“Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.”
- Karl Augustus Menninger
Self-published authors are “self-employed” professionals. Your place of business is your keyboard, and the products you manufacture are books. In order for your business to succeed, you must sell books, preferably thousands of them.
To be a successful self-published author, view your writing not as a hobby, but as a livelihood. Whether your genre is fiction or non-fiction, fear of selling your product is not an option.
Consultant Susan Martin is the founder and creator of Business Sanity, a firm that helps independent professionals increase profits, improve management and reduce stress. She has created a 16-point program for getting past fear when it comes to selling. These points can be incorporated into your book marketing strategies without difficulty. Below are some key tactics, to help you move past your fear and into sales.The key to getting past your fear, is being confident in your approach. A little preparation can go a long way.
Get clear on your market position. Know your genre and your readers. Figure out why your book gives them what they need. Once you're clear it will be easy for you to show readers why they should buy your book, rather than another.
Pinpoint what it is that you’re really afraid of. Look for the reasons behind your fear, and then come up with solutions for dealing with your fear. It’s hard to convince people to buy if you’re worried about what you’re selling. If this is the case, be proactive! Fix the problems. Make your product or service the best it can be.
Use the things you don't like about sales to formulate a better approach. Make a list of all of the things salespeople do that you don’t like. From there, develop strategies to avoid these tactics.
Learn to look at sales rejection as an opportunity for learning. Instead of letting yourself be discouraged by a “NO,” use the experience as a learning opportunity. What went right? What didn't work that can be approached differently the next time?
Consider practicing. A great way to practice is to try out your presentation in a comfortable setting first.
Celebrate your wins! Congratulate yourself whenever you make a good presentation or if feel you've improved, even if you haven’t closed a deal yet. Also, keep in mind that it doesn't help to be hard on yourself if things don’t go well.
And finally, just allow yourself to do it! Be willing to step outside your comfort zone. Psyche yourself up to try it and get out there ─ it really does get easier each time you do.
Good points on overcoming fear.
Fear is a liar.