Why selling scares us and what you can do about Today

[Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links, this means I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links. This is at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure information for more details.]

Businesses often run off of selling products. However, there are many fears that entrepreneurs feel when it comes to trying to sell a product. These fears can be overcome and handled in such a way that improves you retention, morale, and profits instantly.

Selling can be a scary concept for professionals because it brings up feelings of inadequacy or fear for many. It can also be caused by a lack of understanding and belief in the product. All of these issues can be fixed by understanding the product and developing new skills and beliefs.

This is a simple set of concepts that can help you overcome many specific issues such as fear of failure, fear of success, overcoming not wanting to pressure consumers, and not knowing the value of the product. Yet, there are many details to each of these concepts that should be discussed thoroughly in order to achieve the desired results.

Why Does Selling Scare Us?

Let’s dive into what selling is and why this scares many people. Selling is the process of finding a potential client or consumer, pitching the product to them, and pushing for a sale. If a consumer agrees to buy the product, the salesperson makes a profit, and they are able to continue selling the product with an additional dose of confidence and experience. If a consumer says no, this means that the salesperson has lost a sale, makes no profit, and loses time to find others who will buy the product. They will often take a confidence hit as well.

By examining the circumstance of the normal sale, it is clear why selling can be a scary concept. Many people have an image of what a good salesperson looks like. This image can be of a confident, strong, and charismatic person who is good at talking to people and promoting products.

If you don’t feel like you meet up to this imaginary standard of what a good salesperson looks like, you might reject or struggle with the sales portion of your online business. You might even feel that a good salesperson is not completely honest while selling and feel like aspects of your job are in conflict with their personal values.

Others might not want to be a salesperson due to feelings of being too skilled or unskilled to be back to selling. They might think of the summers they spent knocking and selling security systems to whoever would open the door for hours at a time only to make pennies on the dollar. Others might have images of floundering talking to strangers in normal social circumstances and do not feel they are qualified for selling. The idea of sales can push people away from sales and can be hard to overcome.

Another reason that you might be afraid of selling is the fear of being too successful with selling. You might fear the looks from acquaintances, friends, and families when you tell them about your online business and successes. You might fear taking advantage of a consumer for a self-centered purpose. You could also just be afraid your their success will create a gap between you and other people in the business that you are close to. You might even be afraid of the jealousy of other colleagues who are less successful.

The last big reason people might be afraid of sales is that they do not feel well-equipped to handle a consumer’s questions. If they do not feel confident in their knowledge or in the product and its usefulness, they will not be able to convince a consumer effectively. They will find that their assumptions were true and develop more resentment and fear of selling.

The main reasons that people are scared of selling are ultimately tied to fear and conflicts with identity or values. Luckily, there are a few different options that you can use to fix these issues quickly and efficiently.

What You Can Do to Become Better at Selling

Entrepreneurs can take many actions to help themselves improve their ability to sell. The first is for them to take some time and do some self-reflection. They should see what they consider a successful salesperson and tackle any unrealistic expectations. If they attach specific personality traits to succeeding at sales, they will not be able to succeed.

People of all different backgrounds can be successful salespeople. Consumers might better trust someone who doesn’t match the stereotype than someone who matches the stereotype. Once they understand that, entrepreneurs can feel more confident in their skills.

Another thing that entrepreneurs can do is sharpen their skills and improve their knowledge of the product. They can practice sales tactics with other colleagues and take time to research and understand the product. They can also make flashcards of frequently asked questions and practice answering them. This can help an entrepreneur overcome any value conflicts, as they will deeply understand how to remain courteous while still being successful. These simple tasks can make a huge difference in the employee’s ability to sell.

What Companies Can Do to Improve

However, your company as a whole, can also take initiative and help its collaborators become better at sales. Companies that have room in the budget might find that hiring a personal development coach is a great option. They can come to the office and work with struggling collaborators. They also can give demonstrations and tools to employees that they can continually use to improve. By having someone outside of the company come in, they might be able to reach employees in a different way than someone up the corporate ladder.

Another task that your company can take is to give many opportunities for struggling collaborators to shadow more successful ones. By eliminating the shame behind asking for help or receiving help, your collaborators are more likely to take advantage of the opportunity.

Some also learn best by working in pairs and having hands-on experience and seeing success. Many get discouraged by constant rejection and need to see success to regain their motivation. By providing these opportunities, the company can support their employees and see improvement in their numbers.

In the end, once a business is aware of the source of the employee’s fears and weaknesses and does things to help its employees succeed and overcome their fears, both the business and its employees will likely succeed.