Curiously individuals who are not directly involved in selling perceive ‘fear’ as a concern should they ever be asked to sell.

For example, last week I conducted a series of company-wide sales culture training program targeted at non-managerial, support and other non-traditional sales staff of a leading financial services company.

The aim of the program is about instilling 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.

A group exercise to identify, list and discuss “their concerns about being involved in the sales process” yielded FEAR as the number one concern. Indeed, one of the discussion groups said about fear: “Fear is the greatest enemy to selling.” So here are seven fears which were identified as preventing salespeople from peak acheivement:

1. 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 don’t wish to ever hear in their lives and salespeople are not any 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. 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’.

2. Fear of telephoning or calling-in on prospects Many salespeople suffer from this chronic disease known as ‘call reluctance.’ Even experienced salespeople 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 rationalization.”

In order to conquer call reluctance, you should firstly call on prospects you feel comfortable about calling; secondly have the courage of your convictions in the products you sell which builds self-confidence; thirdly “recall past accomplishment’ in calling on prospects; fourthly, embark on regular mental rehearsals to focus you on successful outcomes before placing any call or knocking on that door; and fifthly, practice relaxation techniques before calling on prospects.

3. 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 minimizes 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 ‘disqualify’ prospects. Their fear is that they would come across to the prospects as being rude or arrogant.

4. 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. Salespeople should therefore learn the skill of asking motivating and open ended questions to minimize their fears.

5. 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, salespeople would have to present the features, advantages and benefits of their products/services to 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, salespeople should therefore hone their presentation skills.

6. Fear of asking for the sales There are three aspects of sales I consider as pivotal to the success of every sales orgnisation 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.

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 have overcome their fear of asking for the sale because they have know the different closing techniques as well as when to ask.

7. Fear of approaching C-Level

Many salespeople will tell you of the fear they have when they have to call on Executive-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 contacts that have neither budget nor authority to buy. To conquer this fear, salespeople should rather learn how to sell to C-level prospects.

Conclusion To conclude, fear leads to a direct negative impact on sales and, therefore your commissions or salary. It can also result in a stunted sales career for any salesperson. However, the good news is that, FEAR is just a Fantasized Experience Appearing Real. It can be CONQUERED!

The writer is the C.E.O of Salesmark Services He is also a Sales Consultant, Trainer & Coach For a FREE Consultation, you can reach him at E-mail: mocloo@salesmarkservices.com