Baggage is fine for carrying-on short flights and overnight
car trips, but nagging personal baggage can paralyze your
sales efforts. What do you carry around with you that is
constantly weighing you down, limiting your flexibility and
holding you back? Most of us carry the burden of something;
usually more that we should. Why do we and how does this
behavior impact our selling?

Psychologists tell us that the roots of these burdens are
usually veiled the twin culprits of guilt and fear, two
negative emotions that can cripple your selling career. As
human beings, we are a sum of our parts. It is unrealistic
to assume that emotional baggage in our lives will not
overflow into our sales efforts as well. While I certainly
am not a psychology expert nor is this an attempt to solve
your personal issues, there are indeed several daily
adjustments that can be made to improve our outlook,
expectations and desired results.

My own personal experience has demonstrated that there are
several specific techniques that can be of great help.
These actions are not an attempt to solve all of your life
issues, rather a plan to help you achieve your selling
goals and income needs in spite of them. We will leave your
deeper life issues to the psych professionals.

Try implementing these eight steps :

1. Realize that your circumstances are seldom as bleak as
you imagine them.

2. Visualize the worst possible outcome and evaluate it.
Can you accept that conclusion if necessary?

3. Write out your specific goals and your action plans to
achieve them.

4. Write out the anticipated obstacles to each action step.

5. Evaluate each obstacle and devise a plan to effectively
deal with each.

6. Realize that F.E.A.R. (false evidence appearing real) is
your enemy, often restraining you.

7. Accept that your actual potential is virtually unlimited.

8. Believe that you are deserving of so much more than you
currently have, both tangible and intangible.

While these steps may actually be helpful in many life
instances, they are particularly helpful in your sales
efforts. These are designed to add separation between your
sales career and the baggage that you carry around. The
interesting thing is that your improved sales results will
impact your confidence and feelings of self-worth, thus
affecting the rest of your life as well.

Now that's something to definitely add to your carry-on
baggage!

About the Author:

Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and
Superior Selling Skills Mastery, has garnered extensive
experience in sales, training, marketing and personal
development spanning a successful 26 year sales career.
Experience his blog at http://www.idea-sellers.com