How you think about yourself, the esteem in which you hold yourself, determines your personality and your attitude. It is the foundation of your character. And, it is the cornerstone to your success. How do you view your strengths and weaknesses? How much do you like yourself? How much do you respect yourself? How do you view your physical, intellectual, and emotional attributes and strengths? What about your weaknesses? Do you recognize them? Are you constantly looking for ways to minimize or reduce them? Do you enjoy how you relate to others and do you see yourself as a worthwhile person? Do you consider yourself valuable and able to contribute to the world and to the lives of others? Do you enjoy the things you do, both professionally and personally? Are you at peace with who you are? If you answered "no" to any of these questions it may be affecting your sales success, and you might have some work to do in this area. Author Nathaniel Branden in his book "The Six Pillars of Self Esteem" identified six areas that make up our self-esteem. Let's look at how these six pillars could relate to your sales success. 1. Self-awareness Self-awareness implies that you know yourself, and knowing yourself requires reflection. Thinking about who you are and how you impact other people will improve your interaction with prospects. People who are aware of how their behavior impacts others are more likely to recognize when things are going wrong during a sales presentation and change tack quickly. 2. Self-acceptance Most of us to some degree battle with negative self-talk. That voice in your head that tells you you'll never make this sale, that people don't like you, that you never were going to amount to anything. When you buy into those negative messages your response to them is conveyed subconsciously to anyone listening. If you don't believe in yourself, people will wonder why they should believe in you and buy anything from you. 3. Self-responsibility There is nothing worse than listening to people whine about not getting anywhere in life but who never do anything about it. Or those who constantly blame others for what they do or don't get in life. Have you ever listened to a salesperson complain about how tough their boss is, or how tough the market has been, or even that they'd rather be working for their competitor? It turns you off doesn't it? Strong self-esteem takes ownership of decisions and actions and never blames other people or circumstances. 4. Self-assertiveness Passive people allow others to walk all over them. Aggressive people don't care how their self-expression affects others. Somewhere in the middle of those two extremes is the assertive person who values what others think and feel, but who also values their own internal beliefs and needs and is willing to let others know what they are. When you understand assertiveness in your own life, you can encourage your customers to be assertive about their needs. Sometimes they may be afraid to tell you what they really want. By assuring them you hear and value what they have to say, you will be able to get to the root of their needs. 5. Living purposefully Knowing there is more to life than this sale, makes you infinitely more appealing to a customer than someone for whom the sale is life and death. Being balanced, having goals and bringing the rest of your life into the sales experience, will help people be at ease with you. 6. Living with integrity When your customers or potential customers see that what you say is what you do, trust is built and trust equals sales. When they know you won't badmouth a competitor, you deliver on time, you give more than what was promised, and they can depend on your honesty, you've won them over for life. Increasing your self-esteem will have an impact on your sales. Consider these pillars, and work on those that you feel may not be working fully in your favour. Then watch your success grow. |