Perhaps as managers of sales teams you’ve noticed that some of your sales people are battling fear. Or maybe they’ve even told you that they are afraid. You should not overlook these cases; instead, you should prepare ideas for encouraging your people and help them to get rid of their fear. The salesopedia.com website brought ten tips for these occasions. Feel free to hang them on your team bulletin board under the heading of “How to get rid of fear when working as a sales person”.
1. If you really want to rid yourself of the fear of selling, find another job. If you want to learn how to work creatively with your fear, read on.
2. On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), evaluate how you handle the following sales skills: attitude, self-confidence, enthusiasm, goal setting, time management, communication skills, prospecting for potential customers, qualifying potential customers, presentation skills, dealing with objections, preparing sales proposals, closing deals, measuring your results.
3. Using the results from point 2, think about what exactly you are afraid of. Revealing your own weaknesses is the first step to overcoming them.
4. First focus on what you are afraid of the most. Search for ways to improve.
5. Start slowly. For example, by writing down your goals and gathering information on how to improve your specific weakness.
6. Write your successes down. As soon as you manage to make progress on your fear, even if it’s just a small step, write it down so that you can come back to it in the future. Also write down the obstacles that you are successful and unsuccessful in overcoming.
7. Talk positively to yourself just before the situation you fear is about to occur. Just before an important phone call, for example, try repeating out loud ten times that you are improving. If you do this ever day, it will help.
8. Watch out for negative thoughts. Always expect the best possible outcome. Your thoughts are one of the few things that you can actually influence.
9. Imagine that you put on a mask of energy and enthusiasm while at work. Add a smile and fear will immediately stop radiating from you. Moreover, everyone around you is sure to “catch” your positive attitude.
10. Don’t take everything so seriously. Learn to view your work as fun and enjoy it.
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