Confidence Comes From Preparation
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How does this message resonate with you? Does it help you feel more confident about achieving your goals when you know that you are prepared for a presentation or an interview?
Experience helps us posses more confidence in the work we do. This makes our efforts more focused and successful because people naturally gravitate to those who are confident.
Confidence means we have an air of knowledge and understanding that emanates from inside us. It is our experience and knowledge that attracts people to us and makes them want to listen to what we say. Without that attraction, we will actually repel people from us.
Those who do not take the time to educate themselves about their products or services try to cover up that fact by pretending they know. Sometimes this effort works, depending on how charismatic a sales person is and the perception level of the client, yet most of the time people see through the falsehood even though the salesman thinks he is impressing them. Having a false air of confidence actually repels people when they figure it out.
Some people in sales think they cannot admit they don’t know something because it will cause clients to lose respect for them and so they try to “wing it”. However, would it not be wiser to admit they do not know the answer to that question but will find out and get back to them? What makes people lose respect is being manipulated and lied to or conned. They know when one is not being honest about what he or she knows and will respond negatively to the insult.
The reason sales people are NOT trusted is because usually they are committed to selling the pitch, and they don’t tell the truth when they should. The way to win confidence with clients is to show them that we are willing to learn, willing to be teachable, and willing to lead by example. Leading by example means doing the same things they teach. This earns respect and loyalty from clients and cause people to follow them. People follow a person because they know he or she cares about having integrity in personal and business dealings.
I appreciate what Judy MacEachran pointed out in her statement above. She said: “You’ll discover powers you never knew existed. If you’re prepared, you’re able to feel confident…There can be no great courage when there is no confidence or assurance. Half the battle is in the conviction that you can accomplish what you undertake.”
The point that half the battle is in the conviction that we know what we know from preparation, planning, education and experience. Nothing else will attract to us the things we want and are important to us.
You do n0t need to know everything before you start talking to people, but you do need to have a good understanding of what you are telling people. If you don’t know something, it is perfectly appropriate to say that you don’t know but that you will find out the answer. Finding the answer will give you more confidence in answering that question the next time.
The point is to be transparent and truthful in your personal and business dealings. Do not engage in sales pitches and key phrases, it just turns off people and makes them not want to trust you. The right thing to do is know the facts about your business, educate yourself so you know what you are talking about, and then confidence will attract the rewards you seek.
