Overcoming the Fear of Selling to Executives

You are not alone.

To some degree, most salespeople are afraid of performing at the executive level. You may feel intimidated at the thought of answering questions effectively when drilled on the specifics of your offering. You may feel out of your league position-wise. And ultimately, you recognize that if you fail, your chances of a second chance are next to nil. The stakes are high.

How can you overcome these fears and present with confidence and likely success? According to executive selling training experts, the answer is simple…thorough preparation. Executives want to know that you understand their business issues.

Use all the technological tools at hand (web sites, LinkedIn, etc.) and then good, old-fashioned networking. Learn what you can about their industry. Learn what you can about their organization. And learn what you can about the individuals you will meet. Know their roles, their connections, their biases, and their communication style.

The better prepared you are, the more confident you will appear and the more successful at executive selling.