In the last post I went into detail about the Fear of Disapproval…  7 Killer Sales Fears Part I

Success demands action yet fears keep you from taking action… SO dealing with fears is important business.  In this post we are going to talk about…

The Fear of Not Knowing Enough

This is a biggie that effects everyone selling something new or starting a new business.  You feel like you have to know everything about whatever it is you sell before you can go out and sell it.

Reality check…

No matter what you’re selling no matter how much you study it’ll take you 2-3 years before you “know enough” and that’s only if you get your behind out there and SELL SOMETHING.

All that time you spend “boning up” on your product or service, all the time you spend preparing to sell, is costing you money…  because you aren’t out there doing the one thing you must do… SELL.

The reason this fear is holding you back and keeping you from selling is YOU think selling is telling.  You think you have to do most of the talking.  You think you have to have all the answers.  That’s completely backward thinking.

The 3 Things You Must Know

There are 3 things and only 3 things you must know before you can sell your stuff.  When you know these 3 things you’re ready to get out and start selling.

1. Who is most likely to buy your stuff?
2. What are they already looking for?
3. How does your stuff help them get that?

Here’s why this is all you need to know to get out there and sell.  The first thing you have to do is get yourself in front of the people most likely to buy your stuff.  I call these the right people.  You can’t do that if you don’t know who these people are.  Plus you can’t find the right people when you think everyone wants your stuff.

When you know who is most likely to buy your stuff it’s a whole lot easier to find those people and get yourself in front of them.

Just think about it.  What happens when someone approaches you and starts talking about something that doesn’t interest you?  You tune them out, right?  When you know what the people most likely to buy your stuff are looking for… and you talk about that… is it any surprise they want to talk to you?  You won’t have to beg them to talk to you they’ll want to talk to you.

Once you have the attention of the right people and they’re ready to talk to you what do you think you need to do?  Talk, right?

WRONG! 

Shut up and listen.  Ask questions for understanding and clarification.  Find out the 3 most important things or concerns they have about what they’re looking for.

Your job is to LISTEN & QUESTION not talk

Then you simply say something like… “If there were a way to get (the 3 things they just told you) is that something you’d be interested in hearing more about?”

Then…  “I’m not sure; however, I think I may have something that can help you with that.  Would it make sense to get together so you could see if it’s right for you?”

Now go back to your office, appointment in hand, and do your homework to come up with the 1-3 options that fit their needs.  That’s right learn what you need to know as you need to know it.

photo credit: GlennB

You can’t swallow a whole watermelon and you can’t learn everything you need to know before you need to know it.

Hold your appointment.  If they ask a question you can’t answer simply respond… “That’s a great question, before I answer I want to check a few things to make certain I don’t miss anything.”

Benefit to YOU

There are huge benefits for you when you remove this fear.  When you overcome this fear you will:

• Get more appointments
• Hold more appointments
• Close more appointments

Unfortunately; many entrepreneurs, business owners, and sales professionals waste years and potential income focusing on knowing about their products or services.  Wasted resources because all you really need to know is: who will buy your stuff, what they’re looking for, and how your stuff benefits them.

When you can tell people what your stuff does for them in a powerful way this fear is instantly removed.  You don’t have to struggle trying to figure out how to attract prospects.

photo credit: dno1967

The clock is ticking.  Each day your fear of not knowing is keeping you from action and costing you money.  Each day you can’t answer the 3 most important questions in selling is costing you money.  How ready are you to start making money?

Are you dealing with this fear now?

Have you overcome this fear?

How much is this fear costing your or how much did this fear cost you in lost income?