There are literally thousands of books and trainers who will tell you how to make more sales, so I see absolutely no need to try to add to that body of knowledge.
I will, however, do something that very few, if any, such people do, and that is, lower your possible resistance to making sales.
To the mechanically minded, this concept makes absolutely no sense. Certainly, everybody wants to make more sales, so the idea that anyone would resist it seems somewhat nonsensical. But yes, as in any movement of energy, there are always elements of possible resistance. So, as is my wont (wont: “customary behavior”), I would like to consider how you can lower resistance to achieving a goal instead of just working harder to overcome it.
Now, just to give a personal example, I love it when I get that “SOLD, SHIP NOW” e-mail from Amazon or paypal, indicating that someone somewhere has deemed one of my books worthy of their spending $20. But after that initial rush, well, now I have to go open the box of books, open the box of padded envelopes, open the box of mailing labels, print the mailing label, print the packing slip, put it all in the envelope, and carry it over to the post office. Not to mention paying the sales tax and ordering more books. That’s a lot of busywork.*
Let’s take this to a much broader extreme. When you start making sales, you start to “put yourself out there.” You’re putting yourself under pressure to deliver and perform. If it’s a relatively new business, you have to be constantly wondering if your new clients are happy with what you’re doing for them. There is constant emotional exposure, and a heightened fear of rejection and failure.
“Making a sale” is not an isolated incident. It carries with it all kinds of subtexts and obligations. And one must be mindful of those many insecurities, not to mention your backlog of rejection experiences.
So here’s my simple little written meditation workaround: take a few minutes every day and start writing down words that are associated with making a successful sales transaction. For me, this is just writing the word “sold” over and over again. I like to condition my subconscious mind to see sales as commonplace and as normal as breathing. There are lots of other words you can write down: “check received,” “client wants more,” “payment received,” “customers calling,” the list goes on and on. If you do this on a regular basis, when an actual big sale occurs, it will seem like less of a jolt out of your nonsale routine. Your tone of voice will become that of someone who just expects to make a sale all the time. This has tremendous persuasive power.
Every success book, from the Book of Exodus to Think and Grow Rich, emphasizes the importance of mental discipline, especially when it comes to managing the power of your subconscious mind. The search for more sales inevitably accumulates the trauma of failure and rejection, and if you don’t proactively manage your reaction to these negative experiences by programming yourself to expect positive ones, no matter how many sales seminars you take, you may slowly slide into the grip of a true belief that no one wants what you’re selling. Every physical act has an emotion as its source. Manage your core emotional beliefs, as those dictate what your physical reality will reflect.
To start, repeat after me:
I just made a big sale
I just made a big sale
I just made a big sale
A new client just called
(c) Justin Locke
*90% of my sales are on kindle now, but fyi, as one who once spent ten long years opening daily rejection letters from visionless literary agents, I NEVER get tired of shipping books. 🙂 – jl
