Previously we talked about…

The Fear of Disapproval

The Fear of Not Knowing Enough

The Fear of Failure

Fears prevent action and action is the key to your sales success so identifying and removing fears is serious business.  In this post it’s time to talk about…

The Fear of Losing Money

photo credit: s.thornton

Recently a friend shared a story.  There was a lady who entered the furniture store where she works who was literally agonizing over the purchase of a $30 clearance lamp.  After a couple hours of checking back with her my friend says, “Please don’t take this the wrong way but it’s only a lamp… it’s not like your risking a kidney or anything.  If you like the lamp and you can afford it perhaps you should just get it.  However, if $30 would really impact you perhaps buying the lamp just isn’t a good idea.”

The lady bursts out in laughter saying, “You’re right honey.  I’m making way too much of this.  Let’s go to the checkout.”

What are you really afraid of?

In most cases you aren’t risking everything on a purchase.  In most cases you’re trying to decide on an investment that will:

• make you money
• make you more likeable
• be fun
• improve your health
• give you more control
• increase your self-esteem
• increase your happiness

Or an investment that will:

• save you money
• keep you from failing
• prevent rejection

All very important things we all want.  You desire those things and in all likelihood you could purchase the thing you want.  When I say could purchase I mean you either have the money or could get the money to complete the purchase.

Of course, you don’t want to trade your good money unless the value you’ll get from the purchase is greater than the money you’re giving to get it.  So you’re weighing the decision.  When the scale tips in favor for purchase you act like the lady with the lamp.  You really want to buy BUT you can’t seem to make a “yes” decision.  Just like the people you’re trying to sell your stuff to.

Why are you stuck?

The reason you’re laboring over your decision is because:

• You’re afraid of getting screwed
• You’re afraid of looking like a fool
• You don’t know how you’ll explain your decision to your spouse, in-laws, or neighbors

So now what?

Okay, you understand why you really fear losing money.  So now what do you do?  How about putting things in perspective like our friend the lamp lady?

• If you invested in college for yourself or your child because you thought it was an investment in their future then why is it a risk to make an investment in yours?
• If you were wrong and you made a poor investment how would that impact you in the grand scope of life?
• What if you got even one really good thing from your investment, could that one really good thing be worth your entire investment?

What successful people do…

There are a couple commonalities among all successful people:

• They are never afraid to take calculated risks
• They make decisions quickly and change their minds slowly
• They take action with fierce determination

What’s keeping you from action?

Is there an investment you want to make yet haven’t because of fear?  Using what we’ve talked about so far I want you to make a “yes” or “no” decision right now and I want you to stick with your decision.  If you decide “yes” then lay out how you’ll explain your decision to others.  Or, perhaps you decide you have every right to invest in yourself no explanations required.  If there is one thing you can say about money it’s that money comes and goes.  It’s a replenish-able resource.  You can’t say the same thing when it comes to experiences.  Sometimes the experience alone is worth the entire investment…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under sales coaching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Related Posts

• 7 Killer Sales Fears Part 7
• 7 Killer Sales Fears Part 6
• 7 Killer Sales Fears Part 5