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For the month of October, we move into the fearless mindset. Specifically, we are going to discuss what fear looks like in your organization. This organization can be your place of employment, your own company, or an organized cause you are passionate about.
You will find if your organization is not achieving its goals, fear is likely the culprit. We focus on removing fear from you and your organization.
When looking for fear within your organization’s sales and outreach, look for these 5 characteristics.
1. They avoid the word “NO” at all costs
2. Negative beliefs about Sales people
3. Do not like cold-calling or door-knocking
4. Face anxiety and discomfort when handling objections
5. Are not enjoying themselves
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1. Avoid The Word NO At All Costs
You will find some people in charge of your sales are so afraid of the word NO, that they never bother to ask for the sale. Those you expect to build excitement and reach out to the community are so terrified of the word NO, they allow the client to guide the entire conversation.
Since the client does not the specifics of the meeting, you never get to the meat of the topic. You are speaking high-level about what your organization is doing, but the client does not understand your expectations. I know some of you are thinking this is hard to believe, and you are right in some regards, but I am being serious.
We must remember the client cannot read our mind. They do not know you are asking for donations, selling a product, seeking an endorsement or wanting someone to contribute their time.
The best way to deal with the fear of rejection is to reframe the situation
Think of the panhandlers who are standing on the side of the road asking for money without a product. They understand that it is a numbers game. If they stand outside long enough and see enough cars, they know they are going to get a yes.
You may have seen an undercover story or two where a panhandler is making upwards of $80K a year. And if they can do it without a product, surely you can do with a product, cause, or foundation.
If you only get 1 yes out of every 10 meetings, determine how many meetings you need to have to hit your target.
Be A Hall Of Famer
My parents use to say, in baseball you only need to hit the ball 3 out of 10 times to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. What this means is you can fail 7 out of 10 times and still be among the best.
This also means you can fail 8 out of 10 times and have a decent career in the majors. So why do we walk around believing we need to succeed 8 out of 10 times to be successful?
Take a step back, take a deep breath, and ask yourself – is hearing 9 no’s to get one yes so bad? If the idea of being rejected 9 out of 10 times is still unappealing, I will share some strategies to improve your conversion rate later.
2. Negative Beliefs About Sales People
Your sales and outreach is overly worried about coming off aggressive because of their negative beliefs about sales people. They do not want to feel sleazy or feel like they are taking advantage of people.
You do not want to be pushy, but you do want to advocate for the person to make a decision that improves their life.
We all have a little procrastination inside of us, so it is our job to be willing to advocate for things we are passionate about.
I Was Fired After 2-Weeks
I had a job as a credit consultant and I helped get people out of debt quickly. We had lawyers who would negotiate settlements and we would receive a payment based solely on the savings the person received.
I had an older lady who was not sure about our service. I advocated for her to make a decision that will improve her life. However, when she was still apprehensive, I told her to sleep on it. I told her I sleep on major decisions all the time and things are clearer in the morning.
Well my director listened in on a couple of my conversations and he did not like the fact that I told people to sleep on it. If you have ever been in sales, you understand the likelihood of signing someone decreases each day they do not sign.
My director asked me what I was doing. I told him, the reason it is so difficult for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven is not because God has an issue with us having money. It is how we go about building our wealth. I just try to treat people as I would want someone to treat my parents.
My director looked at me, told me he did not think it was going to work. I told him I agreed and we went our separate ways.
You must look at your work from the perspective that you are helping your client with their immediate need. It is not about interrupting them, nor is it about getting the sale for the sake of getting the sale. It is about improving their situation.
3. Do Not Like Cold-Calling Or Door-Knocking
No one likes to feel like they are interrupting someone’s day. I think it is part of the reason text messages are so popular. You know the person can read and respond to it whenever they have a moment.
I have been a part of congregations where no one wanted to canvas the neighborhood. Everyone said door-knocking did not work, but the numbers usually tell the different story.
Two Incredible Organizations Built On Door-Knocking
- Kirby Vacuum.
- The Kirby salesperson knocks on your door and asks if they can clean a room in your house. They then ask you to vacuum the room with your vacuum. Shortly there after, they vacuum the same room with their Kirby vacuum.
- If this vacuum was sold in a store, they would not have nearly as many sales. The reason is simple. The Kirby vacuum is significantly higher than all other vacuums. Next, it does not have the marketing of a Dyson, nor does it have it all the bells and whistles. Vacuums today look like mini spaceships, but the Kirby still looks like a vacuum.
- Edward Jones.
- Whenever a new financial adviser finishes their on boarding, they knock on all the doors in their neighborhood. They introduce themselves as your neighbor, who happens to be a financial adviser. They offer a free consolation to help you achieve your financial goals. Edward Jones has built a multi-billion-dollar company by repeating this principle.
It is all about the numbers. If you see enough people, you are going to get the business. And as you get the business, you will find your apprehension about door-knocking and cold-calling will change.
If you really want to jump-start your outreach campaign, take the time to create a comprehensive plan. It can be as detailed (entire scripts) or basic (list bullet points) as you want. Your goal is to practice until it sounds natural.
4. Anxiety and Discomfort When Handling Objections
Objections are a natural part of any pitch, but it does not change your anxiety surrounding their response. You may not know it, but you are dealing with the fear of uncertainty. Every person you meet, there is a change they will love everything you have to say and there is also a chance they will feel like you wasted their time.
Humans love patterns and consistency. You probably park close to the same space at work, eat at the same handful of places for lunch, and generally wear the same 20% of your wardrobe 80% of the time.
There are plenty of ways to handle the fear of uncertainty, but I find that listing the objections you hear and then creating a solution is a great approach. You are essentially bringing certainty into an uncertain situation. The more objections you learn to respond to, the fewer you must worry about.
This will become all the clearer as you continue to hear the same objections. You will also have the awesome bonus of increased sales. As you can imagine, the ability to overcome objections is strongly correlated to your success in sales and outreach.
As you overcome each objection, you are building confidence in yourself, while also building their confidence in you and your product, service, or cause.
5. People Are Not Enjoying Themselves
It is difficult to do anything that you do not enjoy doing.
That is the number one reason I believe so many people fail at accomplishing their resolutions each year. They put a plan in place that is the void of enjoyment.
- You want to lose weight and instead of cutting back on sugars, you want to limit your entire diet to fruits and vegetables.
- You want to exercise more and instead of trying to work out one or two days a week, you try to work on one or two times a day.
You must enjoy the process if you are going to have any chance at accomplishing your goal. If you are cold-calling, make sure you smile while talking on the phone. Whether that means you read a funny joke or imagine the person on the other line in a funny way, do it.
If you are canvasing a territory, have your favorite song playing or a picture of your family handy. We are going to enjoyment, so it only needs to make sense to you.
Final Thoughts
You can have anything you want in the world. You only need to be willing to ask 1,000 people. Do not allow your fears to keep your organization from fulfilling it’s mission.