Anthony Iannarino over at The Sales Blog has a great post up today. He talks about the correlation between confidence and cold calling.  It’s a great read, check it out.

The money quote for me was this:

Sometimes, the reason that you are uncomfortable asking for commitments is that you don’t feel that you created enough value to deserve the commitment

Not feeling you’ve created enough value or can’t create enough value is the worse place a sales person can be and it goes beyond just cold calling. It goes as deep as the company you work for. I know more people than I can count that work for a company where they don’t have enough confidence to ask for a commitment. Why? Because they don’t believe the company and it’s products create enough value.

I have a friend who is a fantastic sales person. She is amazing at what she does. She recently took a job where, after just a few months, she had no confidence in the product. She was losing deals because, at the end of the day, all the company really had to compete on was price and they were not structured to compete on price. She kept losing deals. After only 4 months she had lost all confidence in the company and it’s products. It was time to go.

When looking at your current situation or your next job ask yourself, what type of VALUE does this company and it’s products create. Dig deep.

Digging into the value is where the win is. Knowing the depth and uniqueness of the value can tell you a lot.

Not having confidence that you are creating enough value to ask for a commitment during a cold call can kill your quarter. Not having enough confidence in the company and their products can kill your career.

Do you believe in your company and its products and services. You should. It’s the first and main reason you work there.