Timid Salespeople Have Skinny Kids

I’m a salesperson.  Professionally for nearly 30 years, then as a business owner – still in sales.  And really, we’re all in sales.  We constantly share ideas, opinions, and emotions with others, hoping for a good connection (the sale).  And I know that kind of “sales” isn’t really scary because of how it’s framed in our minds. Knocking on doors, dialing for dollars, networking when we don’t know anyone – now that’s next level!

So now that I’ve defined all interactions and exchanges of ideas, let’s talk about that other guy. The hunter. This is where, if the exchange of ideas is not accepted, this guy doesn’t eat. No commission, no food.

Sales is a great training ground if you choose to see it that way. Sales challenges you to step into ambiguous, and stomach-wrenching situations. Every sales interaction has with it a potential for rejection. And no one likes rejection.  As we mature, we learn its value, but upfront, it’s just downright uncomfortable.  That’s why few people make it in sales, at least not in the traditional hunter/gatherer sense.

Back up 25 years. I am a young salesperson just starting out.  I’m all suited up in my new uniform – black suit, double-breasted I might add, white starched long-sleeved shirt, power tie, black belt, black shoes.  And scared as hell. 

My first sales job found me in my boss’s office with a bowl of business cards she accumulated at the latest business show.  On my first day, she took me back to her office, instructed me to sit at a small desk just inside her office, showed me the fishbowl of business cards, and said, “Call the people on these cards, qualify them, and set appointments to discuss how we’ll make their world better.”

Then she sat down at her desk a few feet away.  I almost passed out. But I didn’t and instead picked up the phone and remember nothing after that.  The next day I still had a job.

Fast forward a few years and here I am pulling into the lot for an outdoor networking mixer, for which I paid to attend.  I see a pretty big crowd and immediately decide to just drive on by. And go home.

I never fell in love with cold calling, but I gained confidence through it and eventually pushed through the fear, gained experience and confidence in my sales and myself. It paid off big. Same with networking mixers.  I still don’t like them, but once I go, I’m rather good at meeting and learning about people I don’t know. And in the early days, I challenged myself by not going with a friend – so no crutch. I had to do it a lot and eventually pushed through that fear.  I got better.

Cold calling, networking, public speaking, starting a new job or business, there’s fear in all of these. Fear is just faith in a negative outcome. If faith is involved and it’s a choice, why not choose faith in a positive outcome? Fear knocked at the door, faith answered, and no one was there.

Fear can stop us, or it can motivate us. 

It motivated me.  And made me much of who I am today.  What does fear do to you?