19. Do you feel insecure and worried about sales?
Colonel Sanders owned a restaurant that seated 142 people in Corbin, Kentucky, where he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and the basic cooking technique that is still used today.
In 1950 a new interstate highway was planned to bypass the town of Corbin. Seeing an end to his business, the Colonel closed his restaurant and auctioned off his equipment. After paying his bills he was broke at the age of 65. He was reduced to living on his $105 Social Security checks.
Confident of the quality of his fried chicken, the Colonel devoted himself to the chicken franchising business that he started in 1952. He traveled across the country by car visiting thousands of restaurants, cooking batches of chicken for the owners and their employees. If the reaction was favorable, he entered into a handshake agreement on a deal that stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken the restaurant sold.
By 1964, Colonel Sanders had 600 franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada. That year, he sold his interest in the company for $2 million to a group of investors. The Colonel remained a public spokesman for the company until he died in 1980. In 1976, an independent survey ranked the Colonel as the world's second most recognizable celebrity.
What does Colonel Sanders have to do with you?
Everything!
I don't care how good a sales person you are, it is unlikely that you will every sell more than 2 out of every 10 prospects on your first call. That is as certain as the sun coming up in the east every morning. It is just the way selling is.
It took Colonel Sanders 12 years to sell 600 people on his "nickel a chicken" concept. Let's do the math.
That is 50 sales per year, or one per week. To sell one per week he would have to make 5 presentations per week. Remember, that's the most anybody can sell on their first call - 20%. If you happen to have a run on sales and sell 30%, you will have a dry spell where you sell only 10%.
Five presentation per week is 250 per year. Over a 12 year period that is a whopping 3,000 presentations! I am sure that after he sold a certain number himself he hired someone to make the presentations. But still, it is one heck of an accomplishment!
And remember, he did this from age 65 to 77.
What do you think was going through his mind when 4 out of 5, or 8 out of 10 prospects turned him down. Knowing people the way I do, I'm sure some thought he was a joke, some told him to get lost, some told him he couldn't be serious. "A NICKLE A CHICKEN? WHERE DID YOU EVER COME UP WITH A CRAZY IDEA LIKE THAT?"
Do you think The Colonel felt insecure and worried about what he was trying to do? Do you think that when he was alone at night in his hotel in some strange town with his cooking equipment and spices, he had doubts about being able to get people to pay him as agreed?
I think you know the answer. And that brings us to you.
One of the hardest things to overcome is the feeling of insecurity when you are selling on commission for a living. Without the security of a guaranteed income your thoughts are continually interrupted by fears of failure, rejection and “what people will think if I don’t make it.”
This is serious for the person going through it. If you are on commission and only get paid when you make a sale, or in your own business and are totally responsible for earning an income, it is easy to have visions of not being able to pay your expenses. And sometimes you CAN'T pay your expenses and you have to deal with that as well.
The obvious solution most people will give you is to control your attitude - easy to say and does not really offer a solution. A positive attitude is the end result you are trying to achieve.
There are many short-term programs that give you a temporary relief such as “self talk”, repeating affirmations and listening to motivation tapes. These activities are helpful, however, they are not dealing with the core of the problem.
The question is; how do you keep moving forward with a positive attitude when you feel insecure and unsure of yourself? This insecure feeling causes you to look into the future with apprehension no matter how hard you try to think positive. You still see negative results from the effort you are putting forth today.
You are not convinced that if you do the right things over and over again you will achieve the results you want. You can try affirmations by saying over and over to yourself, “I will make the sale”, “I will get the new account” and still end up with negative results. Why? Because even as you say the words and visualize the results, you don’t really expect it to happen! You don’t get what you want, what you wish for, what you think about, what you visualize or what you affirm. You get what you expect.
Let’s say you wanted to have a back up cash reserve of $25,000 in the bank. You could affirm to yourself “I have a bank account with $25,000 in it.” You could write it down as a “written goal.” You could think “positive” about it. And still – nothing happens.
Why? Because you really don’t expect it to happen! You don't BELIEVE. You might feel good about it for a short time. But after a few weeks it will fade away. Reality will overtake you and you will file your $25,000 bank account idea away as a wish or a daydream or “it would be nice.”
You have also reinforced the concept that affirmations, goal setting, positive thinking and visualization don’t work. The next time you try to get something you want it becomes even more difficult because you not only have to overcome your current feelings of doubt and fear – you also have to deal with your past. “I’ve tried this before – it didn’t work out – but I’ll give it another shot”. Then, no matter how hard you try, deep down inside you don’t really expect it to happen and you are right - It doesn’t.
You get what you expect. Nothing more - nothing less. If you want to increase your sales you have to really EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN.
There is only ONE THING that builds expectations – ACTION – doing something productive.
I think the secret Colonel Sanders used to overcome the feeling of insecurity that every human being feels was his DECISION TO KEEP GOING. Every morning he got up and presented his "nickel a chicken" concept to another restaurant. AND 4 OUT OF 5 TOLD HIM TO GET LOST!
There is a big lesson that Colonel Sanders taught us. The Colonel's secret to sales is action. Picking up the phone and making the call, asking for the order at the price you want, writing the letter, or sending a follow up card.
That is the secret spice of success - action. Doing it even when you would rather be tossed under a bus.
Comments:
If a sales professional says that they never worry about sales they are telling a big fat lie. The bottom line is that we have to keep ourselves positive and motivated. I asked a client of mine what was the reason you chose to pay this higher mark up to do business with me. The answer was simple… he said that it was my attitude that helped him make the purchase. Before I enter an existing client or a potential client I make sure I have a clear head and project a positive attitude.
Becky Akins
Everyone feels insecure at some point in life. I still have days when I worry what’s going to happen at the office today. Are we going to lose another client because the company itself is closing down? We have had several customers that we lost in the last 2 years because the customer is moving to another town. But we have to keep looking for new customers to replace the ones we have lost. It is not easy task to do everyday. Keeping a positive attitude is not always easy when you here "no we don’t need your services," or when you have had meeting after meeting and you think things are going well and they still tell you no. But you must pick yourself up and carry on. Just like falling off your horse or bike, you must get up and keep trying.
Laura Arnett
The mind is a powerful thing and if you think it can happen than it can happen, if you think negative thoughts you will have negative actions. Although it’s not easy to have a positive mind all the time it is the ongoing comments that either will help make you or break you. If you want something bad enough wouldn’t you work hard enough to get it?
Jenn Snider
Wow! these past few lessons seem to be directed right at me. I am constantly worried about my sales, the competition. "You get what you expect" is a great line and almost an instant attitude adjustment.
Dominick Yarnal
Of course everyone worries about these things, but if you set back and worry about it instead of understanding it and facing it then you will be stuck worrying. Just focus on your job and what you have accomplished and move forward from the things you weren’t as successful at.
Jamie R. Friend
I totally agree! You have to expect things to happen! You have to believe and have faith in yourself in order to make things happen for a prospect and for the company you work for. Every time you overcome obstacles, think of it as a learning experience that will make you a better sales person. You just need to believe in yourself and understand your job well enough in order to make things happen for any prospect!
Yessie Narvaez
I agree, you get what you expect and not simply what you wish for. It can be difficult to keep up the positive attitude, at all times. I try to remember that SOMETIMES I get things I didn’t expect…sometimes I get better than what I expected!
Tonya Sauer
I think that most people in sales worry at some time about getting the sale or losing the sale. We have to be positive even when we are told no over and over again. If we don’t believe in our service we can’t sell that service. The company we are trying to sell to will see our hesitation and will automatically tune us out. When we want to get that big sale we need to be confident in not only the service but in ourselves as well, its not only the service they are buying but us as well.
Brandon Sanchez
Ahh…. Worry- in SMALL doses this is a very GOOD thing. In LARGE doses a very BAD thing; to much worry will become a self fulfilling prophesy. You KNOW you won’t get the business? Your right- we inadvertently sabotage ourselves and WILL lose the business. But in small doses it galvanizes us to take the next steps, push a little harder and think outside of the box. The next thing you know- you have made the next call AND the one after that, went the extra mile and closed the business!!!!!
Worry is like Salt- a little goes a long way and improves the flavor- too much will ruin the pot!
Teresa Cloninger
I’m constantly worried about not being able to make a sale. I do, however, know that if I make enough sales calls, I'm going to make a sale. You have to know you have the ability and expect that you will make the sale. If you don’t expect you’re going to make the sale, what’s the point of leaving your office to go see a potential client?
Matthew Thacker
The point is to be confidant. If you are worried, its going to show. You have to be positive and remember that these clients need you, they just don’t know it yet. We have something great to offer, we just need the opportunity to share it.
Kimberly Burgess
I do my best not to worry about the next potential sale. In reality, we know as salespeople that not every sale we try to make is going to close in our favor. You have to learn to keep your head up and roll with the punches, because determination and persistence will eventually pay off and when it does it will make up for all those deals that didn’t go through!
David Bradley
I always worry about sales, that’s my nature, I worry about everything. But, I also think positive. My prior sales position was based strictly on commission. I think it is only human nature to worry about something you care about, you just have to maintain a balance so you don’t appear to lack confidence.
Vickie Reihl
YES!!! I am always worried about sales. I am worried about not getting the sale, the competition taking it away, or if we don't find the RIGHT employee for them. This has already happened to me once. I feel that if I am not worried about it, then my heart and soul will not be put into my job. I am that type of person. I believe 10 years from now I will still be worried about sales, but I am not worried about my ability to do my job!
Lisa Tharp
"The bottom line - you get what you expect. Nothing more - nothing less. If you want to increase your sales you have to really EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN. There is only ONE THING that builds expectations – action – doing something productive."