Overcoming Fear

A guide for sales agents

Top producers aspire to be the very best and hit all their goals. Some are motivated by a sales contest to win a trip.  Others are motivated by the sheer excitement of beating their competition. Others love to see their name at the top of a “win” list.  

However, sometimes we can be our own worst enemy and let fear get in the way of our goals.  But we will never attain our goals unless we conquer our fear.

Here are the most common forms of fear that I have seen in sales:

1.       Fear of rejection

2.       Fear of Failure

3.       Fear of Cold Calling

4.       Fear of being too pushy

5.       Fear of objections

6.       Fear of not knowing enough

7.  Fear of trying new things

You can probably think of even more.  Which one of these resonates most with you? 

If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy. -Dale Carnegie

What is fear?  Fear is the unpleasant emotion caused by a belief that there is a threat. This threat feels dangerous to us and is potentially very painful. Often, we may not even recognize what we are feeling. 

We just know that we have a very uncomfortable feeling when we go to pick up the phone and make a call, for example.  So, we avoid it and send another email or text.

Here is a helpful process to overcome fear:

1.       Identify and understand.

2.       Visualize a positive end result.

3.       Face the fear

4.       Learn from the experience

5.       Improve through practice

Identify and understand. Here is how you would apply this process to one of our examples above: Overcoming fear of rejection

So many times we go through the whole discovery process, we build rapport with the prospect, we review coverage and provide quotes.  But at the end do we ask for the sale?

Recognize that perhaps you are not closing deals because you don’t ask for the sale at the end.  Realize that perhaps you don’t ask because you are afraid of the answer.  You fear the rejection

Visualize the positive end result.  Picture the client saying yes and the benefits of closing the deal. Imagine how amazing it will feel and how that will look on the leaderboard.  Imagine the recognition you will get.  

Many successful sports players visualize their winning game before heading out to compete.  The visualization prepares your mind.

Face the fear. Ask for the sale. Face the fear.The worst they can say is no and you move on to the next opportunity.  But you cannot get the sale unless you ask.   

Pro Tip: Use an assumptive close. example: “Would you like this policy to be effective on the 15th or 20th?”

Learn from the experience.  If they say no, or you can’t overcome objections,, reframe the experience as a learning opportunity.  They were not rejecting you personally, they said no to the product.

Reflect on how you can improve your process for next time. Is there a better script you can use?  Can you shadow a successful closer to see how they do it?  Can you ask better questions to figure out what the client really wants?

Improve through practice.  On to the next call. Immediately try again.  Improve through practice.  The fear should dramatically decrease the more you practice.

“What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.” ― Spencer Johnson

The best lessons in life are learned from failure.  We must get up and dust ourselves off and try again.  Spend the time to reflect and get feedback from your mentors.  I firmly believe that any skill can be learned if you put enough time and effort into it. 

I also came up with this matrix with some simple solutions to think about.  I realize this is overly simplistic but you get the main points. I also found some book recommendations.

Here is your homework for the week:  Pick a fear from the above list or write your own list.  Come up with a game plan to improve your skill and reduce fear in that area.  You will probably fail a few times at first, but keep going and work the above process. 

Reflect on what went well and what can be improved.  Get your reps in and practice.  The muscle of that skill will improve, and the fear will reduce.  The growth will be invaluable.

I would love to hear your thoughts below.  We can all learn together.