Beliefs in sales: the load-bearing walls of your results

Imagine you believe deep down that selling is pushy. Or that customers only look at price anyway. How likely are you then to have a relaxed conversation your customer actually gets something out of? Exactly. Zero.

Why beliefs steer your sales conversation

Your beliefs are the load-bearing walls of your mental house. They steer your behaviour, your language, your posture and even what you see: opportunities or obstacles. The tricky part is that they usually work unconsciously, like autopilot. You only notice them when they get in your way. And by then the damage is done, because you radiate that insecurity and your customer picks up on it flawlessly. Your belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The limiting beliefs I come across everywhere

I come across the classics everywhere. I am not a born salesperson. I am afraid of coming across as pushy. My service is too expensive. A no feels like a personal rejection. Recognise one of them? Then know this: none of these beliefs is a fact. They are mental constructs, formed from earlier experiences, and you can reprogramme them.

Turning limiting beliefs around in four steps

You do that in four steps:

1. Acknowledge the belief and name what it costs you. Which opportunities are you leaving on the table because of it?
2. Look for counter-evidence. Was there a moment when you were relaxed after all, when you did overcome an objection? Often the belief turns out not to be true all the time. That realisation alone already weakens it.
3. Formulate the new belief. From "my service is too expensive" to "my service delivers value that more than justifies the investment".
4. Anchor it. Repeat it daily, picture how you act on it, and put it into practice. Every time it works, it is proof for your brain that the new belief is right.

My own core belief is simple: I do fine, honest, relaxed business by helping as much as I can. That is not a slogan, it is the compass everything sails by.

Beliefs are the third element of the Customer Experience Model, alongside honest, relaxed, content, process and form. Start today with one belief that holds you back. Write it down, and next to it one moment when it was not true. The exercises for the other steps are in my book Sales, Honest & Relaxed.