Selling is a skill and a mindset, it can be learned even if it does not come naturally.
One of the biggest things that can hold you back from selling more products is, fear of selling. For some, talking to people and making suggestions comes easily, for others that are more introverted, it can be a whole new learning curve.
Most beauty practitioners are caring, gentle people and by nature can be an introvert. So to stand out, and put yourself out there can be uncomfortable to downright painful. What's at the core of these uncomfortable, painful feelings is our fear.
FACING OUR FEARS
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| know your fears |
There are many difficult and frightening times when we have to face our fears. And, the surprising truth is, we all come face to face with our fears eventually. Here are just some examples of what people fear the most:
- learning a new skill
- death
- loneliness
- being in an unfamiliar place
- a new job
- becoming a parent
- public speaking
- getting up on stage to perform
- making a difficult decision
- approaching new people
- handling a difficult situation
- fear of failure
- fear of ridicule
- fear of rejection
- selling retail products
UNDERSTAND THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE
When you experience fear, your body is primed for flight or fight. You can either back down, hide, or run away, or you can be courageous, stand tall and take action. The difference is knowing when is the time to back down and when is the best time to take action.
Fear is not always a bad thing. Fear can be very useful because it cautions you and alerts you to danger. If there is no immediate danger to you or the people around you, such as selling a product to your customer, then you can take control of your fear. But too often, we allow our fear to control us and to control our lives. Do not let fear allow to control you. If you do, you will miss out on the life changing opportunities and you may never experience life to the fullest. You need to stay calm, take control of your feelings, weigh up the options of the situation and then make a rational decision that will help you and serve you best.
MY STORY - HOW I BUILD MY CONFIDENCE
One of the things that have helped me overcome my fears is learning how to get into the right state of mind, where I can control my decisions, and my fear is no longer controlling me. Many years ago, I attended the Anthony Robbins “Unleash the Power Within” weekend, which was absolutely life changing.
On the final night of the workshop weekend, we were given the option to challenge ourselves, to majorly step out of our comfort zone, face our fears and do the fire walk. I didn’t want to do it at first. The fire pits were white hot, and radiating incredible heat when we stood near them. I saw all the people in front of me doing it, they didn’t get hurt, and when they overcame their fears and did it, they were jumping around with joy and their friends ran to them to congratulate them. The incredible sense of power and achievement they exuded was inspiring. I thought if they can do it, so can I.
So then, I made up my mind I will do it, and I started focusing and getting myself into the right state of mind as we were taught. This meant I wholeheartedly knew I will do it, I saw myself do it in my mind and felt the exhilaration of having done it. I felt an intense belief in myself in every fiber of my being. Then, I went for it. And I did it!!! What an incredible experience it was!
REINFORCE AND REMEMBER YOUR SUCCESS
Enjoy the feeling of success and file them away so that you can tap into them when you need them again.
This was an extreme way to teach us how to overcome our fears, to be brave and to just do it. The most important thing is to reflect on your success and how it makes you feel. Enjoy the feelings of success and file them away so that you can tap into them when you need them again. The feelings of success are the kind of experiences in your life you want to file away and remember. Your successes give you more confidence. The more successes you create in your life, the more confident you will become.
MISTAKES WILL LEAD TO SUCCESS
Success does not happen straight away. Sometimes we have to make mistakes and learn from them before we succeed. The light bulb was not invented overnight. It took thousands of experiments to make it work. Each failure, however, will bring you closer to success.
In sales and customer service we are challenged every day to talk to clients, to educate and to make product and treatment recommendations. From time-to-time, we also have to deal with difficult situations. For example, having to call your customer if you haven’t seen them for some time to invite them back in; approaching a new customer; making product recommendations and asking for a sale, or dealing with complaints and unhappy customers.
Instead of focusing on your fear and how uncomfortable it makes you feel, remember your previous successes you had, tap into those feeling that made you feel confident, then focus on the client in front of you to determine their beauty needs and what the solution is. Then teach them how to get the results they want.
Here are practical tips for facing your fears and building your self-confidence.
1. Take control of your fears
When you are faced with having to sell products and it is making you feel uncomfortable, take a deep breath and count to ten as you slowly exhale. Focus on your breathing. This will help to distract your mind from your discomfort. Do this once or twice until you feel calm and collected. If this does not help, you need a change of scenery to divert your mind. Go outside, get some fresh air, have a drink of water, close your eyes and tell yourself everything will be all right. After all, what’s the worst thing that can happen? There is no real physical danger. The world will not end if they say no. Remember the answer will always be “No” if you don’t ask. The answer will sometimes be “Yes” if you do ask. Which gives you and your customers a better chance of success?
2. Check your self-talk
Whenever you feel yourself thinking a negative thought, delete it, erase it and create a new positive statement.
Listen to what you are saying to yourself. Are you saying things such as, “They probably can’t afford it”, “I don’t want to appear pushy” “They probably don’t need it” “I don’t believe in my abilities to help them” “I really hate selling”? This kind of negative self-talk will drive your behavior, your attitude and contribute to low self-esteem and low confidence. This kind of self-talk will lead to failure. The good news is, you can and have the power to change it. Whenever you feel yourself thinking a negative thought, delete it, erase it and create a new positive statement.
- “They probably can’t afford it” - “What if, maybe, they can afford it?”
- “I don’t want to appear pushy” - “I want them to see I care and want to help”
- “They probably don’t need it” - “I know if they use this product they will see the result they want”
- “I don’t believe in my abilities to help them” - “Let’s just try it out to see if it works?”
- “I really hate selling” - “I love helping people solve problems”
For more examples of how you can turn negative self-talk, to statements that support you and help you succeed, read: How to change your attitude - Changing your attitude can change your life
3. Control your imagination
Imagine that you are a confident and successful retail seller, you are making product recommendations and the products are just walking off the shelf. This is how professional athletes train to win the race. Before they do it, they visualize themselves doing it, and winning. They see themselves coming first across the line. Only then are they ready to run and win the race. The only thing that sets them apart from their competitors is their mind. They train not only their body to improve their skill, but they also focus heavily on training their mind, to believe in themselves, to believe they can and they will do it.
4. Be Courageous
Sometimes we just need to trust ourselves that we can do it, and then go ahead and just do it. To silence that fear, make a decision you will do it right now, step up and make that move. When you are talking to your customer, and you know they will really benefit from using that product, start by saying “I know a way on how you could improve (insert condition). Would you be interested?” then go ahead and explain to them how your products will help and how the product works.
You can overcome your fear of selling. It takes practice, a positive attitude, an intense desire to help people achieve results and being in control of your imagination and self-talk. The skills and knowledge acquired while you are learning to become a successful seller are transferable to all facets of your life and will help you grow not only in your professional capacity but in your personal life as well. Overcoming your fears makes you more confident in yourself. Overcoming your fears can help you achieve the happiness you seek.
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