Courage is needed to overcome fear. We resist closing due to the fear of rejection. Try confidence instead.
We just finished two weeks of the Winter Olympics. The athletes were the best of the best in the world. Downhill skiers seemed to have supernatural balance. Figure skaters had unimaginable grace and strength. And, some records were broken.
We all marveled at Shaun White as he seemed to defy multiple laws of physics snowboarding in the half pipe. In an interview, he said that if he had snowboarded as well in Vancouver as he did four years earlier when he won the gold in Torino, he would not have even earned a bronze medal. He knew he had to outdo himself.
How was he able to achieve this?
Yes, it takes a lot of courage to do what the athletes did. What? Ninety miles an hour down a snow covered mountain with a pair of boards strapped to their feet? Courage, however, can be replaced with confidence. Confidence comes from knowledge and experience. By now, you should be stocked up on both of those.
Closing a sales is less about being courageous than it is about being confident that you are doing the right thing for the right reason. When you are confident that you have the right solution to your customer's problem, you will confidently ask them to implement it. It's in their best interest, after all.
That's what closing the sale is really all about.
KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge comes in several flavors. Obviously you need product knowledge and you need sales skills knowledge. What creates a lack of courage for many salespeople is the lack of knowledge about what their product or service will mean for their customer.
When I conduct a needs analysis, I am trying to find a way to convince two people that I have the right solution to their problem: the customer and me. Once I'm convinced I move with confidence and courage is less necessary.
EXPERIENCE
What has your product or service done for others in the past? Have you asked them? Have you gone back and asked them to quantify the value of your offering? Do you have anecdotal evidence of what your offering, your company or you have done to help others succeed?
Nothing sells like success. Nothing builds confidence like success. You've been successful in the past and you will be successful in the future. Be confident of that.
You know what? If you are not confident that you're doing the right thing for your customer, you will probably communicate that to them. Your choice of words, the intonation in your voice or your body language will betray you.
The proclamation that came with the medal told of bravery and courage above and beyond the call of duty. It wasn't. In fact, I was able to achieve meritorious success based on knowledge and experience. Previous encounters with the enemy (fire fights) gave me knowledge of the enemy's tactics and an understanding of our capabilities. I simply brought the two together.
DIY Idea
