7 Ways to Show Up More Confidently in Sales Conversations

There is one attribute that gets more results and closes more deals than knowledge, and that attribute is confidence. I remember a sales conversation with a prospective client a few years ago.  During the conversation, the prospect clearly needed my help to turn her business around.  She was working way too hard for way too little and she knew that she needed to get help to get out of her own way.  Even in knowing this, she was fearful at the possibility of her situation changing and she presented a challenge to me during our conversation.

“How do I know you can help me?”  she asked.  I paused.  My response shocked her and closed the deal.

“Without me, you’ll keep spinning your wheels.  I grow businesses. Period. It’s what I do and I do it well.  Did you know that in the last 3 months all of my clients have grown their businesses by at least 60%.  The truth is I know business – I’ve worked for the last 15 years, understand every aspect of what it takes to grow a business and when people come into my space they shift to experience more – more money, more clarity and most importantly more freedom.  So, you need to work with me because if you don’t, it’s going to get worse.”

And she did. She hired me on the spot.  She paid in full.  She grew her business.  So much so, she got to take an entire month off in Hawaii.

I’m asked all the time about my confidence and if there is a way that I can help others show up the same way.  And when Andrea asked me, I couldn’t wait to answer her via this week’s episode of Incredible Factor TV:

“Hi Darnyelle. I have to admit, I see your confidence and it intimidates me.  I wonder if I could ever become a successful businesswoman like you. Is there anything you can share with me that would help me to become more confident as I build my business?”

Watch my response to Andrea’s question in this week’s episode:

As I share in the episode, the bottom line is that confidence is an inside job. You have to do your own work to increase your confidence in how you show up in your business dealings and in life. And just like how you bathe daily, you have to fortify your confidence each day as well. I hope that the following tips will help:

  1. Get a theme song.  Before you are holding a sales conversation – whether virtually or in person, pump yourself up with your theme song.   The only way that this song can be your theme song is if in hearing it, you believe you can fly.
  2. Create your own Wall of Fame.  When I am having sales conversations in my office, I am literally looking at my wall of fame.  It’s a wall in my office filled with thank you notes, magazine clippings, client testimonials and awards I’ve earned. I look at it and say, “I’m the bomb.com and they need me to solve their problem.”  More than anything it increases my confidence so that when I’m talking with a Fortune 100 about doing work for their leaders, I can hold the conversation in confidence and assurance of what I bring to the table.   I’ve had many clients create their own versions of this and they admit that being able to see their “accomplishments” on display increases their confidence in all business dealings.
  3. Create a compliment journal and review it daily.  Compliments are a great way to increase your confidence.  Sadly, most people dismiss compliments as soon as they get them.  But I ask you to consider what would happen if you wrote them all down and read them consistently – namely before a sales conversation to remind yourself of how others see you.
  4. Know what you know.  This may sound weird but you don’t know everything.  Yet, there are some things that you definitely know and those things make a difference for others.  If you are crystal clear of the value you add, no one can ever refute that.  Don’t try to be all things to your clients, but clearly carve out the problem you solve. When you know what you know, you can speak with authority over those things.  People are looking to hire experts and experts confidently articulate what they know.
  5. Document the results you get for others. When you have documented results, you can leverage them by sharing stories of how your work has helped others.  There is something exciting and confidence boosting about knowing that you have helped others solve a top-of-mind problem.  When you document them and can share them in your portfolio of work, it will boost your confidence and position you in a way that others will want to hire you.
  6. Do your due diligence.  By making sure that you are clear about your prospective client before and during the conversation, the solution you offer will be stronger. Don’t be afraid to ask more questions if doing so will allow you to confidently share how you can help.
  7. Detach from the outcome.  If you are “banking” on the sale, you’ll appear desperate, not confident.  So get clear that while you know that you can help, all you can do is share the benefits of working with you and the outcome is not in your hands.  Know that regardless of if they say “yes,” or not, you are still amazing, still a winner and still poised to help those who are ready to experience transformation through you and your work.

Now I want to hear from you, what’s your two cents?:  What else can you do to show up more confidently in a sales conversation?

If you’re looking for a resource to help you show up more confidently, consider joining me and more than 200 uncompromising business owners this May at Unleash Your Incredible Factor Live: Positioned to Profit.  You’ll gain access to business-building and positioning strategies that will make you more profitable and purposeful in creating a sustainable business. Learn more by visiting http://www.UnleashYourIncredibleFactor.com

©2015 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Business Optimization Coach and Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises®, Incredible Factor University® and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System®, a proven step-by-step program so you experience financial and spiritual abundance in your life because of your business. For more information and a FREE audio CD “7 Critical Mistakes Even Smart Entrepreneurs Must Avoid for Clients, Connection and Cash Flow!” just fill out the form below.

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