Selling Techniques
Michael Campbell

Is fear of selling keeping you from converting your prospects into buyers? Here are my top 10 techniques for squashing fear and transferring your confidence to create happy lifetime customers.

Selling... probably one of the most feared words in the English language, right up there with public speaking. But if you've ever persuaded someone to see things from your point of view, you're already a salesperson. Here's how to nip the fear of selling in the bud.

What are you afraid of? Fear of success, fear of failure, acceptance, judgment, what everyone thinks about you, your clothes, your haircut, the car you drive? You know what? Forget about it.

Fear has to do with punishment. Don't worry, no one is going to punish you for having an ugly web site, or lousy selling techniques. You might not get many people converting to buyers, but how can you get good at something unless you practice?

If you think about it, fear is just an absence of love. The only cure is to add love and compassion. That's why the first newsletter I wrote in the summer of '99 was... love what you do. If you honestly add value and truly want to be of service and help people, it's a far more abundant attitude than a mere sales mentality.

If you are truly helpful, people will want to buy from you. All you need to do, is transfer your confidence to them. That's all selling is really. To make someone as comfortable about their choice as possible. But they won't be confident if you're not.

That's why, you need to know as much as possible, about what you are selling. Suppose I come to you and say, "This where I am now, but this is where I want to be."

That measure, or distance between the two, is your opportunity to make the sale. This is where it's crucial to understand, which product will best fulfill my needs. Sometimes, it's not your product. But I expect you to know that.

That's one of the biggest mistakes that salespeople make. Going after the short term, or single sale, rather than building the lifetime value or relationship with the customer. That said, here are a few rules we can apply to conquer the fear of selling, whether it's a product, service, or selling ourselves.

1) People love to buy, but hate to be sold. So sell what people want to buy, not what you want to sell. One road leads to riches, the other to poverty.

2) Believe in your product. Know the features and benefits. But also know when it's not right for a particular situation. People will respect your honesty.

3) Say the right thing on a continual basis. Stick to the truth, what you've experienced, the facts, and first hand proof. Avoid hearsay or stories you've heard others tell. In other words, keep hype to a minimum, or better yet, remove it completely. Hype doesn't work anymore, especially on customers less than 30 years old.

4a) Don't use the tired phrases and wording that everyone else is using. They don't work anymore. (Words and phrases like; skyrocket, through the roof, amazing, fantastic, incredible, outrageous, ground-breaking, special, time limited, never again, powerful, reveal, exposed, moneymaking, fortune, profit.)

4b) All of the words in the list above, should be permanently banned from your sales vocabulary - and your sales letters - if you want to reach todays buyers. Todays buyers have their hype meters on full alert, and are quick to say, "bullship" totally ignoring the rest of your message. In fact, these hype words are so associated with spam that they won't even get past most email filters.

5) Go after the long term relationship, even turning away business that's not a proper fit for you, your company, or your personality. If there's something that bothers you about a prospect, even if its a small thing, it will seem 10 times bigger down the road. Choose your clients - your relationships - carefully.

6) Don't train your customers to wait for a sale. Offer good value at a fair price at all times. Above all, offer exemplary customer service. People will always return to someone, or a place, that made them good.

7) Think service, not sales. Ask what you can give in any situation, not what you can get. Start by being compassionate towards your customer.

8) People buy on emotion and later use logic, to justify a purchase decision. If you appeal to the emotion, the end result, how something will make someone feel, focusing on benefits, or feelings, as opposed to features, your conversion rates will be much higher.

9) Sell what you know. For knowledge is certain, not mere perception. Help customers make a wise decision. Make them feel good about their decision, by transferring your confidence to them.

10) Finally, when the time is right, don't be afraid to ask for the order, with a strong call to action. Say, "Can I wrap one of those up for you?" or "Would you like to take one home with you?" On your web site do the same thing, "Click here to have it delivered to your door." or "Click here to download it to your computer immediately."

Follow these top 10 techniques to squash your fear of selling, and you'll be well on your way to more confidence, which when transferred to your prospect, will make them a happy customer. One that rewards your desire to learn, inform and serve, with a long term relationship, returning time and again, as a customer for life.

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