What trying to Sell feels like when you don’t know how

Ever have that feeling like you are the only one who doesn’t know how things work? I speak to so many founders who think they are the only ones who don’t know how to sell and are nervous to admit it. They blame themselves and think they just need to work harder or try harder – but actually it is about learning how things work.

I thought I would share some of the common things I have heard from founders about how they feel when they are new to selling – as I’m sure there are others out there who feel the same way.

Stressed about the lack of sales income

This is of course where it all starts. We are all so enthusiastic when we start our business – but finding and securing customers can sometimes be tough when we start out. That stress is perfectly normal – but it can lead us to spin our wheels and turn in circles.

Not sure how to improve things

So we know we need more customers – but we just can’t seem to get a clear picture of what we need to do to improve our sales numbers. There is so much information out there about what to do or how to get things on track.

Confused about where to focus our energy

We are all bombarded constantly with ideas to grow our business – a lot of it focused on digital marketing. That can be great stuff – but it can also lead to a merry-go-round of pumping out endless content. We can also find ourselves very busy doing lots of things, but not seeing tangible results.

Nervous about reaching out

This is a really common one. Instinctively people know they need to connect with others, but they are super self-conscious about how they do that. Many people are nervous about sounding pushy or annoying people, or simply ‘getting it wrong’.

Not everyone is naturally confident socially. For those of us who are, it can be hard to understand how difficult simple conversations can feel for others. Working on what to say and do at networking events and meetings is something that can really help with this.

Nervous about face-to-face meetings

This has come up a lot more since Covid when we all got out of the habit of meeting in person. I used to spend my day in coffee shops meeting with people. Now I spend a lot more time on video calls. This is partly just a fact of life of our new normal. However, meeting in person still has a place. Knowing what to do at an in-person meeting is something that a lot of people feel nervous about.  

Sometimes we spend a lot of time and energy on getting a meeting – but then we are not sure what to do when we get there!

Not sure about what I am trying to achieve at each interaction

If B2B sales is not something you have done before, the whole process can be very confusing. I often speak with people who are unclear about what they want to achieve with a business meeting – apart from knowing that they want to close the sale. Large opportunities can often take a lot of meetings to close, and knowing what to do at each one to keep things moving forward is important.

Lacking in confidence to go after big deals

This is a big one. Building confidence to go after big deals can take time – but you have to start somewhere. Not understanding or feeling confident about how to approach or work with large prospects holds a lot of founders back. Learning how to navigate large deals is something that you can learn, and a skill you can continue to improve.

No way of forecasting or managing their sales

It always amazes me that CRM companies sell software to people with huge assumptions around their understanding of how a sales process works. They have all of these automated tools for managing your pipeline – but if you don’t have a basic understanding of what it all means, the tools are not very effective.

You don’t need a fancy CRM to track your sales progress (although you can use one if you like). Learning how to track and report on your sales progress is something that removes a huge amount of stress for founders. It is also really important to enable you to grow and plan for the future.

Learning How to Sell B2B

It is so rewarding watching people change the way they feel about selling, once they learn how it works. The relief I see on their faces when they realise that there are simple things you can learn that will enable you to sell to businesses – in a way that works for your personality and your business – is awesome.

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