There is the 3 ‘C’ holy trinity when describing the traits of a perfect salesperson: Confidence, Charisma, and Charm. These are the first things we look for in a candidate when hiring a salesperson and it can easily outweigh their work experience during the interview. They seem to have their own gravitational force that draws sales right to them and they are the shining stars of their company. Say what you want, but people who are born with the gift of the 3 Cs are given a huge advantage in life and if they become salespeople, they exploit it like crazy. But what about the rest of us? How do we become a confident outgoing salesperson? How can we learn and develop the crucial level of confidence needed to be successful in sales?
Almost all salespeople struggle with self-confidence. Even the superstars have the occasional moments of self-doubt. A career in sales is a career of constantly taking risks which is why learning confidence is so important. Easier said than done, right? There is, however, a simple substitute for Confidence and it is called Faith. These two traits are so similar that many people have a hard time distinguishing the two. And that’s the beautiful part of all of this because faith is much easier to teach than confidence. Faith is a simple matter of making a decision about your beliefs and adhering to that in all that you do. You’ve been doing it your entire life and you will continue this until you die, so why not apply this technique to your sales? Here are 5 tips that use faith as a pathway to confidence.
- Faith in your product – If you don’t believe in what you are selling, then neither will your customers. Every salesperson who starts with a new company has to go through the process of mentally selling the company’s products and services to themselves first. If you do not have faith in what you sell, then you are not fit to sell it. What you sell doesn’t have to be perfect, but if you can be honest about all aspects of what you sell and how it ultimately benefits your customer, you are now one step closer to being confident.
- Faith in your process – Sales teams are breeding grounds for critics and cynics. It is just easier to take a position on why something won’t work instead of why it will because it involves less risk. You create your own defeat before you even begin. No wonder things aren’t getting better for you. It is time to silence your inner critic and embrace faith in the methods in which you can sell. Pick up the phone, follow your script and try that new sales technique you just learned. Faith is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Faith in yourself – This is going to be the hardest one for you to learn because you have a lifetime of reinforcing your self-image. Faith in yourself is the little engine that could. It is the daily affirmations that flood your social media. It is silencing the voice that says you don’t deserve good things. You need to make a decision that you both can and will achieve your goals. Create the belief that things are going to be different and do everything you can to reinforce this awakening.
- Faith leading to confidence – What is the difference between faith and confidence? Confidence means acting out your self-assurance based on what you believe to be the evidence of success reinforced by what you accept as truth. Faith is forming an understanding of a belief with little to no proof. All faiths are leaps while confidence stands on solid ground. That faith leap is the process of getting over the gap that is keeping you from the confidence you desire. The more you believe something the more it becomes the truth to you and the truth will eventually become the confidence you have been seeking.
- Faith is the key to success – Confidence is a skill and faith is a structure. That’s why faith is easier to learn and why it is also a great substitute for confidence. Every person steers their lives around their beliefs. You have no choice but to follow that process, but you do have a choice in what you believe. So why not have faith in your success? Not every successful person has confidence, but no one would be successful if it weren’t for their faith. The key to success is faith in knowing you’re right.
At Scorecard, we create great salespeople. ,,Tools, training, and coaching will enable you to spread your sales wings and fly with confidence. Contact Aaron Jacobs at ,,ajacobs@scorecardsales.com to get started.
