Is Confidence Important in Selling?

I am confident that there are some sales people that can sell products that they don’t believe in but I, for one, am not that guy. I have to have confidence in my product and in my people in order to successfully sell a large percentage of the work. If I do have confidence, well, get out of my way because I am going to sell some stuff.

Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash

With that out of the way, I believe that confidence in your product, in your pricing, and in your people is a major stumbling block for many. I would go even further and say that if you do not believe in your pricing or your product you will have a hard time selling it, period. And, when you do sell, you will almost always undervalue your product, and sell it for less than you should.

Sales are more about how you feel about your product and pricing than how your potential client feels about it. If you really believe in your product and that you are priced fairly you will do much better than someone that does not. I believe in this so much that one of the first things we do in our sales training classes is discuss the concept that sales is about confidence and people with more confidence sell better.

Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash

Some business owners and sales people are afraid that their product is priced higher than others and this fear leads them to discount (often before even getting any sort of kickback from the client) and to undervalue themselves and their staff. The Automotive Service and Repair Industry is a great example of this. This industry has not kept up with inflation, let alone improved on their pricing. If you were a shop in 1980 that charged a rate of $60 per hour and increased your rate by 3% through 2019, your rate would now be $190.02. Not too many shops charge anywhere near $190 per hour (or more) today.

There are probably many reasons for this lack of a reasonable rate, but one of the major ones is that many business owners and sales people do not believe that they are worth it. Or they don’t believe that the customer will pay the higher rate, even though almost every other industry gets it and many of the top shops routinely get it while making their customers happy.

I know I tend to drift but to get us back on track: What does a lack of confidence in my price or my product have to do with selling? EVERYTHING! If I don’t believe I can sell it, it is very unlikely that I will. If I don’t believe they will buy it or pay for it, it is very unlikely that they will. The problem is that I don’t have total control over my body and my mind. When I don’t believe in my product or pricing, my subconscious has partial control. My subconscious then changes the way I present myself and my sales pitch so that I am radiating signals that say, “do not buy,” “he doesn’t believe that you will or you should.”

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash

If you want to be a better sales person and close more sales, get your head on straight. Believe in your product, believe that it is more than fairly priced, and believe that the person standing in front of you or on the other end of the phone, should and will buy. I know that this can be hard when the last person you talked to told you no but keep selling confidently. When you master this, your sales will increase substantially.