There’s one obstacle to prospecting I don’t hear from people — I see it. Low self-esteem.

I can relate, because if you knew my early path in sales, I was anything but The Sales Hunter. I had to raise my own self-esteem to become a great salesperson.

How to Deal With Low Self-Esteem

Let me walk you through five things that you can do to help you deal with low self-esteem.

1.  Set low goals you can achieve.

Don’t set the goal of making the President’s Club this year, set the goal to simply not finish last, or finish in the middle of the pack, or 10 percent better than last year.

Set a series of goals you can achieve. If I can set goals and achieve them, it motivates me.

You might have a low self-esteem where you just can’t pick up the phone. So, the goal might be to make two phone calls. Start somewhere!

I was dealing with a salesperson who had a problem with just making one phone call. She didn’t believe in herself. But over the course of about six months working with this person, she was then making about 30 to 40 calls a day.

2.  Control your attitude.

You control your attitude by believing in yourself and believing in how you can help others.

Now, some people say, “Well, I have low self-esteem.” It’s not really a low self-esteem, you just don’t believe in what you sell. Remember, it’s not the product you sell, it’s the outcome you create.

I work with a lot of different companies all over the spectrum, many different industries, and sometimes they have a really good product and sometimes not.

Sometimes when the product is not that good, those salespeople, boy, they have a great self-esteem. They’re confident because they know they’re creating an outcome to help the customer.

One of the easiest ways is to write down the names of five or 10 people you’ve been able to come in contact with and you’ve been able to influence. Next to each name, write down how you influenced them, what you did. Now look at that and think, wow, that’s cool. Look at the success you’ve created.

Who are the people you’re influencing today?

3.  Get a mentor.

You may need to hire a coach. Or it may be just a mentor. It may be somebody who you respect and you say, “Hey, can I buy you breakfast once a month? Can I call you up?”

I was talking to an individual the other day who has had a mentor for a number of years and it’s had a huge, powerful impact all because he said, “Would you come into my life?” And I asked this person, “Do you pay them?” He said, “No, actually, I don’t pay them. But boy, I treat them well. I take care of them at Christmas. I send them gift cards. Whenever we’re in town together, we go out to dinner. I take care of them.”

I know a lot of other people who have mentors that they pay as a coach. I’ve had a number of coaches over my career, and every time it’s worked out great.

4.  Spend 30 minutes a day learning.

I can’t stress this enough. Regardless of your profession, you need to spend 30 minutes a day learning.

If you spend 30 minutes a day learning about your profession, or about your skill set for just a couple months, you’ll become better, and smarter than the vast majority of other people out there. And you know what? That just gives you more confidence.

So turn off Netflix, turn off Hulu. Pick up a book and read. Go get a learning course. But spend 30 minutes a day learning.

5.  Join or create a mastermind.

There may be three or four people like you and you say, “You know what? Let’s get together every Friday morning.”

I have several groups where we get together on a monthly basis. For some, we get together to compare ideas, others are more informal, and we get lunch every other month.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about my mastermind group — we’ve been together for about five years. We’re very tight. We do a lot of business things together.

Sales is not a solo activity. Sales is a team sport. Life is not a solo activity. Life is a team sport, and it’s amazing at how more successful you’ll be.

Does Your Personality Sell or Repel?

Most probably assume their personality sells. But what if it’s the opposite?

A personality that sells is a personality that puts the customer first.

And when we put the customer first, it’s amazing what we hear.

1. Your personality is a reflection of your attitude.

When it comes to prospecting, attitude is especially critical. Because if I go into a prospecting call with the wrong attitude, I’m going to have the wrong personality.

When I go into a call, whether it be a phone call, a video call, or face-to-face meeting, your personality comes through very quickly. The person on the other end receives it and processes it just as we are processing theirs.

There’s an immediate emotional connection or disconnection, and this is why so many prospecting calls go awry.

Don’t think for a moment that your personality is only in how you come across visually. No, your personality comes across in your language. It comes across in your emails!

Your personality is going to come out right in that first sentence and the last sentence. Of course, it is not about making the email cheesy or all fluff. Instead, it’s about understanding the customer

2. Our personality is about being natural.

It’s about being who we are. Even on my podcast, The Sales Hunter Podcast, or when I record videos for this blog, you’ll see I use my voice to showcase my personality. I slow my pace; I lower my tone.

I’m not changing my personality; I’m changing my approach. My personality is still the same. I want to engage you.

Personality affects the type of questions we ask, but more important, it impacts the answers we get. This is why two people can ask a customer literally the exact same question and get completely different answers.

So, I want you to stop and ask yourself this question: Is my personality centered around the other person, or is it centered around me?

The attitude we have going into a sale predetermines the results we get coming out of it.

Before you go into any call, before you write any email, ask yourself this question:

How will I put the customer first? What can I say? Or ask? What can I do to put the customer first?

That’s the question I want you to ask, because it’s not about you.

3. Sales is competitive.

Many times we’re in conversations with a customer where there’s a competitor, and our proposals are pretty equal. So, who’s the customer going to do business with? The person they like the most; the person who is most engaging.

The personality you express going into a call, during a sales call, even throughout the whole sale process is a reflection of the service that the customer’s going to get once they choose to buy from you.

So, before any call, text message, social media post, ask yourself: Is this going to put the customer first?

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