7 Fears salespeople should avoid
Last year, I conducted a series of company-wide sales culture training workshops for the staff of a leading financial services company. The sales culture programme targeted the non-managerial, support and other non-traditional sales staff.
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The aim of the programme was to inculcate in them a ‘sales mindset’ that focuses on building customer relationship through telling people they interact with about the benefits of their products, as well as generate referrals.
During the workshops, participants were asked to identify, list and discuss their concerns about being involved in the sales process. The number one concern and/or anxiety was FEAR. Indeed, one of the discussion groups eloquently had this to say about fear: “Fear is the greatest enemy to selling.”
According to the book Zero-Resistance Selling, “fears, doubts, and anxieties are the plagues that infect most sales professionals, preventing them from peak achievements, maximum earnings, and great enjoyment. Avoidance of the possibilities of rejection and failure is the disease rampant in the ranks of sales professionals.”
So here are my selections of seven fears I strongly believe can prevent your salespeople from peak achievement in 2016 and beyond:
Fear of rejection
As they say, “salespeople go through more rejection in a day than many people would experience in a life-time.” The word ‘No’ is what many people never wish to ever hear in their lives and salespeople are no different. The word ‘no’ means ‘rejection’ which results in bruised egos and low self-esteem. It strikes a morbid fear in the hearts of grown up men and women and thereby hamstrings their sales careers. Your salespeople should understand that the word ‘no’ comes with the sales profession and should be expected. The good news is that every ‘no’ encountered is part of the process and inches them closer to a ‘yes’.
Fear of calling prospects
Many salespeople suffer from this chronic disease known as ‘call reluctance.’ Even experienced salespeople like myself occasionally fall in and out of call reluctance. It is the situation where you are afraid of dialing the phone number of prospects, or even when the phone rings at the other end and there’s no answer, we hang up relieved. Another example is where you actually visit the prospect’s office in person and you’re told s/he’s not available and then you leave with such a relief. Other symptom of call reluctance is where salespeople give excuses why they can’t phone or drop in on a prospect at a particular time. This is what I call “procrastination by rationalisation.”
In order to conquer call reluctance, the book Zero-Resistance Selling recommends that
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Your salespeople should first call on prospects they feel comfortable about calling;
They must possess the courage of their convictions in the products they sell which builds self-confidence; 3) Your salespeople should “recall past accomplishment’ in calling on prospects; 4) They should embark on regular mental rehearsals to focus their minds on successful outcomes before placing any call or knocking on that door; and 5) They must practice relaxation techniques before calling on prospects.
Fear of disqualifying prospects
One attribute of highly successful salespeople is their ability to ‘disqualify’ prospects who do not meet their ideal customer profile. This minimises the risk of ‘wasting’ valuable time and resources pursuing leads which are likely to result in no sale. In my sales training courses, salespeople usually cringe when they are taught the skill of ‘disqualifying’ prospects. Their fear is that they will come across to the prospects as being rude or arrogant.
Fear of asking questions
The art of asking questions is another area where salespeople fail because of fear. In their minds, prospects will refuse to answer their questions, especially sensitive and probing ones. This fear is the result of the lack of the appropriate questioning skills which get prospects talking. Your salespeople should therefore learn the skill of asking motivating and open-ended questions to minimise their fears. As a matter of fact, questioning skills add value to any customer interaction.
Fear of presentation [public speaking]
A great product presented in a very uninspiring way will not lead to a close. At a stage in the sales process, your salespeople would have to present the features, advantages and benefits of their products/services to match the identified needs of the prospect to a team of key decision makers. The fear of speaking in front of such “powerful” individuals overawes salespeople resulting in lost sales. To become successful, your salespeople should hone their presentation skills, and this must be done continuously.
Fear of asking for the sale
There are three aspects of sales I consider as pivotal to the success of every sales organisation which includes ‘closing the sale.’ The other two are prospecting and selling to existing customers. As they say, the best closing technique is just to ask for the sale. That sounds easy, right? However, this is where many salespeople fail because of the fear of the word ‘No.” Perhaps you can relate to the difficulty some men have in asking a woman to marry them, after having done all the hard work – meeting her at a party, building rapport, and nurturing the friendship into love between the two of them. Successful salespeople have overcome their fear of asking for the sale directly. Your salespeople should hone their skills in closing the sales by practising all the different ‘closing techniques’, as well as when to ask for the sale.
Fear of approaching C-Level
Many salespeople will tell you of the fear they have when they have to call on C-Level decision-makers. They find them intimidating and would avoid them in favour of junior and mid-level managers. This fear is costly because time and effort is wasted on NINA contacts who “neither have the influence, nor authority” to buy. To conquer this fear, your salespeople should rather learn how to sell to C-level prospects. Enrolling them in a selling to C-Level training workshops is highly recommended.
In conclusion, fear leads to a direct negative impact on sales and, therefore your sales budget. It can also result in a stunted sales career for any salesperson. However, the good news is that, FEAR is just as they say: Fantasised Experience Appearing Real. It can be CONQUERED!
Happy selling. — GB