5 psychological barriers in sales

There are different psychological elements that, at some point in our business career, stop us from closing sales, let´s have a look at them and find out how we can overcome them.

Before identifying these elements, it is a good idea to ask ourselves: How can I increase my commercial performance and what can I work on personally to emerge stronger from any crisis.

The actions we take to overcome a crisis is to flow rather than face the fact that there is something stopping us from moving forward. In other words, we have to live through the crisis and get the most out of it.

We can think that the mistakes that salespeople make when they assist our clients are the lack of planning or not listening to the client, the lack of follow-up, having an urgency to sell, not preparing ourselves before selling, not knowing the product, predisposition to failure.

The main cause that can make us fail in our sales is the lack of effective contact with customers. In sales you have to get into the field and have contact, we must maximize interactions. The more we talk to them, the more they will be aware of our product. And if at that moment they say no, talking to them constantly will allow us that when they require a product similar to mine, we will be on their minds.

Identify the barriers to overcome them.

Fear of rejection. This fear is normal and human, especially when we start in sales. When we feel rejection, we stop calling, because we become paralyzed. The question we should answer is how long will it take you to call the next customer? From 1 to 5 minutes after they said no to you. It´s sad and frustrating, but we recover quickly and move on. From 6 to 19 minutes starts to be a problem, because if we make a call every 20 minutes, in an hour we will only make contact with two or three clients; more than 20 minutes is giving way to depression that stops you from continuing. If we talk about one day passing, we are totally boycotting ourselves.

The solution to this barrier is simple: We have to be strong and work on our resilience. Don´t take it personally, when they say no, they are not saying no to you, they are saying no to the product, but at some point, they might buy it.

Identify what you are afraid of and make a strategy to manage to overcome it through positive thoughts and actions.

For more tips, watch the following video: https://youtu.be/GxFkp3J1WtE

Train and prepare yourself every week so that you feel more confident in front of the customer.

Negative thinking. It is natural to question ourselves, even more so if we are going through a crisis such as a pandemic. If we are assuming what might happen to our customers or prospects, we are boycotting ourselves.

Let´s deal with realities, not assumptions. Let´s take care of the internal discussions that we have with ourselves. What we tell ourselves ends up convincing us.

Control only what is possible: our attitude. The thoughts we are having are our responsibility, if you catch yourself thinking negatively, change your attitude and the world outside will change.  

At this point I recommend the book Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone.

Anxiety during the execution. It is normal to feel nervous when you have to do something important, what is not right is to avoid doing it under any pretext or to postpone things because we are in anxiety. Some symptoms of this anxiety are: stomach ache, excessive sweating, headache, itching, nervous tics.

We need to remove anxiety in order to reach our goals. One way to get it is to breathe. Inhale and exhale.

Watch this video, it will help you to practice correct breathing. https://youtu.be/WjEE-toATXg

Get out of your comfort zone. Let go of your fears, engage in healthy stress activities and make yourself do the things that will help you reach your goals. Do what you fear the most, repeat it and recognize the symptoms of your anxiety.

Excessive ego.

It is the unhealthy belief about the importance of oneself. It translates into arrogance and self-centered ambition. This stops us from improving because we believe that we do everything right, that we have the product well in hand and that we are the best sellers. Let´s have the humility to admit that there is always something to learn. Let´s not pay so much attention to that little voice that tells us "I already know that", because it is the ego talking to us. Turn off that voice and allow yourself to learn and improve. Become a student and find your teacher; be grateful for your successes and give yourself constant feedback.

Perfectionism. "The only way you will never fail is when you don´t try, but if you don´t try you won´t succeed either." Making mistakes allows us to learn how to improve. Fear of failure hinders us when we want everything to be perfect, you must accept that no one is perfect.

Challenges are as follows.

Fear of rejection ->Resilience

Negative thoughts -> Attitude

Anxiety to perform -> Training

Excess of ego -> Humility

Perfectionism -> Acceptance