sales Archives - Darryn Van Hout

Don’t Take Rejection Personally

Darryn Van Hout — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 19:25:47 +0000

Are you that kind of a person who takes rejection personally? Well, don’t expect to grow! That’s right, and this post is for you; try digging in to the end.

Of course, the emotional pain that comes with rejection can damage our self-esteem, moods and affect our well-being. Yet, as you shall see in this article, the biggest damage caused by rejection is actually self-inflicted.

Three months into the year of 2021, four of my major clients backed out of our contracts almost at the same time. In no time, my monthly income plunged from $15,000 to $1,200. My world crushed insultingly; so unbelievable how all the four could leave at once. And honestly, the rejection I felt run deep.

Whether you experience a slight inconvenience or major happening, the emotional pain of rejection really hurts. When you decide to pursue a promising opportunity only to be met with the stings of denial, it hurts even more.

Yet, being rejected doesn’t spell the end neither is it innately negative. Actually, it’s how we interpret it that turns it into an opportunity or impediment. For me, losing the four key clients was just a setback that set me up for a greater comeback. I’m glad it happened that way.

But why does rejection hurt so bad? — and how should we internalise it?

We cannot sugarcoat the agony, shame and embarrassment that come with rejection. According to fMRI studies, feelings of rejection are associated with the same neural pathways that trigger physical pain.

As a matter of fact, one study discovered that swallowing Tylenol reduced the emotional pain caused by rejection.

Scientific research aside, our society today looks at rejection and failure as two sides of a coin. If you’re not considered for a promotion, you’ll inform everybody around you that your boss “rejected” you or that you “failed” to meet what was expected for promotion.

Eventually, we start thinking that the reason we didn’t get the promotion is because we lacked something. That explains why we get fussy over rejection—since it caresses our ego to make it focus on itself. What didn’t I do? Why did they give him the promotion instead of me? Was I not qualified enough?

Rejection taken personally inhibits your growth

Look at rejection as a chance to reflect, make changes, grow and become successful. Unfortunately, our reactive perception of rejection swathes it with negativity making it difficult to look at it otherwise.

For instance, when you keep telling yourself that….

Rejection must be avoided → That’s pre-rejecting yourself. The state of pre-rejection will make you stop applying for jobs, shy away from taking up new challenges at your workplace, or you will stop making proposals and asking someone out before they even say no.
When rejection hits us → The world is against you. When we see rejection as unfair, we end up feeling like the victim. Yet in reality, life isn’t out to intentionally harm us—it’s totally mediocre. Such a neutral mentality plays a key role in helping us make bold decisions.
Rejection is permanent → It stops you from trying. When we keep telling ourselves that rejection would last forever, we shut ourselves from making the most of future opportunities. And just because you were denied a particular opportunity such as a role at your dream job doesn’t mean you’ll never have chances. Steven Spielberg is a living testimony of this.

Why rejection has little to do with you

Not taking rejection personally can be hard but the best way to overcome it is by applying reason. Here are some reasons which prove that rejection isn’t always as serious as it seems.

1. It’s a way of communication

Looking beyond the emotional hurt you will realise that rejection passes a message. According to blogger Amy Tang, this message “is simply information regarding compatibility between you and what you were rejected from.”

So, what you do with this information is entirely up to you. But again, rejection has a lot to do with information relating to compatibility.

For example, the MIT’s announcement explaining the reason as to why they were forced to re-institute the SAT/ACT (no, ACT isn’t Advanced Card Tricks) requirement after taking a short break: their research revealed that standardised tests were more accurate in predicting student academic success at MIT.

Here’s their explanation about the change:

When we talk about evaluating academic readiness for MIT, that doesn’t mean we are measuring your academic potential, or intrinsic worth as a human. It only means that we are confident you, at this specific moment in your educational trajectory, can do well in the kind of hard math and science tests demanded by our unusual education.
MIT announcement

If you find yourself rejected by your Tafe or university owing to your exam scores, the message is simple: your quantitative skills couldn’t match your theirs. Period!

2. Our inner narrative doesn’t say the truth

In our minds, the world is all about us. Every interaction is filtered through our perceptions. When we are rejected by someone, then they have poor thoughts about us. But hey, we have NO idea what others think about us.

Brianna Wiest, the author of 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, explains:

We assume that people think the way we do—because our internal narrative and process of the world is all we know.
Brianna Wiest

In reality, there are a million and one things going on that we can’t see.

From the face value, we’ll only see the job rejection but won’t see the company considered an employee who has been working with them for years. We’ll focus on the “Read at 7:55 p.m.” pop up. But won’t see how the recipient of the message is driving and can’t respond right away.

3. Rejection takes up only a splinter of our identity

Rejection can prompt us to re-think our attitudes and re-evaluate our self-worth. However, rejection only highlights a very small portion of who we truly are. Imagine yourself proposing a fresh idea at work and your boss ignores it. It’s your initiative that gets measured up and assessed, not your whole self worth as a person.

How to turn rejection into opportunity—not a barrier

It’s surprising that rejection can end up being the most constructive thing to ever happen to you. Even when that means losing all your best clients within a week.

Look at rejection as a sign of growth

Have you been rejected lately? Great! This is an indication that you’re on your way forward. Since, if you’re not facing any rejection occasionally, it could mean you are evading change hence stagnant.

Keep in mind that rejection is a sign that you’re taking up new opportunities. The world will never throw opportunities at you—you have to take yourself out there and go for them.

When I lost four of my biggest clients at the beginning of the year, it had to do with the fact that my business depended more on these four clients. As an entrepreneur, I needed to increase my client base to achieve more stability.

Sure, this was a setback. But it was a sign that my business had grown to a point of attracting such serious clients that could sustain my business.

Just a reminder that rejection is also an indication of healthy resistance. For instance, if customers reject your rates for your products or services, it could also mean that your prices are great. You can’t appeal everyone.

Take rejection as an opportunity to learn

You may not see it right away, but rejection gives you a great opportunity to learn.

You can use it to gather information about a given situation. For example, during a job search you may send your resume to 30 companies and only hear from two.

What if you improved your resume instead of lamenting over the 28 unresponsive companies? Would the results change? Consider rejection as a data point and make relevant adjustments, then continue with your race to greatness.

Rejection gives you a chance to enhance your skills. You can start by asking yourself, “why not?” And this entails understanding the reasons behind a specific decision so as to enhance it in the future.

If you’re a digital marketer, then you will be familiar with the ‘split testing’. Use method this in everyday life. You will be surprised at how much faster you will excel professionally and personally.

Rejection was a blessing in disguise

After my four clients dumped me, I took time to analyse the reasons that led to the situation. This happened in the thick of COVID-19 when lockdowns were the order of day and people had to work from home. Managing employees virtually put a strain on my ability to deliver services effectively in the way that I use too. Past this shame of burnouts and rejection, I felt something else, relief.

Being a seasoned sales professional, rejection is built into my professional identity. I am still human though, holding my clients close to my chest. This aside, I still had to go through the motions.

I took a break just to revitalise and recover from the pain of rejection. I gained the courage to ask my clients what exactly had happened and to my surprise, it was nothing personal—two were experiencing similar challenges as I was, another’s budgets dwindled along with staff moral while another closed down operations shortly after. And even if their reasons could have been personal, for example, negative feedback on my services, this would still have been an opportunity to learn and improve my solutions.

Clearly, none of my ex-clients pinpointed my inherent self-worth. Yet the situation of the rejection gave me the opportunity to cold-pitch new clients, find new ways to provide solutions virtually and become more forward-thinking.

And finally, the rejection got me writing this article.

The post Don’t Take Rejection Personally appeared first on Darryn Van Hout.

Overcoming The Top Five Sales Objections In 2020

Darryn Van Hout — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 11:13:57 +0000

In the ideal world, your potential customers are willing, ready and able, thanks to the effective lead qualification process. Sadly, none of us live in the ideal world, so obviously we should expect objections.

While these are unavoidable, you can always learn how to overcome them more smartly, and creatively turn a ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ to a straight ‘yes’. Here’s how to achieve this.

“No means not now.”
If you’re in sales, this is one of the top rules.

How To Overcome Objections

We’ll take a minute to cover specific objections though there is a more defined process for overcoming objections. Put it into practice in order to learn more about overcoming objections—regardless of what it takes.

Generally, this process involves four basic steps:

1. Listen and Identify

Even when your prospects spell out their objections, be sure to listen. Rather than jumping in to give an answer or justify your product or service—or worse still interrupting your prospect before they finish sharing all their concerns, give your prospect enough time to speak. This helps them feel like you’re genuinely concerned and interested in helping; this boosts your chances of closing the deal once you address the objection.

2. Understand and Empathise

People can be complicated sometimes. We don’t always say what we mean and even if we tried to, our words are often misinterpreted.

It’s therefore crucial to digest and be able to rephrase your prospect’s concerns and demonstrate that you truly understand their objection (or that you really don’t understand, hence giving them a chance to correct you).

For instance, you may say “Just to be sure that we are on the same page here, your concern is that our onboarding costs are very high, so it’ll likely take longer and cost too much—for you to get value of our product. Is that right?”

There could be other underlying objections your prospect hasn’t shared, or may just have alluded to. This might require you to ask open-ended questions just to unearth all the objections before you respond more effectively.

3. Isolate

It’s one thing to get an objection however as a professional sales consultant, you’re responsible for controlling the conversation. Isolating an objection is often skipped on the basis of hope that you can overcome this objection quickly to close the deal.

You should always isolate the objection directly after or as part of your empathetic response.

“I can certainly understand what you are saying. Now so that it’s clear in my mind, is this the only thing that’s stopping you today?”

This simple phrase will lock the objection in, and in most instances prevent the buyer from responding with another objection. Throwing in ‘today’ subtlety puts emphasis on closing the deal now.

4. Respond

Whether or not your prospects’ concerns sound serious to you, be sure to acknowledge that their concerns are valid. If they seem to think that you’re not taking their objections with the weight they deserve or just trying to lure them into an agreement, your chances of closing the deal are very slim.

If you feel you have the authority to handle the objection at hand, don’t shy away from doing it. Otherwise, just explain that you may need to push it up the flagpole and schedule an appropriate time to revert to them.

5. Confirm and Overcome

Recap the objection and confirm with the prospect that if you would overcome the objection they would be willing to go ahead with the deal.

This next part is very crucial as there’s no need of taking your time to overcome an objection if it won’t get you closer to securing business. Keep in mind that some prospects will simply never buy no matter what you to—in which case it should never be considered as an objection but rather a brush off. If they have insufficient budget, aren’t a fully qualified prospect, have no authority to make the decision and have no signs of escalating your pitch to anyone higher in the chain of command, then you are probably wasting your time.

In summing up, these four steps could be narrowed down to the following:

Prospect: “I honestly can’t take this any further because I fear caterpillars, and there’s one right there on your logo.”

Listen and Identify and I – Employ active listening skills.
Understand and Empathise – “So you mean you have a caterpillar phobia, and even mere pictures of caterpillars make you uncomfortable?”
Isolate – “Is this the only thing that’s stopping you from signing today?”
Respond – “I totally understand. Phobias can really have a serious effect on everyday life. I bet we could probably remove the logo from your instance of the tool. Would that help?”
Confirm and Overcome – “Great, so if we can go ahead with this, I’ll speak with the tech team to see about removing that logo.”

Overcoming Specific Objections

After reviewing the basic process, here are the 5 most common sales objections you’re likely to face, and how you should handle them.

1. “Now isn’t a Good Time.”

Timing objection is so common for a couple of reasons. As a matter of fact, there are two underlying objections here: 1) Personally I have no time to handle this and 2) This is just not the right time to buy it.

Either way, you need to do further investigation to know how to handle this objection.

How to Handle It

If your prospect feels it’s not a good time to purchase, consider the following before going any further:

Ensure the prospect is qualified (avoid wasting your precious time)
Don’t oversell just because you feel desperate

Check this article for more inspiration on how to respond to this objection. Try a few until you find those that best suit your style. The main goal is to cause the lead to come to own conclusion that now is the best time to proceed.

If the prospect seems too busy, consider #5 below.

2. “Too Expensive.”

This objection can be ambiguous and while your prospects could be truly lacking cash, it could also be a brush off or they may not really think your product or service is of much value equivalent to the cost.

How to Handle It

Again, you have to work smart to get the real reasons for the objection. Pause for a few seconds after the prospect objects the price, as this will prompt them to voluntarily provide more information. Give them time to talk after which you can ask a few questions to really get to the root of their objection.

Find out why the prospect thinks your product or service is expensive (probably in comparison with alternatives). In most cases you’ll realise their reason is a mere vague feeling and nothing concrete. Here, employing a few hard facts can help put their minds at ease.

If you think the prospect just requires a little reassurance, explain the pricing in relation to the ROI and how much it would cost the prospect if they failed to act. It’s more about demonstrating its value and less about proving that the product is worth its price.

3. “Competitor is Cheaper.”

This sales objection is commonplace and once in a while you won’t miss to meet a target who will try to shut you down by mentioning your competitors. Take this as a blessing in disguise since a true comparison with a worthy competitor will give you a chance to highlight overlooked opportunities and ride on them to bring out new ideas. It’s possible that the target is well informed and knows exactly what they need (since they have been researching more about your competitors or talking to them), relax, this will sure save you time.

How to Handle It

Ask questions to find out how well they know the competitor or the offer received from them. While they may not be willing to switch to your product or service immediately, be sure to use it as a learning experience and if they happen to highlight problems that your product or service can solve, you’re in luck as you may just end up making the sale.

4. “It Doesn’t Have This Extra Feature.”

In this time and era, consumers are used to and expect personalised products. Sometimes that can happen and other times can’t. If it’s impossible, you can choose to go and make your prospect feel like your solution is actually personalised by giving them more time during your interactions and listening keenly.

How to Handle It

Sure thing, customise where you can and to the extent you’re able to. But also understand that if your prospect asks for something you can’t provide they may just not be a good fit after all.

5. “I Don’t Have Time to Talk to You Right Now.”

Despite sounding like a mere brush-off, this objection can sometimes be true as rarely do people have anything extra nowadays. If your target seems too busy, there’s simply no guaranteed solution, give yourself a pat in the back that at least your alternatives are quite straightforward.

How to Handle It

First, try to find out if truly it’s a lack of time or something else. By following the above general objection process, your interaction may sound like this:

“I’m sorry I really don’t have time to talk to you today.”

Listen – Pay careful attention.
Understand – “I perfectly understand. I’m swamped too, and this is definitely a crazy time of the year.”
Respond – “I honestly don’t want to waste your time. I can tell you about the product in exactly three minutes. If you’re really interested, I’ll send you more information, and if not, we’ll leave it at that.”
Confirm – “Awesome, so not more than three minutes of your precious time. How does that sound?”
- If your prospect says yes – “Excellent, can I go ahead now?”
- If they say no – “I’m looking at my calendar; how about today afternoon at 3 o’clock?”

If the answer is still a no, you may have to explore more deeply to understand what’s really going on. If you’re struggling to find your way around the objection, assume the target might truly be in need but that need isn’t huge. If this is the case, you may have to reassess the target’s journey to this point as you could have missed something that makes them feel the problem is less important.

Punching It All Together

There you have it—5 most common objections and opportunities to turn them into real sales. Ideally, if you practice and perfect the general objection technique, you’ll remain with a virtual skeleton key that will help you deal with any form of objection that may crop up along the way.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that objections are a natural part of any sales process and not necessarily a reflection of your skills as a salesperson. As a matter of fact, an objection serves as the training ground to perfect your technique. If you never face any, you may be missing out on priceless chances to become an excellent salesperson.

If you wish to horn your objection-overcoming abilities even further, this is how to take it to the next level:

Perfect your sales process from start to finish. Remember that objections don’t pop up in a vacuum, and if you break the other parts of the sales conversation, then the whole process will collapse (objection or not).
Practice makes perfect. Practice on the job, in front of the mirror as well as in your personal life. Your sales numbers will impress you.
Self-awareness is important. Any person can learn the sales and objection scripts, but employing them with flair requires a lot of empathy, patience and understanding. Be sure not to patronise your leads or recite responses like a robot.
Know when to call it quits. Of course, the data compels us to contact a lead multiple times in order to gain greater chances of getting through, but it reaches a point when more follow-up is unwise. So pay careful attention to the signals your prospect is or isn’t sending.

The post Overcoming The Top Five Sales Objections In 2020 appeared first on Darryn Van Hout.

Psychology Says You Can Actually Sell Anything, So Long as You Use These 5 Hidden Switches

Darryn Van Hout — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 06:05:50 +0000

It’s always the number one thing on every sales rep’s mind—to pitch better, sell faster and win more customers. I can tell you for free that it is possible and can be found in the power of persuasion.

Mastering and practising the art of persuasion is a must for anyone looking to set up a successful business. If that’s you, below are a few timeless switches to help you tap into the possibilities of human psyche and eventually turn potential customers into real buyers.

But first, did you know that the most seasoned and notable marketers worldwide don’t consider marketing as an “art form” but as an exact science? I thought you should know.

This is simply because marketing, just like any other science, has been researched so extensively, tested since time immemorial and proven to the point of predicting exactly what will work or what won’t.

I’ve been deeply interested in understanding the art of persuasion and marketing, and this has compelled me to study and learn from the very best—Seth Godin, Robert Cialdini, Gary Vaynerchuk among others.

After tapping into the experience of these marketing gurus, putting into practice and trying out a few marketing methods for about a decade, I can confidently confirm that there’s no brand in the world that can’t sell if you and I can just hit the five switches hidden in the human psyche.

1. Solution Switch:

Prove that your product provides a solution to their problems

People don’t just buy products; they buy solutions to their problems. If you can convince your potential buyers that your product offers a solution to whatever problems they might be facing, you will capture their interest and ignite the most important switch needed to make a successful sale.

For instance, if you are making a sales video to promote online businesses, as an innovative online entrepreneur, first ask yourself what would lure you into purchasing a sales video from another seller for your internet business. Is it the humour or creativity in the sales video or the additional effort and attention involved in making it? It’s definitely none of the above given that true excitement has nothing to do with features of a video but more about the leads and prospective customers generated by the sales video. So the next time you have a product, don’t market it, instead sell the source of your potential buyer’s excitement.

2. Trust Switch:

Become the authority figure

Trust is a fundamental element of making a successful sale and regardless of whether consciously or sub-consciously, every customer wants to confidently purchase from a legit source. One of the effective ways to gain a customer’s trust is to convince them that you’re actually an authority figure—a trusted expert in your field.

To demonstrate how crucial the trust switch is, try and recall the last time you went to see your doctor and why most people trust their doctors. It’s because doctors are considered as authority figures when it comes to matters health and medicine. That’s why when doctors tell us to do this and that to fix our health issue; we obey because we trust them even though we have no idea about the medical reasoning behind the solution they recommend. This very reality underscores the reason why trust is a great persuader. When you consider someone as an authority figure, you will buy anything he or she sells to you.

3. Likeability Switch:

Befriend your target customers

People resonate well with those who share their beliefs and values, and find it difficult relating with those who don’t. In the same way, customers will prefer buying from marketers they like. This is the main reason why some sagas like overbooking by United Airlines and BP oil spill became a PR nightmare for the respective companies and resulted in significant declines in business. It’s no wonder that companies will go out of their way to publicise their philanthropy acts.

This switch works best on a higher level particularly of a company’s image, but is even more powerful when applied at the customer level.

Customers always want to feel that you are truly dedicated to their well-being and that you’re listening and understand their needs and wants. This means you should know your customers’ needs and tailor your product or service in a way that solves their distinct problems.

When you befriend your customers and build robust relationships with them, you curve for yourself a niche that is above your competition since customers will not view you as a selfish corporate brand, but rather as a friend.

4. Evidence Switch:

Give proof, not promises

In most cases people are sceptical as to whether or not the product or service will provide the ultimate solution they hope to get from the purchase. This uncertainty leaves them teetering on the edge, given that sometimes it can be challenging to determine the quality and usefulness of the product or service you’re selling before buying and using it. In essence, customers are wondering, will signing and paying up for this marketing course truly turn me into a smarter salesman and multiply my earnings? Will purchasing this brand new outfit make heads turn? Will paying a little more to get a professional resume writing service really increase the number of interview invitations I will get?

This is where you need to come in. Give your prospects some sensible reasoning, customer testimonials and quantitative data that validate the truth and solutions they are looking for.

Feed them with hard evidence that supports the fact that they should expect to reap all the benefits they expect when they choose to purchase your product or service, and be sure to win them over as enthusiastic consumers.

5. Emotional Switch:

People buy on emotion, then they justify with logic

This may seem like nonsense however the statement makes perfect sense to me. I learned this basic sales fact at the start of my career yet can confidently say that I relied on my teachers experience when practising in my first sales role.

Hey, I didn’t have a psychology degree but it worked!

Through an extensive career in sales and business I have experienced first hand the pro’s and con’s of not only applying this to sales. What’s more important is understanding the psychology behind it.

The choice to buy a product or service is a subconscious choice, and it’s these subconscious decisions that are developed deeply through an empirical mental processing system followed by it’s own logic or justification.

In short, turn your product or service into a customer-centric story, allowing your prospective buyer to feel a part of your idea. Do this by identifying your customers needs and emotional triggers.

How you say? well this depends on your marketing strategy. For example, in direct sales you can develop a series of questions that escalates the triggering of the emotional switch so that you can efficiently close.

In conclusion, it is the understanding of human psychology that will aid your efforts to increase sales within your role or your business. If you are making sales without applying this then imagine what you can do to your bottom line when you adopt these 5 hidden switches.

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5 fears every salesman must overcome to be successful in sales

Darryn Van Hout — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 02:40:32 +0000

FDR, a renowned leader once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” At the time, he was referring to war and political issues. Regardless of that, the same old saying does so perfectly, apply to sales.

When it comes to sales, facing your fears isn’t any easy walk in the park. And I get it. But did you know that nearly all the things you are afraid of will never happen? Fear is simply emotions emanating from peptides present in the brain.

Of course as marketers or salesmen, we all feel BS fear at some point but before you flat out and avoid facing it completely; this post is timely and will teach you how to get over this 4 letter word. So keep reading!

Fear is just another 4 letter word that starts with F……

If you’re going to generate any money in sales and become successful, facing your fears is paramount. It boggles me seeing how sales people struggle with fear. And it’s not that you’ll not close the sale, or the prospect will kill you—neh! Yet countless salespersons continue to wallow in fear.

To be a solid salesman, you must man up and overcome the 5 fears below. Facing your fears head on is the secret to leaping from a wonderful salesperson to a renowned one. Let’s dig deeper into a few anxiety-filled situations to find out how we can face and fix fear.

1. Fear of Not Making Money

This fear is expected especially if you have no ambition to work hard. When it comes to sales, this is how it works: the more hands you shake, the more the sales and the more money you make. Your main assignment is to get out there and shake the hands of as many people as possible. Connect with more people, talk to them and you’ll make good money. It’s that simple.

Truly, many salespersons have become penniless to the extent of having to beg for a job somewhere. It sure happens. But if you can work hard, understand your product and keep being consistent, then you won’t have to worry about making money.

2. Fear of Rejection

If you can’t overcome this fear, you might have to throw in the towel just now. I know without a doubt that the fear of rejection is a real deal for most salespeople. To earn money in sales, you’ve got to get over this fear and get over it real quick.

An effective way of getting past the fear of rejection is to step out with confidence, pitch your products and get used to it. The more people reject you (and trust me, it will happen), the more you’ll get used to it. You cannot overcome this fear if you aren’t trying. So go ahead and face all the rejection and get them out of your way and learn to be confident in sales regardless of whether you close or fail to. After all, rejection isn’t entirely about you, it’ about them—now say that again back at yourself!

3. Fear of Annoying People

As a salesperson, you’re definitely going to piss potential customers off. You can’t make everybody happy. Most people, especially the low end buyers, are hard to please. It’s your job to initiate uncomfortable conversations with potential clients. If they get pissed off, it’s their problem, not yours.

Always be aggressive and push for the sale especially if you’re dealing with the right prospect. Potential clients often have some kind of BS objection with which they hit you with and the moment you move past it, friction is created. Don’t be afraid of the friction. Just keep your cool and keep closing. Eventually, they will buy from you and will even be excited that you pushed them through to the close. I’ve done these thousands of times.

4. Fear of Looking Stupid

We all do stupid things sometimes. That’s just how humans are wired. From trying to sell the wrong product to uttering the wrong things and at the wrong time, and so looking stupid will at some point happen to you. Thing is, just accept this fact and keep selling anyway.

The most effective, tried and tasted method to help you avoid looking stupid is to stay informed about every single aspect about your product. When you educate yourself more, the more you’ll know, and the less you’ll come off as someone ignorant and dumb. So go on and study, practice and just get over it.

5. Fear of Commission-based sales work

Yeah, making the transition from a salary to a commission-only sales job can be scary particularly at first. Hunting and killing down only that which you’ll eat isn’t for the faint hearted. I know the idea having a sales job that is 100 per cent dependent on closing deals to get paid truly freaks many marketers out there.

But here’s the thing; don’t be scared of working on commission. In fact, what you SHOULD be afraid of is working 40 hours a week for a sales job that pays you significantly less than you earn in sales. Salaried workers are everywhere. Commission closers are strong-minded people who are aggressive and choose to win no matter what. Instead of being afraid of commission, fear salary.

In conclusion

The most effective way to avoid fear is through education and action. The more you learn, the less fear you’ll have, since you will know better. If you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed with sales fears, do not hesitate to follow me and my work on Google+, Facebook and Twitter and put your fears to rest.

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