You may have heard the saying, “Seeing is believing.”
But when it comes to selling, never forget this secret: selling is believing.
Not seeing, but selling.
Perhaps your sales numbers aren’t where you want them to be because deep down you lack the confidence you need to close sales. With every cold call your heart beats faster, your palms sweat, and you imagine the rejection that comes with it.
Or maybe you remember past rejections and they color your thinking on future sales opportunities.
But here’s the thing you MUST know…
Selling is Believing
Whatever the cause for your nervousness, one thing is true. Success in selling depends on your mindset. You’ve got to believe. You can’t sell well without the power of belief.
“Begin by always expecting good things to happen.” —Tom Hopkins
I once heard the story of a young man just out of college who got a job as an inside salesman. He was in a call center and his manager paired him up with the best salesman in the division: a brash, confident, New Yorker who could sell anything at anytime.
As this young man listened in on call after call, his confidence seemed to dwindle. How could he ever be as good as the best salesperson in the division?
He finally realized that he didn’t need to become that salesperson. He could do just as well, or maybe even better by being himself and realizing one important thing: he wasn’t selling, he was serving.
To sell is to serve. To serve, you must believe. You must confidently offer your idea, product, or service as the solution to someone’s problem.
Remember what my mentor Zig Ziglar said, “Selling is a transference of feeling.”
There are two foundational things you need to believe when selling.
First, You Must Believe That People Truly Need Your Product or Service.
“Ninety percent of selling is conviction and 10 percent is persuasion.” —Shiv Khera
You need a rock solid passion for it. If you don’t have passion for what you’re selling, how will people believe you? If they don’t believe you, they won’t do business with you.
If you don’t believe in what you’re selling, go sell something else. Quit wasting your time. Find something you do believe in, and do that instead.
Second, You Need to Believe That People Will Benefit From Your Product or Service.
“High expectations are the key to everything.” —Sam Walton
If you don’t believe that your product or service solves a need for other people, then why are you selling it in the first place?
Believe in it, and then show them that what you have will meet their needs. And if it doesn’t meet their needs, don’t try to sell it to them.
But you’ve got to believe. As Zig Ziglar said, “Selling is nothing more than a transference of feeling.” If you don’t believe in what you’re selling, there’s nothing to transfer.
You want people to feel better after they hear about your product or service. The way you feel about your product or service will transfer. That’s why it’s critical that your selling is genuinely focused on what the other person wants and not on yourself.
Remember Zig Ziglar’s core secret: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. You can only truly help other people by selling with sincerity.
Confidence is Contagious
“What we dwell on is who we become.” —Oprah Winfrey
It doesn’t take much to boost your confidence and close more sales if you start to change your mindset. Your customers will sense a change in you and you’ll sense a change in yourself. You’ll stop worrying about whether or not you’ll close any particular sale and you’ll start becoming an ally in your customer’s corner.
When they hear from you they’ll realize that you want to help them succeed as well. This—surprise, surprise—will make them want to help you too by finding ways to buy from you.
The circle goes around and around and you’ll develop a confidence that is contagious.
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