How to Stop Negative Self Talk with These Simple Steps
Published by: Pat Altvater - Sales Coach for Women Entrepreneurs on 1st Jul 2011 |
View all blogs by Pat Altvater - Sales Coach for Women Entrepreneurs
Have you heard the saying that “Every blade of grass
has an angel bending over it whispering, grow,
grow!”
Unfortunately, most of us hear a persistent whisper that is a bit less compassionate. If you close your eyes and think about a BIG dream of yours, you might hear it now. “You’re not smart enough. You’re not special enough. What makes you think you can do that! Didn’t those shorts fit looser last summer???”
Experts say that a full 70 – 80% of our thoughts are negative.
When you are stepping into the role of salesperson for your product or service, it’s important to pay attention to your inner dialog. Two times when you definitely want to quiet your negative self talk are right before you meet with someone or during a conversation you are having where you have an opportunity to present your products or service.
Negative self talk
can lead to disastrous results in a sales situation because our
thoughts create our emotions. For example, if you are talking with
someone and they say, “I’ve tried something like this before and it
didn’t work for me,” and you immediately descend into negative
self-talk, you are doomed! Your thoughts, which could be along the
lines of “I’m wasting my time here”, “they aren’t going to buy from
me”, “maybe this product isn’t good enough”, will create emotions
that are also negative. Emotions such as disappointment, doubt, or
frustration. Those emotions not only affect the person you are
meeting with, in a way that probably won’t help you get the sale,
but they affect your actions at the time and in the future. You
might stop yourself from asking for the sale, avoid making other
sales calls or appointments, and so on. It’s a big downward
spiral.
There are a few things that you can do to prevent this from happening and keep yourself from struggling with negative self talk:
1. Prepare yourself positively before stepping into the role of sales person for your product or service. Have a snappy affirmation that you can say to yourself, such as “I provide a great service or product that my clients want and are willing to pay for.” You could also think about all your satisfied clients or just your most satisfied client and what your product/service has done for them.
2. Detach from the outcome to successfully attract the results you desire. If you are attached, you engage in negative self talk and project emotions such as fear, doubt, or desperation which actually just attract the opposite of your desire. When you are detached you operate from serenity, trust and faith knowing that whatever outcome occurs will be the right one and basically you’ll automatically say the things and take the actions that will attract what you want.
3. Maintain awareness, notice negative self talk and shift when necessary. Learn to listen to your words, whether mental or spoken, and realize that thoughts are easy to change. The secret is to simply choose another thought. Take back your original critical thought, change your mind, reverse negative self talk; just stop yourself in your tracks, talk back and break the spell!! When you hear a negative thought, you could say in your mind “Cancel that” and instantly substitute a new and powerful thought. You can say anything affirming that you like; however, it’s really easy to just say “I love you.” to yourself and then thank yourself for bringing this to your attention. So replace negative self talk with love and gratitude.
4. Have a physical reminder. During a sales appointment, you could touch a favorite piece of jewelry as a reminder of your intention to avoid negative self talk. Any of these options bring you back to awareness of your goal of replacing negative with positive self talk.
Use these tips to help you release negative self talk, have more productive sales calls, and increase your profits.
About Pat Altvater: Pat is the author of Choose Success, Ignite the Power Within and the creator of Patti Perfect. She partners with women entrepreneurs to implement a sales process that brings them joy and increase their profits. Find out more about Pat at her website Sales Coaching for Women Entrepreneurs
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Unfortunately, most of us hear a persistent whisper that is a bit less compassionate. If you close your eyes and think about a BIG dream of yours, you might hear it now. “You’re not smart enough. You’re not special enough. What makes you think you can do that! Didn’t those shorts fit looser last summer???”
Experts say that a full 70 – 80% of our thoughts are negative.
When you are stepping into the role of salesperson for your product or service, it’s important to pay attention to your inner dialog. Two times when you definitely want to quiet your negative self talk are right before you meet with someone or during a conversation you are having where you have an opportunity to present your products or service.
Negative self talk
can lead to disastrous results in a sales situation because our
thoughts create our emotions. For example, if you are talking with
someone and they say, “I’ve tried something like this before and it
didn’t work for me,” and you immediately descend into negative
self-talk, you are doomed! Your thoughts, which could be along the
lines of “I’m wasting my time here”, “they aren’t going to buy from
me”, “maybe this product isn’t good enough”, will create emotions
that are also negative. Emotions such as disappointment, doubt, or
frustration. Those emotions not only affect the person you are
meeting with, in a way that probably won’t help you get the sale,
but they affect your actions at the time and in the future. You
might stop yourself from asking for the sale, avoid making other
sales calls or appointments, and so on. It’s a big downward
spiral.There are a few things that you can do to prevent this from happening and keep yourself from struggling with negative self talk:
1. Prepare yourself positively before stepping into the role of sales person for your product or service. Have a snappy affirmation that you can say to yourself, such as “I provide a great service or product that my clients want and are willing to pay for.” You could also think about all your satisfied clients or just your most satisfied client and what your product/service has done for them.
2. Detach from the outcome to successfully attract the results you desire. If you are attached, you engage in negative self talk and project emotions such as fear, doubt, or desperation which actually just attract the opposite of your desire. When you are detached you operate from serenity, trust and faith knowing that whatever outcome occurs will be the right one and basically you’ll automatically say the things and take the actions that will attract what you want.
3. Maintain awareness, notice negative self talk and shift when necessary. Learn to listen to your words, whether mental or spoken, and realize that thoughts are easy to change. The secret is to simply choose another thought. Take back your original critical thought, change your mind, reverse negative self talk; just stop yourself in your tracks, talk back and break the spell!! When you hear a negative thought, you could say in your mind “Cancel that” and instantly substitute a new and powerful thought. You can say anything affirming that you like; however, it’s really easy to just say “I love you.” to yourself and then thank yourself for bringing this to your attention. So replace negative self talk with love and gratitude.
4. Have a physical reminder. During a sales appointment, you could touch a favorite piece of jewelry as a reminder of your intention to avoid negative self talk. Any of these options bring you back to awareness of your goal of replacing negative with positive self talk.
Use these tips to help you release negative self talk, have more productive sales calls, and increase your profits.
About Pat Altvater: Pat is the author of Choose Success, Ignite the Power Within and the creator of Patti Perfect. She partners with women entrepreneurs to implement a sales process that brings them joy and increase their profits. Find out more about Pat at her website Sales Coaching for Women Entrepreneurs
Related Articles:
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