Or maybe you’re a professional in the corporate world who has similar challenges when you need to persuade senior management on a strategic issue or some other important matter.

It’s a common “disease” for entrepreneurs and executives alike to experience fear and reluctance when selling their services or their point of view.  Whether you have your own business or are in employed in a corporation, you must sell yourself on daily basis in some form or fashion.

If you’ve coached with me or taken any of my tele-classes, you know I put a lot of emphasis on the role of psychology in achieving success.  I believe it’s at least 80% of the battle (see my article, “5 Steps To Blast Through Sales Call Reluctance”).

The cure for this disease comes down to two non-negotiable requirements for being influential and persuasive.  These two things almost seem to contradict each other, but my experience is that if you are missing either one, you’re missing out on a lot of success that you deserve!

Note: In the balance of this article, “prospect” means “anyone you’re trying to influence” (customer, management, subordinates, etc).  “Product” means anything you’re trying to sell, such as a service, idea, strategy, or a real product.

Requirement #1:   Absolute Conviction About The Value You’re Providing

You must be absolutely convinced that what you’re offering to your prospect is gold!  This sounds so obvious and simplistic, yet it’s a common ailment for professionals to be filled with doubt about themselves and what their selling.  That feeling of doubt is transferred to the prospect – if your not convinced this is great, why should your prospect?

“Absolute conviction” does not mean that you’re “drinking Kool-Aid” and deluding yourself into thinking that everyone needs what you’re selling.  It does mean that you’re 100% certain that you have something of tremendous value for the right person or organization.  In other words, you have something that genuinely meets a clearly defined need and you’re not apologetic about offering this to anyone who has this need.

For example, a consultant named Julie was having a lot of trouble when it came to inviting prospects to move ahead with the sale.  When we examined her underlying beliefs, we discovered that Julie had reservations that what she was offering had real value.

Maybe you can identify with Julie – what do you do when you’re in this place?  Take inventory.  Honestly assess the value your product brings to the prospect.  Write down a comprehensive list.  Because we’re so close to what we offer, we tend to take it for granted.  Get reacquainted with why you started selling this in the first place, and build conviction.

If you have a lot of trouble zeroing in on this, then maybe it’s time to figure out how to you can significantly increase the value of what you offer.  Once you can genuinely get to the place where you’re absolutely convinced that you’re offering far more value than the price you’re charging (i.e.,  that the prospect will receive a substantial return on investment), you will convey your message so that your prospect will feel that way to.

Requirement #2:  Complete Detachment From The Results

You must come from a place where you’re not personally invested in the outcome.  You’ve completely explored your prospect’s needs and presented your solution. The rest of the “result” rests in their hands.  You must come from a place where you’re okay with whatever decision they make. 

This sounds contradictory from Requirement #1, in that if I believe wholeheartedly that I have a great solution for the prospect, how can I be detached from the result? 

The key here is to remember to “keep it about them”.  For example, Julie observed that when it came time to making her invitation, she felt like she was asking the prospect to do her a favor!  She came from a place where she really needed the sale.  It became more about her than the prospect.  As a result, she found that she was actually repelling sales on a subconscious level!

The ironic thing is that the more detached you are about getting the sale, the more likely it is you will get it.  The more you relax, keep doing the right things with your marketing, and not worry about the results, the more clients you’ll attract. 

The beauty of incorporating both of these requirements into your psyche is that you’ll find that you’re having more fun marketing and selling yourself and your product. What a concept!  And in the course of having more fun, you will experience more success!