Entrepreneur? How to Overcome Your Fear of Selling
As I was picking up pizza last week for my kids I had a very interesting conversation with the owner about his business. It illustrates what fear of selling can do to an entrepreneur.
With some stores in the shopping plaza closing he shared that his business was slow. He said people weren’t even calling for deliveries. As a regular customer I had no idea he even offered delivery. Clearly he was not communicating this information.
“Why not put it in a big sign in your window to capture the traffic from plaza?” I asked.
“Oh, they should know that I deliver. All pizza places deliver.”
The fact is it’s very easy for an entrepreneur to blame the economy but the truth is no one will buy if they don’t know what you’re selling.
Here’s another example…
One of my favorite clients called me to say that she was discouraged that she hadn’t made any money from an information product she’d created. She felt frustrated that she wasn’t getting it done.
As we backtracked a bit, I asked her what she’d done to spread the word about her product. “Nothing,” she said, “I was scared that if I told them I was selling something they’d think I was being salesy and get off my list.”
Now the plot thickens…
The interesting thing about this woman is that she (like most of us) has something REALLY helpful that she’s created and would like to share with her community and sell it. She’s got a product that can help a lot of people.
The question then is “what’s getting in her way of putting it out there?”
Fear of selling. Fear of “someone” thinking she’s selling something. Fear of people dropping off her list because she’s doing more than just sending out nice content newsletters. Fear that she’ll be perceived a certain way.
Remember the Value of What You’re Offering
The good news in her case was I knew the prescription. It’s clear (at least to me) that the “simple” action she needs to take to get it done and achieve her short term goal of bringing in more money is to write an email to her list sharing with them what she’s offering. She needs to overcome her fear of selling.
Simple task but overwhelming to her because that email feels scary and has lots of strings attached. But I reminded her, “You’re not selling heroin, or used cars, you’re selling a product that makes people feel better.”
She’s offering a valuable service. I’d even go as far as to say that if she doesn’t offer it, she’s being selfish with her gifts.
Will some people unsubscribe from her list because they think she’s being salesy? YES
Is that okay? YES
She’s in business and the definition of being in business means that you make money by providing value to people. The more people you, the entrepreneur, help, the more money you make.
You can’t make money if you don’t let people know what you have to offer. Having the fear of selling is a mistake that a lot of entrepreneurs (especially women) make over and over again.
If you’re ready to move forward, but are still struggling with the fear of selling, check out my next blog. I’ll share with you 3 tips on how you can get the right mindset to sell so that you can attract more clients, make more money and have more fun!
Tags: entrepreneurs, fear of selling
