Just browsing
Do you ever feel when you make a sales call that your prospect is just browsing?
- That they are seeing you, or taking your call, just so that they can stay up to date on the options, but they have no intention of buying?
- Do you ever feel that your prospect really isn’t interested in what you have to offer?
- When that happens, do you often feel that you still have to go through your entire sales presentation so that you’re not seen to be affected by the indifference of that prospect, or that you’re a quitter?
If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions, then it means that emotions play a big part in your life as a sales person. You may disagree, and that’s your choice; however, there is one word that occurs three times in those three questions. That word is feel, and feelings are emotions.
Some sales people handle rejection better than others
Some don’t worry about it, while others experience fear; a lot of it. The question is why? Why does “no sale” unsettle some people, but not others? It’s a complicated topic. The truth is that there can be a lot of reasons that occur in isolation or together; and teasing them out is anything but straightforward. Again, the reason is that fear is a feeling.
Many of the self-help books will try to teach you how to neutralize fear. The problem with most of the solutions is that they attempt to reason you out of it; and emotions seldom respond to reason. Wrong thinking often creates wrong emotions; however once the process starts, then they feed each other. Wrong emotions also reinforce your wrong thoughts.
To gain a bit of insight into the problem of the fear that comes from rejection, let’s think about a few things that can make you afraid.
The first one is a loss of income
If you’re a student of Maslow, then you’ll know that safety and security are found on the second level of his Hierarchy of Needs. Failing to make a particular sale may mean that your income goes down. Maybe your financial obligations are such that you depend on that commission, or Christmas bonus, just like Clark on his Christmas Vacation.
The second one takes your loss of income up a notch
It is losing your job. So rather than getting less income, you get none. For most people, that would create a certain amount of worry; and if it was left for too long, that worry could be more like panic. And so rather than go down that slippery slope, you slave away trying to make your commissions.
A third reason is a loss of prestige or face
Maybe you’re someone who has always done well, and suddenly you find that no one wants your products. In the eyes of your co-workers, you are no longer the golden boy or girl. Some people don’t handle that very well.
A fourth reason is a loss of self-esteem
This can happen to anyone. It can happen to those who normally are successful, but have fallen on difficult times, and it can happen to those who have never really were able to get off the ground as a sales person.
A fifth reason is a loss of respect from those you love the most
Your family, for instance...
Each of these fears is real...
...and some people feel them more acutely than others. Fear, however, ultimately comes because of the emotional attachment you have to what you’re doing. And that means that the answer to the question, “Why am I anxious or what am I afraid of” can’t depend on logic. Logic sounds good on paper. Your feelings, however, will determine whether or not you think that the answers apply to your situation or make sense to you in your circumstances. That’s why logic rarely works. It’s because it makes sense to the person who isn’t going through the unwelcome experience.
What can you do about this?
You need to look for solutions that will deal with your emotions. You’re an emotional being, whether you like it or not; and if the circumstances of your life interferes with them, then you can expect them to get stirred up.
The first thing you need to think about is taking a holiday
A proper one. A proper holiday is not a series of three- or four-day weekends. It’s not a fortnight in the Bahamas where you are your mobile phone calling the office and customers every day, or answering emails. A holiday is leaving your phone at home and staying out of your inbox. If those things make you tremble, then you need to learn how to take a vacation. You’ve obviously forgotten.
The second thing you should do is to take stock of yourself
Are you getting enough rest, eating properly, exercising? These are things that everyone talks about, but few people actually do. If you think that you’re the exception, then think again. You’re not. You won’t feel any better until you start doing the things that will make it happen.
The third thing is pressures from your family
These are real. They’re also part of life. If you have issues at home, then they will be with you no matter where you go or what you’re doing. If you’re experiencing problems in this area then, just like going on holiday, you need to take some time off to make things better at home. Most companies would rather lose you for a week, than for months because you let things get completely out of hand.
The fourth thing is that you just might be in the wrong career
That’s probably not something you expected to hear. Some people are attracted to sales because of the income that it can provide, even though selling really isn’t something that they’ll ever be able to put their hearts into. If you are experiencing fear on a regular basis about selling, making appointments, calling on people and anything else that’s an indispensable part of the process, then it could be that you’re in the wrong job.
In summary
So there’s a quartet of reasons why you might be experiencing fear when your sales presentation is being rejected. Any or all of them could be true. You, however, are the only one who can decide what your next step will be...
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