How to Overcome Your Fear of Selling

It’s surprisingly easy to eliminate your selling fear, and the first step in that direction is to acknowledge your fear. Next, identify how it slows you down. Finally, use self-talk to overcome the inertia that fear can create.

Step One: Acknowledge your fear.

Success cannot happen without knowledge. Fear feeds on itself. If allowed to get out of control, it will lead you into panic and despair. So the first thing is to realize that you have fear: “I am fearful – I feel fear.”

Step Two: Identify the fear and how it affects you.

Tell yourself, “Okay, I feel fear.” Then ask, “Now what am I fearful about?” You may find, “I’m really afraid that if I lose this order, my boss will fire me.” Or, “I’m fearful that I won’t make the commission that I need to feed myself and my family.”

Step Three: Reassure yourself with positive talk.

You’ve probably cheered on others whom you care about by saying, “I know you can do it!” “Go for it!” “You’ve done it before, you can do it again!” That is what you need to say to yourself, too. Tell yourself: “There is nothing to be afraid of. I’ve been here before and I’ve grown through it.”

Imagine that the first time a pilot flies through clouds, he doesn’t know that a cloud is just water vapor. Because he can’t see through it, he doesn’t know yet from experience that he isn’t really going to crash into it. But once he goes through it and has the experience of getting through it, he’ll know from then on what to expect based on experience.

Dealing with your fears may feel a little awkward or even threatening at first, but the benefits are enormous. When your fear is reduced to zero, your self-esteem goes up. When you can project confidence to a client, you instill confidence into that client, too. When you see yourself as a worthy person, a client will perceive you as worthy and will perceive your product or service as a worthy investment.

Now take a piece of paper. Divide it into three sections. Label them 1) Fear, 2) How it affects me, and 3) Reassurance.

Write down all the fears you are currently feeling. Then write down all the effects of those fears on your daily life.

Finally, in column three, write down your logical, reality-based experiences with previous fears.

Now, how do you feel about your ability to handle your fears?