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Confidence Equals Sales Success.

Guest post by: Meridith Elliott Powell

Article Overview: Confidence is the very foundation of sales. If you build your confidence you will close more sales. Remember, buying is emotional and people want to buy from people they believe in and they feel confident in. The energy you are conveying, the attitude you have when you come through the door will have more impact on your ability to close that sale then anything else you do or say.

Confidence Equals Sales Success.

Confidence is the key to sales - bottom line! Yes, everything else we discuss in these articles is important but confidence is the foundation. Ask yourself these questions - do I believe in myself? do I believe I can do it? do I believe in the product I sell? If the answer to any of those is no, then you will forever struggle to turn your prospects into customers. Yes, it is that simple and that fundamental.

Now, here is the good news. If your answer is no, no problem, you can easily turn that around and take steps to build your confidence. No one starts out and no one is always confident. Confidence is something you grow and develop. Confidence stems from learning and investing in yourself, taking time to prepare for meetings and sales calls, and taking small risks to try new ways of doing things. Each step you take, each time you invest in yourself, your confidence builds. While it is a slow process, once built it stays with you and transfers into all aspects of your life. It is powerful!

Confidence and personal belief are at the core of sales, so if you want to be good at sales you need this rock solid foundation. Need to build your confidence? Try these simple steps and watch your confidence grow:

1. Get a clear vision of what you want - Take the time to sit down and figure out what it is you want to accomplish and then write it down. Then read it out loud first thing every morning. Yes you heard me out loud! Confident people are clear about what they want, and they can easily articulate it. There is not a right or wrong vision, just your vision. So write it down, get your mind set to visualize it every single day.
2. Study and learn - Devote time each day to reading, studying and learning. Consistency is key here. Limit your time to thirty minutes or an hour at most (I find introverts will study too long, extroverts will lose interest if there is not a time limit) but be consistent. Information and knowledge are key to your ability to grow and develop. You gain new perspectives, gather new ideas and get motivated by new and energizing solutions.
3. Learn to fail -Shift your thought process when it comes to rejection or lost opportunity. If you are not failing you are not risking enough. Grab failure as both a growth and learning opportunity. Instead of focusing on the failure, focus on what you could have done differently or what you learned. The thing about failure is no one cares but you, no one expects you to never fail but you. Focusing on the negative emotion of the failure is a waste of your precious energy. Energy that can better be used to move you forward.
4. Think positive - This is big and easier for some then others. However, everyone has the ability to "catch" negative thoughts and turn them into positive thoughts. Start your day with saying ten positive things about yourself. Again, write them down, post them and say them out loud every morning. People truly underestimate the power of positive thinking and their ability to shape their own thoughts. Thought provokes action which provokes results. Grab hold of your thoughts and you will build your confidence.
5. Reward Yourself - Be nice to yourself. For every little thing you do right pay yourself a compliment. That's right, I said be very nice to yourself. You are making change, you are growing, positive reinforcement is critical. If you made ten sales calls this week, treat yourself to some small pleasure you enjoy. If you made one but were supposed to make five, compliment yourself on the one and decide on a reward for next week when you meet your goal.
6. Avoid negative people- My favorite quote, my mantra is "you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." Unfortunately, for most of us our belief system is shaped for us by those with whom we spend the most time. We do not even realize that the negative messages we take in all day long are shaping our thoughts, our actions, our results. Change your negative crowd, your negative television shows, your negative reading materials and you will change your belief system.

If you believe in yourself, believe in your ability, believe in your product you will not only be able to sell, you will be passionate about doing it. Confidence is the key, you build your confidence you'll enjoy watching as your prospects turn into customers!

Related Articles
  The Role of Self-Confidence in Success
  When Sales are Down these are the 3 things You Don't Want to Do
  Sales Training – Salespeople Debut of Confidence
  Leadership Qualities
  Are You Confident Or Cocky?

Article Tags: business sales stratatgies, confidence, sales confidence, sales strategies



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