Overcoming fear in salespeople

Salespeople showing low sales performance may actually be suffering from the fear of self-promotion. This anxiety prevents sales professionals from maximizing the number of contacts they initiate with prospective customers because this fear usually translates into reluctance to make sales calls. The fear of self-promotion may afflict even sales staffers who are apparently motivated, talented and capable, and may not be easily remedied by traditional training programs. The 12 types of salespeople suffering from self-promotion-aversion and sales call-reluctance are the doomsayer, overpreparer, hyperpro, yielder, stage-fright sufferer, role rejecter, self-conscious socializer, separationist, unemancipated emotionalist, referral averter, telephobic and opposite reflexive. To eliminate this problem, an approach that emphasizes awareness, acceptance, assessment and application is recommended.