“Why do I always feel so anxious when selling?”
Two things cause sales anxiety:
Thinking about the future:
“What if I miss quota?”
“What if this deal doesn’t close?”
“What if I don’t book the meeting?”
Dwelling on negative thoughts of the past:
“I worked for eight months on this deal, and they didn’t buy.”
“I can’t believe I wrote a personalized email and didn’t get a response.”
You’re anxious because you’re attaching your self-worth to the outcome.
The sale.
The meeting.
The response.
Your thoughts make you anxious.
Since your ego is hardwired to protect you, you feel anxious when you don’t get what you want.
Same thoughts.
Same feelings.
The way out?
Who you are as a person has nothing to do with a sale.
In other words, you are not your thoughts.
Thinking about things you don’t control is a recipe for being anxious all the time.
You don’t control when or if people buy.
You don’t control how people interpret your message or if they respond.
You only control getting a little better each day.
Got better today? That’s good enough.
Messed up? No problem.
Imagine that each day has four quarters:
Q1 Morning.
Q2 Midday.
Q3 Afternoon.
Q4 Evening.
If you get derailed in Q2, reprogram your brain in Q3.
The joy of selling happens when you let go of things you don’t control.