“Self-confidence is a superpower. Once you start to believe in yourself, magic starts happening.”
I read this post (attributed to ‘Unknown’) and it got me thinking what that means with respect to the security industry salespeople I train and coach. Salespeople must possess a certain amount of self-confidence to do their jobs well. It’s tough to hear ‘No’ often yet ask for the business again and again, without faltering or losing confidence. As a lifelong sales professional, I can assure you that self-confidence does not just happen. We develop it in many ways, through a combination of factors. These are my top three ways to create self-confidence in your sales, as covered in my Security Sales Mastery course.
Be thoroughly knowledgeable in your field.
If you’re uncertain about your information, you can fail to communicate important details in your presentation in the hope your prospect doesn’t ask something you don’t know. Your hesitation is felt, even unconsciously, and impacts your prospect’s trust in you. They don’t know why you’re tentative, but they’ll sense it, and it makes them cautious and less likely to buy.-
Be prepared for every selling opportunity.
Make sure you have everything necessary to deliver your pitch and close the deal at each visit. Include everything you use to present to a prospect and have it at hand. Anything you want to demonstrate should already be queued up on your phone or iPad so there is no fumbling to distract from your presentation. When you’re fully prepared from the start, your confidence is evident. -
Use your own product or service.
If you don’t use the product or service you represent, how do you expect to influence someone else to do so? The late Zig Ziglar said, “Always make the first sale to yourself.” Through your day-to-day use you develop confidence in what you sell, recognize its value for yourself, can answer your prospect’s questions through a personal lens, and share feedback from your own life. This personal investment creates true self-confidence when speaking to prospective customers.
Self-confidence really is a superpower, and the magic is what you will accomplish when you create self-confidence in yourself and your ability to make the sale.
