Conquering Your Fear of Money

Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. — Shakespeare

Believe it or not, many salespeople are afraid to ask for money! I was giving a seminar to salespeople in South Carolina last year when I realized that my students were victims of this dreaded affliction. I devised a simple little exercise where they paired off, and each of them said to the other, “That will be just $3,000 please.” I had trouble deciding if the results were tragic or hilarious! The first few times we did it, three of them actually couldn’t get the words out of their mouths. We practiced for half an hour, going up and down in various increments until they could say “$10,000” just as easily as “ten bucks.” By employing this exercise, and then explaining the reasons for their problem, we were able to conquer this long-held fear.

Why are salespeople afraid to ask for money?

It may be because they themselves never had enough money to buy the products they are selling. When this is true, the fact that they are selling a product they themselves cannot afford leads them to believe, at least subconsciously, that other people can’t afford it either. This is very true with many people selling high-end products like club memberships or real estate.

In my work with the PGA, I have found that despite the fact golf professionals are working with some…