If we allow it to, fear can hold us back and dominate our lives, but if we focus instead on understanding and managing fear, we can identify the source of our fear and we can improve our own performance.

Kristy Ellington shares today why she believes that being fearless is a myth, and how she overcame years-old fears to unlock improved performance in her own job.

Fearless

Being fearless is a myth because the truth is that everyone experiences fear. Fear doesn't simply infect one section of our lives, but rather every part.

We get caught up in our thoughts and emotions, and fear keeps us from doing the things we want or need to do to get to the next level. Fear causes us to focus inward instead of focusing on the client, which is really detrimental in sales.

As sellers, we want to focus on our clients and how we can connect with them, but fear keeps us focused on how they perceive us, and whether they are judging us, and how we look to them.

Fight or flight

Fear triggers our natural fight-or-flight instinct, which diverts resources from our brains into our arms, legs, heart, and lungs.

It slows down our thinking so that we can't fully analyze situations and we can't think critically. We have no available judgment and we can't find creative solutions because we're afraid.

Fear hinders us in a variety of ways, but realistically it's all in our heads and it's all connected back to some unidentified source of fear that we have to address.

Take action

For sellers, the need to overcome fear is real, and they don't have a lot of time to do it. They have quotas to meet and they have to pick up the phone.

Understand your trigger. If you're afraid of picking up the phone, unpack that fear. It's often the fear of judgment or the fear of rejection or not being professional or expert enough. You fear going off-script and looking or sounding stupid.

Use this five-step process before any big presentation or conversation:

1. Notice. Recognize the problem. Admit when you're afraid.
2. Aware. Be aware of where the problem is: tightness in your throat or butterflies in your stomach.
3. Make. Make the connection. Where did you first feel this problem? What's the source? A bad public speaking experience?
4. Evaluate. Is this real right now? You have no reason to believe that anyone will make fun of you, so your own thoughts are causing the fear. It isn't real.
5. Shift. Once you understand that your fear isn't real, you can shift your focus back to your client.

Worst-case scenario

If you have any kind of fear, it's always valid to determine the worst-case scenario.

If you fear elevators because you fear getting stuck and being claustrophobic, ask yourself if it's real. Is it true that you really won't be able to breathe in the elevator?

Is it true that the elevator is going to fall while you're in it? That's likely something you saw in a scary movie once.

Fear is false evidence appearing real.

Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome is huge for many people, and it prevents you from asking questions for fear that you'll look stupid. It can prevent you from understanding the buying decision or the challenges that your customers are facing.

People also fear saying "no" to clients who aren't the best fit for fear of what might happen. They fear failure and what failure might lead to. Maybe you don't get the promotion or you don't make enough commission to pay your bills.

As a result, you end up with the worst clients on earth because you bent over backward for clients that really weren't worth the effort.

Eliminating fear

It's probably not really realistic to think that someday you'll be fearless. No matter what level you are in life, you'll experience fear.

The fears for a sales development rep will be different for that of a CRO. You'll always experience fear somehow. If you don't experience fear somehow, you're probably not moving forward.

You should be feeling fear. It's a biological response. You can't crush it or eliminate it. You must learn to manage it.

When you do, you can move forward and take inspired action that's thoughtful and clear instead of action that's chaotic and desperate.

Fear is really just there to protect us and keep us safe. Your brain is working to protect you from bad things that happened in the past. Our fears now are social in nature, but they manifest in the same way that physical threats did generations ago.

We don't have to spend so much time being afraid of fear.

Leadership fears

Leaders are just as afraid of looking stupid as the rest of us, just on a different level. They inadvertently create a culture of fear because they are operating from fear.

The stressors are different because they have more responsibility.

As you address fears, it becomes easier to manage them.

"That which we consistently do becomes easier, not because the nature of the thing changes but our ability changes." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fear into confidence

It's possible to turn fear into confidence.

You have to be comfortable with emotion because it's an important part of sales. Empathy is an important part of the work sellers do.

[Tweet "You can't possibly understand other people's situations and fears if you can't understand your own. #EmotionalIntelligence"]

If you're running from emotion, it will make your job much tougher. Embrace emotion. Embrace fear. Start to learn what that looks like.

"Understanding & Managing Fear" episode resources

You can connect with Kristy on LinkedIn, Twitter, or on her website KristyEllington.com

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode. Share it with your friends who would benefit from learning more.

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.

Prospect.io is offering three months at half-price.

Previously known as TSE Hustler's League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out. You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

Mailtag.io will give you half-off your subscription for life when you use the Promo Code: Donald at check out.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

One of my favorite topics to talk about is lack of confidence and the challenges and fear that come along with it; and, more specifically, how we can overcome it.

Paul Carswell was the salaried manager of a Sherwin-Williams storefront for many years before transitioning in 2018 to become an independent Medicare Insurance Specialist. He works with clients ages 65+ to help them and to bring value to their community.  

Surviving on a 100% commission-based income took some getting used to. Instead of clients walking into the store, Paul had to learn how to make calls and set appointments.

In order to educate potential clients on the complexities of the Medicare system, Paul also hosts educational events in the community. He uses podcasts like this one to reach out to as many people as possible. Such events help people to realize that his primary goal is to help the community rather than to simply earn a paycheck.

LACK OF CONFIDENCE

Moving from a salaried position to a commission-based position certainly caused some fear and trepidation. The transition of receiving a paycheck every two weeks, regardless of performance, to selling private insurance came with a steep learning curve.

Paul knew he had to get out in front of people. Nobody was simply “walking into the store anymore.” Previously, his whole day had been planned out for him. Now he had an empty schedule that only he could fill.

It seemed nice and relaxing for the first two weeks but then reality set in. With no paycheck coming in and no prospects on the calendar, Paul admits to feeling defeated.

A lack of confidence was setting in.

REGAINING CONFIDENCE

Paul had to put his pride aside and get busy. Drawing from his experience as a basketball player, he knew he had to take shots if he was ever going to score.

He started contacting old friends and networking – anything to populate his schedule. It didn’t matter if it was Medicare-related or not.

Paul found that the more he put on his calendar, the more he was able to begin to weed out the events that would not benefit his business. Eventually, after about eight weeks of making calls and networking – still without a paycheck – he finally had a full schedule of Medicare-related events to look forward to.

As a result of the changes he implemented, Paul improved his relationships with his friends by talking with them more. On the business side of things, he has increased his bookings from zero to 50 and is earning a decent income because of the work he put into it.

It didn’t all come at once, however, as it did before at Sherwin-Williams. In his current role, sales is a lengthy process instead of a quick sale with an immediate exchange of goods.

Learning to understand the long-term payout was his biggest struggle. As such, Paul advises everyone to stay focused on long-term goals.

The more people you get yourself in front of, the more you will realize how many people truly care about you and want your business to succeed.

“LACK OF CONFIDENCE” EPISODE RESOURCES

You can contact Paul on his cellphone at 703-342-9087 or via email at paul@carswell.io.  Paul is on Instagram  @paulcarswell. He can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. His website will be up and running soon!

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never, ever be the same.

Previously known as TSE Hustler’s League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It’s super easy, it’s helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

You’ll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

We all have some kind of fear, but when we discover what causes fear and how to overcome it, we can discover new opportunities and success.

Fear can prevent us from experiencing amazing things in life, or pursuing new business opportunities. We suffer through anxiety and difficulty when dealing with these fears.

But no more!

James Moffat, CEO and Founder of Visibility Impact guides new entrepreneurs and people wanting to start businesses by providing them with the tools and information they need to grow their business with proper exposure.

He accomplishes this through a number of programs to drive results. His clients achieve bigger goals in a shorter amount of time and gain visibility. [02:00]

Self-limiting

I used to have a fear of talking to important people. I felt like I wasn’t worthy of their time or attention. It was a fear I quickly had to learn how to overcome in order to succeed in sales.

When I finally understood that I was speaking with other human beings, people who were maybe just as nervous about talking to me as I was about talking to them, it made all the difference. I was the only limiting factor to my success. [10:37]

James and I will talk about fear. What is it? How can we overcome it? What can we do on a daily basis to conquer fear instead of allowing it to conquer us?

The Effects of Fear

Many of us in sales have fears that hold us back and cause inaction.

James defines fear as a worry about the unknown. It has a physiological effect not only on your mind but on your body as well... cold sweats, stress, etc. [05:10]

Common fears among salespeople include worrying about what to say during a cold call, worrying about having enough product knowledge, and worrying about how prospects may react.

Many of us also fear giving our first presentation to a real audience. Is my content relevant? Will people even listen to me? [05:48]

Overcoming fear

Overcoming these fears - or at least accepting them and learning how to cope with them - is necessary for success.

You don’t have to suddenly like what it was you once feared; you may always dislike cold calling for example, but you must learn how to deal with it.

We often find ourselves assuming the worst before we even begin. We have negative thoughts instead of positive ones.

Controlling Fear

Using cold calls again as an example, James still doesn’t particularly enjoy making them but he found a way to make himself feel more comfortable about it.

He took the time to learn more about the person prior to the making the call. James spent time on their website, learned about their business, and visited their LinkedIn profile.

James would also coordinate the time of the call via email. This allowed for a more relaxed introduction and eradicated the fear James had about interrupting a prospect with an unexpected phone call. [08:37]

Using these techniques, James was able to turn a cold call into a warm call.

Reducing negative outcomes

Once the negative possible outcomes are reduced - once the number of unknowns is reduced by planning ahead - the level of fear is reduced.

We may not conquer the fear, but we will have it under control.

James recalls a situation, outside of sales, when he was atop a tall building with a friend and found himself convinced that he had a very real fear of heights. His friend disagreed because James has no such fear when traveling by airplane.

It is not a fear of heights but a fear of falling. When James feels safe, he is not afraid.

This lesson applies to sales.

When we change the paradigm and view our fear from a different perspective, we gain control over it. [11:48]

Moving Beyond your Comfort Zone

James introduced a new concept to his Facebook group in order to help people overcome their fears. He didn’t want people to join without being known, so he required a short introduction from all new members via a 40-second video.

The videos are posted to the group for comment which in turn stimulates discussion and comments.

It creates immediate visibility among the group members. The video requirement was beyond the comfort zone of many participants, but to James, that is the whole point.

We have to embrace change and technology. Do it once and it becomes easier each time thereafter. [16:27]

You can not find success by remaining in your comfort zone. Learning to move beyond is when remarkable change can begin to occur.  

Training wheels

Think back to when you first learned to ride a bike. You were certainly afraid to fall and probably did fall several times. But the more you tried and the more you trusted the person who was teaching you, the better you became.

You overcame the fear.

Use the resources around you. Ask the senior sales reps how they overcame the fear of cold calling or the fear of rejection. How do they introduce themselves? What steps do they take to make themselves comfortable?

Think of them as the training wheels on your bicycle. [20:32]

“What Causes Fear and How to Overcome It” Episode Resources

Please check out VisibilityImpact.com and the Facebook group by the same name. James can also be found on LinkedIn.com.

This episode is brought to you in part by Maximizer CRM, personalized CRM that gives you the confidence to improve your business and increase profits. To get a demonstration of maximizer, go to the sales evangelists.com/maximizer.

Click on the link to get a free demo of what Maximizer CRM can do for you. It integrates your marketing campaign as well as your CRM, and it works whether you're a small organization or a large one.

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

They are offering a 14-day free trial, and half off your subscription when you use the code Donald at checkout.

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.

Previously known as TSE Hustler's League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

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