For more than 30 years, I’ve trained and coached salespeople from companies of all sizes and from a wide range of industries. And in all of those thousands of coaching sessions, I’ve found that there are two steps in the sales process that generate the most anxiety, fear, and stress in salespeople.
One is prospecting. The idea of cold calling, networking, and seeking out new prospects can cause knots in the stomachs of even the most seasoned and successful salespeople.
The other fear-inducing sales activity? Closing. The anxiety, of course, is wrapped up in our natural fear of hearing one simple, powerful word – NO. It’s the same reason why we got nervous asking our parents for a toy as children. Or why it can be so difficult to ask someone out on a date. [Read more…]