As a coach to entrepreneurs and salespeople, I find that a lot of my clients balk at selling their products or services. It strikes me as strange because they love what they have to offer, but I understand that it can be intimidating or uncomfortable to get into a sales role, especially if you aren’t used to it.

Sales phobia can be a huge problem if you work in sales or own your own business, so I’d like to share some of the questions I get asked and my responses to them.

What is “Sales Phobia?”

You may have sales phobia if you find that you can have a great conversation but when it comes time to close the sale, you get nervous. Or you might find yourself putting off your cold calls or sales calls. Or you may become very uncomfortable when people have objections or questions you’re not sure how to answer. Or you find yourself worrying about being too pushy or sale-sy.

Is it really a “Phobia”?

It is probably not a diagnosable phobia. Most people who get nervous about sales conversation are simple not as experienced or good at it as they would like to be.

You could have a diagnosable phobia if you’re going to such lengths to avoid something (in this case, selling) that it interferes with your life and functioning. Nervousness about sales can also be a part of social anxiety, in which you may be nervous is several social situations, such as public speaking, talking with strangers or authority figures, expressing your opinions, and selling.

Is there a difference between “normal” social anxiety and social anxiety disorder?

Absolutely- Most people will experience normal anxiety. Social anxiety disorder (now called social phobia) affects 6.8% and is equally common among men and women.

Almost everyone has normal amounts of social anxiety from time to time—speaking  jitters when giving presentations, trying to look their best when talking with key business partners, or feeling nervous about making cold calls. The anxiety may be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t necessarily stop them from doing important things and doing them fairly well. The discomfort tends to go away relatively quickly.

Social anxiety disorder, on the other hand, is more intense anxiety, comes up more frequently in different situations, and causes significant impairment in social or occupational functioning. People with social anxiety disorder tend to avoid the situations that make them nervous. It is unlikely that someone with social anxiety disorder would only have anxiety about sales calls- they’d probably have anxiety in several other situations, such as talking with new people, going to parties, and so on.

Someone with sales phobia who may require treatment would be very upset about the anxiety, not making calls or taking tons of time to prepare for them, thinking of switching careers or at risk of being fired, and so on.

Someone with normal anxiety would feel some butterflies but would make the calls anyone (maybe after some procrastinating), would want to improve abilities, but would not be up nights losing sleep over it and considering a new profession because of the anxiety.

Are there some people who have diagnosable social anxiety that shouldn’t sell at all?

Social anxiety disorder is very treatable, so people with the condition may want to receive cognitive behavioral treatments (CBT) or medication before reaching a conclusion about whether they can and should sell. I’ve had several salespeople clients who were wonderfully talented at sales but the anxiety got in the way. Once they got rid of the anxiety, their performance was stellar. And one of the best ways to overcome social anxiety or sales anxiety is to do it (i.e., sell) more often.

An exception is when people are anxious because they don’t feel that sales is the right fit for their personalities, in which case they may want to consider alternative options. Anxiety is a condition (or a state) whereas personality is a set of traits that tend not to change. So if someone has personality traits like introversion, or the need for stability and predictability (esp. in income), sales may not be a good fit.

How do I know if my sales phobia is likely to improve on its own?

- You’re new to sales or to the current industry or business and are not yet comfortable in a sales role.

- You’re doing well in sales but wonder if you could do even better with increased confidence.

- You don’t think sales is the right fit for you- not necessarily because you’re nervous about it, but because someone else could do it better.

- You’re nervous because you have so much on your plate that you don’t have time to devote to developing your sales skills.

 If one of these factors is the primary explanation for your nervousness about selling, it is possible that you can become more confident as you gain more experience in sales (or choose to have someone else do the selling for you.

Questions about sales phobia? Post below and I’m happy to answer them.