HOW TO BUILD CONFIDENCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED MARCH 5, 2008

As long as I’ve worked with, trained, and improved sales people, the number one focus for success has been their confidence. More important than any sales tactic is how each sales person feels about themselves. Simply put, people sell to their level of esteem. Here, then, are key areas to improve your team’s confidence and esteem: Knowing you: Sales people who want to improve their mediocre performance must begin by understanding themselves. What takes them up, what takes them down, and more importantly, what do they want most in life? Knowing the company: And by knowing the company, they must know the people. One of the key areas of team building is knowing and embracing the people around them everyday. When you have people you know and depend on, you sell better. In part because they know they can depend on you so they work harder for you. All of this equals more sales. Knowing the customer: Author and businessman, Harvey McKay, wrote a list of 64 things you should know about your client to really be effective. Many sales reps only know very basic things about the client. The more you know, the more confident you are, and the more you sell. Knowing the product: Become an expert on your product. If you are lacking in this area, here is the key. Learn one product at a time. When you become “expert” at one product, you condition yourself to learn other products at the same level of effectiveness. Set your vision: Set a vision of where you want to go. When anyone has a burning vision of what they want out of life, small set backs remain small. The end result is that very few things get in your way. You don’t see the small stuff and your eyes stay attached to where you want to be. Confidence, in the eyes of your clients, suggests that they can depend on you. It gives them the feeling that you can bring with you the solution to their problem. Years ago, I discovered that people buy from you in direct proportion to how your product or service helps them. You cannot convey, “help” without confidence.