fear of meeting new prospects

dwalker

I was interesting in knowing how to overcome a fear I have of meeting new prospects. Outside of work I'm not shy by any means but sometimes when I'm meeting with a new prospect I can barely get the words out. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Gary Boye

Tell me exactly what the words are that you can "barely get out". Then please tell me where you got those words from.

And when you're "not shy by any means", where do the words you use come from--the ones that are easy to get out?

AZBroker

Maybe you have a fear of rejection or some type of performance anxiety. Here is a question you might ask yourself: “What am I really afraid of?”

SalesGuy

AZ could be right. You might be assigning "too much" importance to the call.

Giuseppe

[quote=dwalker]Outside of work I'm not shy by any means but sometimes when I'm meeting with a new prospect I can barely get the words out.[quote]I too have suffered from this except the opposite. I find no difficulty in speaking to buyers but when alone with a new lady I freeze up like an icecube. I hope your answer will be my answer too.

celevers@yahoo.com

Hi,
I also feel some trepidation when first meeting with a new prospect. You never know if the new prospect is friendly, hostile, berating or if they are accepting, open and attentive. It really helps me if I am well prepared for the call and have all the information that will be needed (know your product/service). Prior to the visit, I ask the prospect what their area of focus or interest is and try to tailor the visit to that aspect. I also look up the prospects company on the internet and get a better idea for unanticipated needs (and potential objections!) may be.

I try to assume that all prospects are interested and friendly. It helps going into the meeting!

MitchM

I like the honest answers posted on this thread so far - people who hide their fear are not people I can trust to be honest in other areas which is important for me.

Gary offers a self-analysis or probing which has to come first - everything else is dressing or avoidance or missing the important issue which is internal and self-confronting.

The kind of precision Gary asks for can open the door to understanding more clearly and quickly than rubbing balm on the pain.

Going from comfort to discomfort - acting with didcomfort sometimes but still acting - is important to understand.

SalesCoach

Excellent question. You might follow it up with, "Why am I afraid of this?"

JacquesWerth

[quote=Giuseppe][quote=dwalker]Outside of work I'm not shy by any means but sometimes when I'm meeting with a new prospect I can barely get the words out. Meeting a prospect, a customer, a new lady, man, or any other human being can be easy, rewarding and pleasurable if you have the skills to talk about them – not about you, your product or your company. That does not mean building “rapport,” doing a needs analysis, or trying to find their pain.

MitchM

[quote=JacquesWerth][quote=Giuseppe]I'm improving in this and a lot has to do with realizing all my life I've had good conversations with people when I didn't have anything at stake, when I wasn't trying to get them to do anything and I just listened and engaged. But somehow that was lost when I started doing what I do and I was suddenly selling as in building rapport, doing a needs analysis, and trying to find their pain - what Jacques just posted.

It isn't that these things aren't important but that they happen in the course of a comfortable conversation where the purpose is to have a "rewarding and pleasurable" conversation.

Jacques mentions having the skills for that and I believe in selling they come from two sources. One source is the realization that it is a conversation to qualify and disqualify as well as get to know and the other is actual inquiry skills which begin with listening skills.

I could site some sources here but everyone feels they have resources and they abound.

Talking about them and listening to them comes first.