In the course of selling, there are many stumble blocks that sales people come across: Procrastination, Objections, failures, etc. However, in my humble opinion, the 2 major sales obstacles are: Fear and Trust.

In this article, I want to examine those 2 pillars and show how to overcome them.

Fear is one of those subjects that sales people do not like to talk about and is brushed hastily under the carpet. How often have you heard a sales person confess that he was afraid, weak and vulnerable in front of his client or that he was afraid to ask questions for fear of triggering some obscene remarks!

Yes, the sales person's fear breeds insecurity, negativity, lack of confidence. The solution is to have an attitude of optimism, what W. Clement Stone called Positive mental attitude. It calls for a change in your thought process (80% of fear is inside you) and when applied daily, it becomes a success habit.

Fear is often characterised by a lack of clearly defined goals and a lack of vision. Define and visualise your goals daily and optimism will replace your fear.

Stephen M Covey talks a lot about trust as being a key accelerator, a key facilitator in every encounter. He goes on to say that the faster that you gain trust with your client, the quicker the sales cycle is closed. Trust is like a speed train...it accelerates based on bonding, collaboration, etc.

The more trust there is between client and you, the faster the transaction, the bigger the transaction and the more frequency is the purchase.

Conversely, if the trust is low, then the lack of trust will cost you sales. You will be taxed.

If you are in sales and you are having trouble with your "lack of trust"; if you fear that perhaps, you do not come across as a trustworthy person, then, here is a solution to your problem:

· Examine your character and decide that from now on that you are going to be a person of integrity, honesty and that you care about your client. You have to become credible and credibility means believability. Subconsciously, the client judges you by your words, actions, conduct.

· You are also being examined by your competence. Do you appear skillful and know your capabilities at hand? Do you have a track record to show?

Remember your sales role is to become the most trusted adviser for your client as you want to make their life better- you want to add value.

Invest in yourself and your education and you will enjoy selling.