Last week, we wrote about some of the simple things that you can do to start increasing your ‘win’ rate on sales. We spoke about the importance of being able to resonate with your customers, differentiating from the competition, and substantiating your promise. We also spoke about the importance of connecting, convincing and collaborating.
There are more really useful tips, which we’d all do well to practice.
This one is about having a winning mindset. Self-belief is incredibly important in all aspects of life; not least in business where confidence and the ability to speak with authority and ‘aplomb’ is vital. Of course, self-belief doesn’t come overnight. Those people who have it have mostly had to work at it. Confidence is like a muscle – you have to keep it strong and supple; you can’t let it atrophy! Here are some good tips to keeping your confidence ‘gym-ready’:
Be prepared: if you’re going into a meeting, or a presentation, or a pitch, rehearse what might happen beforehand. Practice in front of a mirror! Do you look convincing? Use your hands enough, or too much? Smiling is important – but make it natural, not forced. What might your audience ask you? Rehearse for all eventualities, and you’ll automatically go into that situation more confident.
Be ambitious: taking a laissez-faire approach to life might keep your blood pressure down, but it won’t necessarily win you business. You need to be hungry, and believe that you deserve that win. Think of a hunting lion on the Serengeti: they definitely don’t say “ah, mañana, I can always eat tomorrow”!
Be Teflon: don’t let other people rain on your parade. There will always be negative people out there, or people who’ve had a bad day and don’t react as you’d like them to. This doesn’t have to influence your mood, or your self-belief. Be empathetic, be sympathetic, but don’t get dragged down by other peoples’ negativity.
Interested in knowing more? click here to listen to The Company Doctor podcast
