“It’s Absolutely Terrifying!”  Those were my initial thoughts about prospecting and closing as I set out 3 years ago in the industry of network marketing.  I didn’t know why I was so scared to go talk to strangers about my opportunity, but I certainly was. Over the first year of going to local networking meetings, trade shows and home meetings, it became easier for me to approach people and start talking…but I still didn’t like doing it. And forget about closing…I couldn’t close a door! I perceived it as painful and something I would avoid whenever possible.  I just hoped they would signup on their own…I NEVER asked them to.

So when I was introduced to the concept of internet marketing and not having to go “out and about” it was like a breath of fresh air.  I learned the technical skills and flourished as an internet marketer.  I made lots of affiliate sales, personal product sales, and even brought a lot of people into my business…strictly online.

But something was still missing in my complete business model.  I wasn’t recruiting as often as I’d preferred.  After taking a deep look over my journey the last 2 years, it became apparent that I still have issues with prospecting and closing!  And what’s even more interesting to me is that 84% of the people who are in this industry do too as well!

I practice the art of attraction marketing online.  This means people find me and want to join me.  (It’s awesome really and if that isn’t happening to you, connect up with me and I can help you.)  But strictly using this method online was limiting me.  If I am going to become as successful as I’d planned, I was going to need to get out there more and talk to people and actually bring up my opportunity… something I never really did before online.  (See you never get what you don’t ask for!)

So I hired a personal coach and started working on my “issues” and my “perceived pain” in prospecting and closing.  I’ve learned so much over the past 2 months and hopefully some of my “insights” can help you as well – minus the expensive coaching fee!

3 Steps To Overcoming Your Fears Of Prospecting and Closing People:

Step 1:  First you have to realize that you have issues with prospecting and closing.  This requires you to drop our ego and take a step back and try to observe your business as a whole.  Where are you lacking?  If it comes down to the fact that you talk to people, but they don’t ever have the money, or they don’t show up for follow up appointments, or you don’t even create follow up appointments after exposing your opportunity, then you have issues with asking people questions.  This is the big issue here.

Step 2: Once you realize that you aren’t comfortable approaching people, or you’re not able to close them into your business, you need to figure out WHY this action makes you uncomfortable.  This step is really the big one.  It seems easy to figure out on the surface.  “You don’t want to be pushy”. “You feel like you’re prying in their life”.  “You don’t want to bother anyone”.  “You have issues with salespeople and don’t want to be considered one”  I could go on and on.  If you’re still reading this, I’m sure you can relate to one of those reasons.  But that’s not REALLY the reason you are having issues with prospecting and closing.   It’s below that even further.  You have to go deeper and figure out WHY you feel like you’re being pushy, or bothering people.  These are learned behaviors, and some point along the line you’ve been taught not to do this and identified with this persona. (See I told you it was this one was a big one).

Step 3: Now, step 2 is going to take you some time to figure out.  But once you get down inside yourself and find the reason or person you learned this thought process, it’s time to change it.  This is when (and only when) the transformation occurs.  It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen with dedicated practice.  Let go of your “perceived pain” of talking to people…you’re making it up anyway.  Catch yourself in the act of wanting to back out of a conversation when it comes time to ask for the sale, and go ahead and ASK.  You’ll start to feel empowered, and you’ll gain confidence in yourself every time you go a little further with your conversations.

The act of prospecting and closing is really considered an art by many people.

It’s not something you get good at overnight, but the good thing is, you can learn it!  This is a learnable skill.  So even though you may not think of yourself skilled in prospecting and closing right now, it is something you can practice over and over again.  And just think, if you are practicing asking questions and closing sales everyday…you’re bound to get a few “Yes’s” along the way!

If you want to learn more about attraction marketing so you can incorporate this method into your business plan, visit www.AttractionMarketer.com to see how I was able to quit my job and stay home with my girls.