Foundation of Selling - Day 1:Confidence

This week the discussion surrounds five aspects of how to build your foundation for becoming a great seller from the ground up. We will use the house analogy because most everyone can relate to the importance of taking time to ensure that your house foundation is sound. If you don't, the rest of the house is never solid, and ultimately the whole house can fall down.

Today: Confidence
Tuesday: Value Proposition
Wednesday: Listening
Thursday: Service
Friday: Inspiration

"Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions."
   - Anonymous

"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong."
   - Peter T. Mcintyre

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."
   - Dale Carnegie

Confidence may be THE most important ingredient in the foundation of your sales house. It is like the cement that goes into the foundation. If you do not have certainty about what you are doing, you most likely will not be successful. And when it comes to certainty, how much do you need to have? As long as your certainty is greater than "their" doubt, you will have enough. What I mean is that if you are proposing solutions that aleviate the fears and concerns of your target market, and you are confident and certain about them, you will succeed. (of course, follow through with sound services and products - that is assumed in this discussion)

Case in point: I see small business owners every week who have been at it for a year or two or more, and are not confident about themself or they are not confident that the service they offer is of enough value so as to receive money in exchange for it.

Signs: A sign that you are not overly confident is that you struggle or are slow to describe your value, when asked to give an elevator pitch, or "30 second commercial" at a Chamber or other event. (note: even if you are quick at this, try this experiment. Say what you normally say at your leads meeting or Chamber meeting, then say to yourself, "so what?" - and see what you hear. If you don't come up with some compelling reasons for your service or product, hone it) Another sign is that you are quick to give your services away for free. I believe in some pro-bono work, but always exchange it for something - three referrals or a letter of reference - get the word "free" out of your vocabulary when it comes to your products and services. The doctor is not free, nor is the dentist, other than perhaps an inital screening or something. Why should your services be free?

If you do believe you have confidence and are not succeeding, then check on the four other components that we'll talk about this week- and bounce your thoughts off of those close to you to see if you are dealing with what is really happening around you.