Developing Sales Confidence

November 2, 2011 By 53 Comments

 

It’s an occupational hazard. We pitch a prospect, their defenses come up and it feels as though we are talking into nothingness. The less experienced seller thinks they’ve said or done something wrong while experienced ones have developed a healthy callus.

Here’s a strategy—don’t get hung up on approval.

Give yourself the inner approval to continue; carry on knowing that what you are saying is pushing a button. Assume so. It’s getting to them even if they show their poker face.

You have the power to not go down the sinkhole with customers—that’s self –mastery.

It’s alchemy actually and you can master this.

How? Stay connected to your core and confidence and cajole. Inject a lighthearted joke, or share something self-effacing—don’t make them wrong. They are either trying to make you squirm or they genuinely don’t want to be had or are thinking.

Here’s the biggie: you don’t have to be super serious to be seen as smart and capable. Levity goes a long way. Sometimes customers need a break from the heavy burden of decision-making and changing up the pace helps the two of you get through it and get on the same page.

The best advice I received was to practice pitching into nothingness. Pitch your cactus or a dining room chair and see if you can keep your energy and conviction when you aren’t getting any signals. It’s a wonderful practice to stay behind yourself and your wisdom and keep explaining.

Filed Under: handling objections, Sales confidence, women and selling Tagged With: , ,

Increase Your Appeal

October 18, 2011 By 3 Comments

 

We have assets and we know it. I am talking about our sexuality and playing that card. Please don’t click away, you. With a company named “Sell it Like a Woman,” I can’t resist this topic, and I know it can be a polarizing powder keg. I believe we are different from men — Duh. Haven’t you experienced using the very same words only to find they have a different meaning to them? It can be both frustrating and kind of funny for all of us. And it validates that we are different; not better or worse — just different. We have some advantages that I want to illuminate so you might acknowledge them consciously and decide how or if you will use them.

It’s always interesting to get messages from unlikely places when I am thinking about what to blog about. This one came a couple of weeks ago when I was driving on the freeway and listening to the radio. I heard Catherine Hakim interviewed. She is the author of Erotic Capital, a sociologist and a professor at the London School of Economics. I was intrigued and titillated when she stressed the importance of tapping into your erotic side. Simultaneously I felt just a little annoyed when I thought “not this topic AGAIN.” To be transparent, I liked her explanation so I will share it with you because it’s real and we can be conscious about it.

Let’s be honest here: most of us know we can call upon our powers of attraction in the boardroom and the bedroom even if we don’t always play that card. The way Hakim frames it makes you reconsider cultivating your erotic appeal. She calls it the 4th dimension to social, cultural, and financial prowess because it capitalizes on personal career advancement.

Hakim’s controversial point of view is that erotic appeal combines sex appeal, fitness and social skills. I want to add brains in here but I didn’t write the book. She went on to state that erotic appeal could be used very well in politics, art and sports. I say, in business too. Do you dare?

I usually call it the “It factor,” an amalgamation of all your strengths, mystery and charisma. When we don’t repress our looks, social savvy and all our education and wisdom we increase our “It” factor. When we feel good, it is sexy. People move towards you like moths to a flame and respond to your vibe. I invite you not to downplay your charms — see them as value-added gifts and enjoy all the chances you can to use them. If you feel resistant, just notice it. Does it serve you? If not, I was helped and healed when I read Marion Woodman’s book, Conscious Femininity. It will open up your world, and today we need to access our womanliness too. Not only can you dazzle others, but you will also advance causes and light up other people, too. Your whole package makes it easier to put your ideas across and engage and enroll others.

Filed Under: law of attraction, relational selling, woman entrepreneurs, woman sellers Tagged With: , , ,

Should you trust your intuition?

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Yes and no. Intuition when preceded by the word “women’s” and said by men or manly women cheapens it— implying it’s unreliable, weird or just too mysterious to bank on. That’s why we turn our backs on this marvelous gift instead of harnessing the power.
You can call it trusting your gut, using your belly brain or getting a hit—and you’ve experienced how reliable it is. That’s because ladies catch concepts and notice patterns and put it all together in our library of a brain for later use. And like profiling, when we experience something similar to what we have known we recognize the larger picture and viola we receive a message. A flash of inspiration that says, “the last time someone told you that in this context it worked out horribly—don’t go for it.” Or a picture or a feeling that makes you want to bolt. This happens in a blink of a eye at a subconscious level.
Helen E. Fisher says that our brain circuitry evolved so we could size up people and situations that threatened our survival and being able to tune in allowed women to save their babies. This is why women have an edge when it comes to reading people. With thousands of years of development you need to understand that we are accessing something amazing. At the very least –listen to the hunches and couple it with logic to double check your belly brain.
Intuition is one more tool for making choices.
Here’s when you can trust the reliability:
1) When you have experience in something your instincts will be sharper. For example, you grew up driving in extreme weather conditions so even though you might live in Florida or California you need to honor your instincts to stay home when it pours.
2) When your body talks to you. If you feel exhausted, get a horrible headache or experience pain when you are around a prospective customer than something is “off” and wrong, this may not be a great fit. ( If you are skeptical see if you can’t find someone who knows them and get a beat on them.)
3) When you are going to invest beaucoup bucks or time notice your feeling and check it. If you are going to spend thousands on a course that promises the world and it feels wrong you need to sleep on it. If you are going to spend lots of time on a project—check to see if it feels right. Use your logic and check on it —see if there are lots of bad reviews.
Intuition isn’t 100% reliable. But it’s a valid tool for making choices and a very cool GPS. I use it to follow my joy. If someone feels good and it feels right I trust it and proceed.  Here’s the caveat—when it feels really right it’s rarely wrong. My buddy created a live website on spec for a company, her partner warned her not to go all out because she only had 24 hours to do it. She ignored his advice because she had strong chemistry with the prospect and the deal worked out to be a $30K+ deal that went well beyond website development. She told me she just knew. We need intuition and logic to prosper in this economy—don’t ignore half of your brain. 
Filed Under: confidence, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,