Segment 22 – Facing Fear and Going on the Attack

1. Best of BennettSales Tips Segment 22 – Facing Fear and Going on the Attack • Finding your “Inner Patton” • Facing our fears to reach entirely new heights • Learning to use fear to plan effectively • Attack straight ahead and don’t back down Greg Bennett Sales Training * APC * www.APCProfit.com • Best of BennettSales Tips

2. Being a Professional Salesperson Means You’re Going to Face Fear Time and Time Again: • Fear about the economy, which is almost always outside our control… • Fear about our customers, things could change at any moment: turn-over of decision makers, the company may be bought or sold, or go out of business altogether… • Fear about our own performance…can we keep up the pace and meet higher and higher expectations… • Fear about having to constantly meet new people, and make introductory “cold” calls… • Fear about the unknown of what clients may say or do… • Every Successful Salesperson I’ve Ever Met Has Told Me They Never Stop Experiencing Fear…It’s Always There • But That’s Why Salespeople Are the Highest Paid People on Average In Any Business

3. I Have to Acknowledge My Love and Appreciation for Fear • I too have fears everyday…every month…every year • I’ve always appreciated fear, and have learned to love it as the strongest motivator in my life…I look at fear as a tremendous tool I can always count on being there…vs letting it destroy me, or cause undo stress and anxiety… • But I didn’t get to this viewpoint on my own…I studied the way other successful people handled fear and I learned how to process it the same way…and you can too… • Of All the People I Studied…My Favorite Was George S. Patton, Famous General From WWII

4. George S. Patton General, U.S. Army in WWII General of the Third Division and Leader of the Lightning Strike Through the Heart of Europe to Defeat Hitler

5. Patton on Fear • “There is a time to take pay attention to your fears, and there is a time to forget your fears.  It is always important to know exactly what you are doing. The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That is the time you listen to every fear you can imagine!  And then develop a solid plan of attack…” • Before we head into a particular time in sales (an upcoming year, quarter, month, week, day, or call)is when we need to pay attention to our fears…to acknowledge they exist, then use that energy to plan our attack…

6. Patton on Fear, continued • …Then when you have collected all of the facts and fears, and have your plan…you make your decision.  • After you make your decision, forget all your fears and go full steam ahead. • The time to be fearful is now…and we need to use that fear to develop a solid plan of attack…then when we launch the attack, we must give it 100% effort and focus and forget all our fears!

7. More Patton…on Attacking the Enemy • I don’t want to get any messages saying that, “ we are holding our position”  We’re not holding anything.  • We are advancing constantly and we’re not interested in holding on to anything except the enemy.  We’re going to hold on to him by the nose and we’re going to kick him in the ass; we’re going to kick the hell out of him all the time and we’re going to go through him like crap through a goose. • No I’m not saying we’re going to hold our clients by the nose and kick ‘em in the rear… • I look at the “enemy” as being whatever fears we’ve acknowledged are there… • Once we have our plan and we head into the attack, we have to be fearless and go at it hard right away…you walk directly into the thing you fear with urgency and passion

8. Changing the Way We View Fear • Don’t shy away from looking at fearful things…look FOR these situations with anticipation as opportunities for growth… • Don’t be in denial about fear…acknowledge that you have it and that you SHOULD be afraid…sales can be a scary world…but that’s WHY we love it… • See if you can replace any self-defeating internal dialogue like, “I don’t know like all this unknown stuff…being afraid all the time is going to cause me stress and kill me”…and try saying, “I love the unknown…I welcome the scary thing…it only makes me sharper, better, and helps me find new levels of success” • Then when you are feeling afraid or anxious USE that energy to develop your plan of attack…plan for the upcoming month, week, day, or call… • Then when the time comes…attack without fear…hit it hard and right away…

9. Assignments • Look honestly at the things in sales that currently scare, intimidate, or frighten you…make a list…we all have them, some more than others. Is it the upcoming quarter? Is it a particular person? Is it doing something uncomfortable, like cold calling, or collections? Once you make this list, look at it and realize those things are your ticket to greatness, NOT the things that will defeat you. • As you experience this fearful thing PLAN your attack…are you afraid of calling on Ted because he’s a jerk? Then use that to make a plan…how are you going to approach? How are you going to counter his “jerk-ness”? How will you respond when he says this or that? THEN when it’s time to attack EXPLODE into that meeting with Ted and say, “Okay…bring it” Greg Bennett Sales Training * APC * www.APCProfit.com • Best of BennettSales Tips