Fear And Loathing In The Sales Arena

A phobia that prevents so many business owners from being successful, even though they have top quality products and services, is fear and loathing of selling.

I think that it is even worse, when culturally it is deemed 'shameful' to sell one’s self or one’s products and services too overtly. Certainly we Brits seem to have a complete aversion to selling and being sold to.

Those who have sales phobias believe that if the product is right, they will somehow just know where to find it and will not need to ask anything more about it.

The phobic owner is convinced that their product or service should be self evidently what the prospective client is looking for and that any attempt to bring it to someone's attention is somehow in bad taste or will reflect badly on the products, or worse still the salesperson.

At all costs we must never appear pushy.

During my seminars, I ask attendees to think of words that come to mind when I say ‘Sales person’ or ‘Selling’.

Without a moments hesitation I am bombarded with a vast range of negative accusations: dishonest, lying, pushy, slippery, uncomfortable, etc. etc. By contrast successful owners realise the need to personally promote their business and are prepared to overcome any initial reluctance. They volunteer to speak at conferences, seminars and business groups. They also understand the concept of helping a client to buy and actually enjoy contact with buyers.

They understand that 'good selling' goes hand in hand with being open, honest and informative to prospective clients.

Your Business Reflects You !

Over the years working with dozens of different businesses, I am struck by how a business reflects the attitudes and behaviours of the owner. I am also struck by how few owners realise this simple fact.

I have heard it said by owners so many times, "you can’t get good people to work any more". I immediately look at the owner to see why they might have trouble getting good people to work for them.

What I find when I ask about their beliefs reveals that they do not trust anyone and do not expect people to want to do a good days work. The owner sees it as a battle of wits to stay one step ahead of their staff.

Is it any wonder that a business owned by someone with this attitude becomes a place of cynicism and mistrust.

Without invoking the old adage of paying peanuts and getting monkeys, I have met owners who place a completely disproportionate importance on the cost of salaries and yet they will happily pay too much for services such as, electricity, computer supplies etc. but begrudge their staff every penny of their salaries and delay paying bonuses until the last possible moment.

If the owner does not respect the contribution made by staff why should the staff bother to make an effort?

Successful owners pay to get the best people they can and then train them well. This means their staff can deliver top class service to customers and owners can happily delegate whenever possible.