Self-belief is the fulcrum point of success. It’s the bridge between your personal attitude and enthusiasm, and your ability to transfer confidence to your prospective buyer or existing customer.
Without belief in what you do, what you’re selling and who you’re selling for, your ability to engage your prospective customer and get them to want to buy will be low.
As salespeople try to grow their career, they focus on product knowledge, selling skills, maybe some networking-relationship skills – and little else. They leave out one of the two critical success elements for true achievement and fulfillment: self-belief (the other being positive attitude).
HISTORY: The common thread among all thought leaders, philosophers, and personal development experts is their consistent writing on the subjects of positive thinking and self-belief.
Dale Carnegie, author of the timeless “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” said: “If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.”
See what I mean? Well, is that you? How deep is your belief?
CHALLENGE: Timeless quotes are truths that have stood the test of time. The challenge with quotes is that most people (not you, of
course) see them at a glance, fail to realize their power and fail to take any action. Or worse, they don’t want to face reality.
The reason these quotes and truths don’t take hold is that they require you to come to grips with yourself. They make you think about where you are and where you seek to grow.
Among hundreds of powerful thoughts and pearls of wisdom, Napoleon Hill, in his epic self-help book “Think and Grow Rich,” said, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.”
See the trend?
This morning, my e-mail inbox had this “quote of the day” from Maxwell Maltz, author of “Psycho-Cybernetics”: “Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs.”
Aha! Maybe you don’t want to change your beliefs. Or maybe you think your beliefs are strong enough. Maybe they are, but if you’re losing sales on price or low bids, I doubt it. Believers get past price with value and passion.
How about you? Do you believe enough to succeed? Do you believe enough to sell with passion? Do you believe enough to convince others to see your point of view, or your way as the best way?
Here are the 4.5 core beliefs:
1. Belief in your company. Belief that the ethics are high and the people are great. Belief that the support is superior and the dedication to customers and excellence are at the top of the company’s core values and principles.
2. Belief in your products. Belief that you are the leader in quality and value – a belief that is self-evident when you present your value proposition to your prospective customer.
3. Belief in your service. All customers need service; the real issue is, how do you respond? If your company supports customers and considers loyalty above satisfaction, then you’re on the right path.
4. Belief in yourself. This is where the rubber meets the … brain.
Your thoughts precede your words and actions. If you are unsure, that will be evident to those you seek to persuade. If you have a history of success and present with self-confidence (aka: deep belief), it will often turn the tide from doubt to certainty in the mind of the prospect.
4.5 Belief that when customers buy, they are better off. This is the part that tests your real belief. When they buy, you have joy and positive anticipation rather than remorse and guilt.
“Mediocrity stems from lack of belief more than lack of skill.” That’s my quote. And in my experience, I could not write words more true.
If you want to increase your chances of increasing your sales, deepen your belief system before you make your next sales call.
In order to do this, extreme self-evaluation must take place. It’s not something you can learn in a seminar or a training session. It’s something you can only give yourself. To discover “how” you must ask yourself “why.” Why you believe, or why you don’t, and what you have to do in order to deepen your belief.
Here’s the cool part: The deeper your belief, the deeper your pockets.
Want a few more quotes on belief? Go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first time user, and enter the words I BELIEVE in the GitBit box.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of “The Little Red Book of Selling” and “The Little Red Book of Sales Answers.” As president of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com.
