Written by Dorothy Andreas, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author & Business Growth Coach
Dorothy Andreas has spent over four decades building profitable businesses. A Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author, Business Growth Coach, and recipient of over 80 professional awards, her life has been dedicated to the pursuit of business excellence.
Did you know that you and your team can sell, and sell at super high numbers while uncertainty, unwillingness, and deep fear are present? Yes, it is true. I know this because I chose an industry that had one common mantra, “I’m a professional, not a salesperson.” Yet, my businesses all went on to have some of the highest and often unheard-of sales to service revenue in the industry.
You and your team most likely fall into one of three categories; I was born to sell, I sell because I need a paycheck, or most often, I’d rather hide under the bed than sell.
And worse yet, you might manage people who become incensed when you expect them to help you row the sales boat in your business. You feel the pressure of their resistance every day, while you're caught in the middle of making the budget work and not wanting to squeeeeeze your staff to sell!
Getting to the root of the fear
After four decades of employing over 1000 fabulous people, I noticed extraordinarily strong patterns. Those who surrounded themselves with a positive-minded circle seemed to sell far more easily than those who hung out with people who had high drama and a rather bleak image of most things. Including negativity towards people who appeared to have what they secretly wished for; the ability to enjoy life unencumbered by financial fears.
This influence on the mindset is also affected by deeper and more nuanced histories of the individual. If the family of origin has a particular theory about debt and wealth, there is a gravitational pull to think the same way. Heck, if we act like those we love, they love us more, right?
Generational beliefs are hard to break. But, once any individual is interested in understanding where their thoughts spring from, they have more power to control their own money mindset. The path to our future is far more comfortable when we are in control of how we approach it, rather than being guided by ghosts from the past.
A few examples of how this shows up
Most people believe that nobody sees through their selling and money discomfort. Or worse yet, they live in fear they will be caught pretending to be something they’re not. This creates a sense of shame that not one of us wants to inflict on another of us.
For instance, if the employee lives from paycheck to paycheck, with little discretionary money for extravagant things, they tend to believe that everyone is in their same boat. How could they put pressure on a client to buy, when they feel immense pressure just to get by themselves?
If they pitch an offer for a product or service and get turned down a few times, instead of seeking support, they convince themselves that they suck at selling and live by this belief.
A lack of proof or pride in your product causes people to simply ignore the opportunity to sell. Once an opinion is formed, humans tend to notice results through a very biased lens that agrees with what they already believe to be true. Changing one’s mind is tough when tried from an external force. And few want to take a chance that their own reputation will suffer if the client agrees with their opinion and not yours.
Another fear factor is personal debt and one's ability to create wealth. When your mind hears your internal chatter about never getting your bills paid on time, or how you will only be happy when you have what your neighbors have, there is a strong underlying question; how can you ask someone for their money when you cannot even manage your own?
The blind spots and money beliefs
Blind spots around money are quite common. Because humans accumulate items to fulfill an emotional hope for future satisfaction, we simply miss this fact; the things you buy equal the money you no longer have. Or the money you now owe to someone else for the things you bought. The money that is gone is no longer able to provide more quality time, creative time or relaxing time with those you love. And when you feel anxious about your spending habits, it's easier to ignore your part in the process. Asking someone to do what could leave you anxious in the end, aka spending money on your products, is a large part of why sales are sluggish.
The formula is so simple, we miss it because of our suppressed fears. You create money. What you do with this money directly affects your belief that you have control over your time and your happiness. You want things that make you feel great. You must exchange your money for those things. When the need for things supersedes the need to create financial comfort, debt is often created. With high debt, one either pretends it does not matter, creating larger amounts of debt, or they slightly panic that their life, their time, and their happiness will never be what they want it to be.
I have a debt riddled friend who turns white whenever I suggest they create a monthly budget. Their need to distract themself from facing their own patterns is linked to deep family beliefs. This friend could easily spend, donate, support, but almost never could bring themselves to say, “if you like, that will be $100.”
As a leader, you must be tuned in to what your team can take and start in small doses. Expect that no person will understand things like you do, because they don’t have your financial history and beliefs. When responsible money management isn’t learned, it can feel like an impossible mountain to climb.
Create a comfortable sales culture
Your job, whether for yourself or your staff, is to reduce fears and create comfort. The first step is your own vulnerability. When I began talking to my staff about how fearful I was about raising prices, asking for more money, or more importantly, valuing my own worth, they could resonate with these fears. This one step connects you and your team with a background of relationships that is priceless. When they know you put your fear in your back pocket and tried new things, you’re providing a bit of a roadmap for them to start their own journey.
As they begin to relax, focus on the pure value your people deliver, and the value of what they sell. As you get your team to talk about how good they really are, their personal pride points, and the benefits their clients receive, they begin to shift. When you pour into your team and the team members also hold each other high, you are essentially creating a new circle of positive influence for yourself and others.
Some will grasp improving the client experience more easily than others. The more you focus on their skills, they believe they have the strengths you see in them. Humans live up or down to the expectations we have for them. They can feel it with all five senses when we interact.
Spend positive and focused time with your team, performing mock-selling scenarios to get them comfortable with the language patterns that work. Have them sell you on why they and the products are the best. Practice and share regularly in a comfortable setting what works and doesn’t. Gather and implement their suggestions whenever possible.
When we are acknowledged for our efforts, we tend to do more of the positive and less of the negative.
You, the leader, must see the best in your people, with a gentle guiding hand that leads them to see their own possibilities on the team. And you must redirect, pivot, and do the dance that keeps the team understanding that their clients want what they have to offer! This is why clients choose and refer friends to do business with all of you!
For more information on Wealth Building in Your Business, visit here for three free downloads to get started today.
Read more from Dorothy Andreas
Dorothy Andreas, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author & Business Growth Coach
Dorothy Andreas has been an entrepreneur since 1980. She started 9 businesses, had successful exits, and has employed over 1000 great people. A Keynote speaker since 1995, winner of over 80 awards for business excellence, mentorship, leadership and philanthropy, her passion is her family, business growth, and the charities she holds close to her heart. Dorothy is the author of three best-selling books; Streamline Success: Eliminate Chaos From Your Service Business, Conflict Revelation: The Three Essential Elements for Creating Harmony in Business, and Build A Million Dollar Beauty Business.
