compare it to riding a bike:
- At first you were a little scared
- Your parents coaxed you to get on the bike and then taught you how to ride
- You tried on your own and fell
- You got back on and fell again
- You got back on and started catching on, but had to really concentrate so you didn't fall off
- You got back on and started looking around and enjoyed the scenery around you without even thinking about falling off!
The sales process is just like riding a bike:
- You studied how to sell
- You practiced selling to your first few prospects and probably failed a few times
- You kept at it and started getting the hang of it
- You started closing more sales and actually started enjoying the process!
Did this 3-Part series help you get on the path to overcoming your fear of selling? Share your thoughts by clicking on the Comments link below.
This is one of the most difficult problems with cleaning services especially if your cleaning service business has just started.
Posted by: beebriteproducts | August 04, 2010 at 04:07 AM
Yes it did , that makes lot of sense just like riding the bike you may fall a few times but hey quit your whining and move on to the next prospect. thank you so much for all that you do.
Posted by: orion stafa | August 13, 2010 at 11:37 AM