How to Sell in Tough Times

Do I have any specific thoughts about selling when times are tough? Well, if you are to achieve high levels of success in selling, you must be able to get positive results even while circumstances are negative. In just about every area of selling the field will over populate in boom times and thin out in tough times. The Real Estate industry is a classic example of this. Yet some people stay in the industry year after year, regardless of 'booms'. The consistently high performer will get results no matter what the circumstances. I find it's down to attitude. Some people look for circumstances in a victimized kind of way, to justify their poor results. They celebrate their good days, but in the down times, they have their 'safety net' of excuses ready. What they are doing, is giving negative thinking a lot of power simply by spending precious energy and time dreaming up and focusing on their 'reasons why it won't or didn't work' etc. Any time you offer your subconscious a choice between two goals, one negative and one positive, you risk it taking on the negative one. Which one do you give the most focus to? The exceptional achiever deliberately ignores talk about recessions, wars, the miserable state of affairs in the world or in their own lives, doom and gloom and any other subjects that he or she feels detract from their ultimate success. These individuals steer clear of the melodramas of life and concentrate their efforts instead, on matters far more worthy of their precious time and energy. Their 'batting average' matters more and it's here where their focus lies. I believe the biggest obstacle to successful selling occurs in your own mind. This brings us back to our perception of a refusal to buy being a personal 'rejection'. Quite simply, in selling, if you constantly feel rejected you cannot achieve exceptional results. It is also my belief that the number one reason for mediocrity in selling, is that three letter word - EGO! A falsely inflated ego is a vulnerable, fragile thing. If you are the type of person who takes "No" as a personal affront to your very worth, selling will be an exquisitely painful process to you and most people, sensitive or not, will avoid pain at all costs. You will become a master avoider and procrastinator. If you cannot confront and take steps to resolve the emotional issues that keep you prisoner and sabotage your success, then no amount of sales training will change your results for the better. Many people have wonderful people skills and are natural persuaders, but as long as they continue to equate their self worth with whether or not everybody wants to buy their products, they will set themselves up for a fall. When someone does not accept an offer I make them, I know it has nothing to do with me as a person. I therefore don't become emotional about it.