7 Tips to Build Confidence and Win Sales

Rejections in sales can be emotionally difficult and stressful, especially if they accumulate and seem to last for a long stretch. It’s important for salespeople to maintain faith that after every slump eventually comes a string of victories. Here are seven tips to help you keep your head high in the face of rejection and build skills that will lend you more confidence.

1. Develop a strong positive self-image by seeing yourself as an expert in the field. See yourself as a bearer of good news, a problem solver, and a competent, knowledgeable expert. Realize that you have information and ideas that will add value for your prospect.

2. Visualize success. Many Olympic athletes use visualization techniques to become medal winners in worldwide competition. Close your eyes and imagine that you’re having a successful interaction with your prospect. Imagine feelings of positivity happening as you see yourself winning in your mind’s eye.

3. Use the prospect’s name. There’s no sweeter music to the ears for most people than the sound of their own name. Remember that we are all subconsciously conditioned to respond with openness to our name and a question.

4. Realize that your good ideas can help the prospect. People are hungry for ideas, and a prospect is likely to be interested in an idea that’s going to be of benefit to him or her in some way. Instead of seeing yourself as selling a product, see yourself as giving away good ideas.

5. Build a database of testimonials. In a social media age, it matters more than ever what customers say about you and your product or service. A claim made by a third party who has no self-serving interest in what you’re selling makes what you say a lot more believable.

6. Mention benefits. It’s amazing how many sales reps forget to highlight benefits. Always mention how your offering is going to make them money; save them money; help save time; or give them more status and recognition in their market.

7. Feed your mind with positive thoughts. Classic motivator Zig Ziglar once said that being selective about the things that you choose to read, look at, or listen to is a key way to guard against negative thinking. If you change the mind’s input, you will change your emotional output.

A defense against feelings of rejection should be like fires that are burning all the time. If you should have a steady supply of new opportunities and you take care to feed those opportunities intelligently, you can look forward to great results.