Show notes
When I say "get over being scared of selling," that doesn't mean that you have to engage in methods of contact that you're really, truly uncomfortable with, right? That means finding a path, finding a path that works for you, finding a path that works for your people. Finding a path that works for your prospects and clients, right?
And there's always a path. There is always a path to get there.
David: Hi and welcome back. Are you scared of selling? If so, get over it. Today, co host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing that very topic. Welcome back, Jay.
Jay: Hey, it's a great Halloween topic, right? Being scared. My kids are watching scary movies all of this month and I participate in a scary movie all day long when I have to pick up the phone and I have to talk to people who I don't know and convince them why my services are what they need. Please write me a check.
That is a scary prospect when you think about it.
David: Yeah, entrepreneurs basically are facing Halloween every day. In a lot of cases, a lot of ways, whether it's making phone calls or making payroll or making decisions, making rules, it's always about making something.
And the whole idea of being scared of selling, I hear this from so many people that I thought we needed to address it. And when I say get over it, that sounds very insensitive, and perhaps it is, but it's also very necessary.
Jay: Yeah, I mean, it's the reality. If you're in a business model where you have to sell, then you have to get over it. It's just that simple, and if you don't, then you're going to constantly be struggling.
And it's not something that you're going to do from day one, but it is something that you have to be determined to do.
David: Yes. And when I say this, I don't mean to put anybody down, right? There are a lot of really good people who have really good reasons for being scared of selling.
Certainly in their minds, they've got really good reasons for it. And I'm not taking any of that away. It's a fact. The fact that there's a term called "call reluctance" indicates that there is a level of fear based here to the point where they had to create a term for it.
So, what I find is helpful -- particularly if I'm interacting with salespeople who are running into this situation -- and a lot of times they won't even say they're scared of selling, but ultimately that's what comes out. One of the things that we have to look at first is why are they scared?
Why are they scared of selling? Is it fear of success? Is it fear of failure? And a lot of times we hear blanket terms like that and they're like, "Oh no, it's not that." But sometimes it is.
Sometimes it's variations of that. I'm afraid that if I call and they say no, it's going to hurt my self esteem. That's fear of failure. I'm afraid if I do too well, people are going to resent me and think ill of me, right? Some people think that way. So any of those preconceived notions that we have about what our sales success will do to us, for good or for bad, are going to impact our actions.
And that's why I say we need to get over those things, right? We have to get past those things and once again, deal with reality. I've been on a sort of truth quest lately in terms of let's not look at what we think about. Let's not look at what we fear. Let's look at what's true. Let's look at what's real in the market right now.
If there is somebody in the market right now who is afraid to interact with prospects or clients, it's going to impact their performance because it's going to impact what they actually do.
If you're scared to pick up the phone, you won't pick up the phone. If you're scared to send an email, you won't send the email. Or if you do, it'll take a lot longer than it should.
And then that's four other emails that you wouldn't have sent in the meantime. So we have to get over it. And a lot of it starts with the why.
Jay: Yeah, the why is important. And I think it's also to kind of look at what you're doing. I fall into the trap of, you know, email works really good, so I'll just email instead of picking up the phone.
So I'm slipping into those comfort zones, right? And making excuses that that's just as good. So I'm taking the path of least resistance.
David: Right. And then blaming the prospect for not replying to the email, right? When email may not be their primary method of communication.
And there are a lot of people who do the opposite. There are people who have done phone all their lives. And the idea of having to deal with the indignity of having to send a text, right?
There are some people who are like that as well. And they may want to make a phone call, but if the person that you're reaching out to doesn't like taking phone calls, there are some people who see the phone ring and they're like, "who on earth is trying to call me?" They get really mad about it.
Jay: That's me. Yeah, that's me. So this is my question and I'm glad we're talking about this because I'm a salesperson and I have these hesitancies and these fears and we say get over it and I know you, you never mean just get over it, you mean there is a path forward to get over it, right?
And so, let's talk about that. What are those steps? You're talking to me and I have to make phone calls, and every day I get up in the morning and I dread it. David, what can I do to begin the process of overcoming those fears?
David: Well, one of the things that we do with all of our clients is we look at what are the actual fears? What are the things they hate doing? Right?
And if somebody comes to me and they say, I hate making cold calls. Then if I go back to them and I say, "well, our program requires you to make 72 cold calls a day," that's not going to work for them.
But the good news is that they don't have to do that, right? A phone call is a marketing vehicle. We talk about the MVPs a lot. I'm not going to get into it in this podcast, but there are lots of different marketing vehicles. And when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
If all I know how to do is cold calling, I'm going to want to do cold calling.
There are people online now who say, selling is all about Instagram, right? And that's all they know so that's all they talk about. The truth of the matter is there are lots of different ways to reach out to people. And there are lots of different people who like to be reached out to in different ways.
So we have to match up what we're ready, willing, and able to do with the audience that also likes to do things that way, right?
So if I were to say to you, you have to take phone calls from now on and you don't want to do that, then what I would do instead is I'd say, "okay, let's look at all the other alternatives that could help get you in touch with as many or more people as you're in touch with now without having to utilize a lot of the tools that you don't like using."
Now, will you have to use them occasionally? Probably. But if you can get things set up to the point where you're utilizing the marketing vehicles that you're most comfortable with, then your job will be to connect with other people who are on the same page as you.
Jay: Yeah, I think that's really interesting, can you accomplish the goal focusing on your strengths instead of just trying to do it the way everybody does it? Cause that's the way that, you know, sales has been done for the last 50 years or whatever else.
In my case, calling somebody cold is the most terrifying thing in the world. But once I'm on the phone with somebody, if that phone call was generated in a different way, I am comfortable, I am relaxed, I build rapport, people thank me for the information that I give them, so I really excel once I've overcome the initial cold call portion, right?
I know I've shared this with you and our listeners. I've set up that system where we convince people through online means to set up a free consultation with me. So now I've overcome the cold call part because they're expecting the conversation.
Now I can shine, right? So we adjusted our business model. Now I have a business partner who would cold call anybody, for any thing. And so he takes on anything that deals with that aspect. So we're lucky to be able to divide and conquer based upon our strengths.
David: Yeah. And all of these things are tools. A phone is a tool. Social media platforms are tools.
It's all just various tools. And when people get too married to the idea of one particular form of contact, they set themselves up for failure because those types of things change. And if we're not ready for the change, if we only have one particular way of doing things, and we now require another way of doing things, it's going to take a lot longer to adapt.
Jay: Yeah. And I also think, as you're trying different things, tracking those different things. And we've talked about this many times. We just did a webinar. We formed a partnership with a company and we did a webinar with all of their clients. And we thought this is going to be a great opportunity.
And yeah, we lined up the free consultations. But out of about a hundred of them, I've closed one. So it's like, okay, I didn't have to cold call. I didn't have to do these things. I filled up my calendar. But in the end, was there any value to it?
Not yet. You know, maybe in the long term, but not yet. No.
David: Yeah. And the value is learning that this doesn't work as well as other things I'm doing, right? So you're testing and you're looking at the results of the test and saying, okay, is this something that I want to do again? And how long will I cultivate them?
And then the other 99, you know, then the question becomes, all right, how can I disqualify the poor quality prospects as quickly as possible and musical chairs. Musical chairs it down to maybe 10 or 12 or 20 or whatever that number ends up being.