If you are not particularly skilled at a particular activity, you will feel uncomfortable at the very thought of engaging in it. If you are not good on the telephone, you will avoid the telephone as much as possible. If you are not good at prospecting, you will avoid prospecting as much as possible. If you are not good at confirming the sale and closing the order, you will choke up at the end of the sales presentation and avoid asking for any commitment from the prospect. In every case, your income and your sales will suffer until you decide to change.
Some years ago, a young man in my seminar who had come from a small farming community was selling large, expensive satellite dishes to wealthy land owners. They were new at the time and quite popular, and he was selling two per week, earning $1,000 commission on each one.
He told me that he had never made so much money in his whole life. He had no trouble selling the dishes because the harvest had been good and farmers were installing them so that they would have access to all the channels during the winter. His problem was that, after his second sale of the week, he experienced a form of withdrawal, accompanied by a desire to flee. He told me that he was so overwhelmed by the amount of money he was making that he would go home after his second sale, close all the blinds in his bedroom, and lie on his bed in the darkness for several hours. This was his comfort zone.
Whenever you feel any kind of stress in selling, your natural tendency will also be to return to your comfort zone, at a lower level of performance, rather than to continue at what you’re doing until you feel comfortable at that new level. Sometimes this discomfort, which can lead to self-sabotage, is mislabeled the “fear of success.” But what it really is is the experience of attempting to achieve at a level beyond what you really believe is possible for you.
It is no surprise, then, that the top salespeople have high self-concepts with regard to every phase of selling. They make most of the money that is paid in the sales profession. They are the most respected and esteemed people within their organizations and by the customers they call on. Their high, positive self-concepts in selling translate into tremendous sales results and a great life for themselves and their families.
Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, identify your areas of weakness in selling, those activities that you don’t like and don’t do particularly well. Decide today to make any effort to excel in those areas.
Second, look at the top salespeople in your field and begin to identify with them. Imagine you are already one of the very best and it is only a matter of time until your income reflects this.
Brian Tracy is a legendary in the fields of management, leadership, and sales. He is the author of “The Psychology of Selling” & “The Power of Charm.” He can be reached at 858.481.2977, or www.briantracy.com.
