3 ways to unleash your inner confidence

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Having confidence, to me, is best defined as the self-assurance that you’re going to kill it. You’re certain that you have the skills, qualities and knowledge to get the job done. Trying to close a deal without confidence is like baking a cake without flour; good luck.

Confidence in business, and basically any interaction in life, is absolutely essential and a key component in building any successful relationship. Just like other skills, it takes learning, practice and execution to effectively use that confidence on a daily basis. Here’s how to get started.

Feel good

Really, it starts with that. Having a healthy mind and body just naturally exudes positivity, and our energy attracts the people around us to the message we’re trying to convey.

Naturally, we want to surround ourselves with happy, positive people, so it really helps to start by having people want to be around you.

Secondly, to be at your best, you’re going to need to be feeling your best. Developing healthy habits such as exercising daily, eating well and sleeping go a long way as far as dictating the overall mood and demeanor.

Let go of fear

Fear of what others think, fear of potential outcomes, fear of just overall failure. Forget it. In business and life in general, to succeed you need to take risks and chances. You will fail a lot, and that’s OK.

In most cases, when we approach a situation lacking confidence, it’s because we believe we won’t be successful in what we’re trying to do. Nervous to talk to someone? That’s probably because we’re afraid they’re going to reject us. Self-doubt and fear are crippling. To be confident, fear cannot be on your mind at all.

Gain knowledge

Confidence is built on having a sound skill set and having a mastery on the subject you’re selling. There is no skimming on this. Feeling good and letting go of fear won’t amount to anything if you don’t master the following:

1. Know yourself: You need to know what your strengths and weaknesses are so that you’ll know what to work on. Play the game to your advantage.
2. Know what you’re selling: And know it better than anybody else. This is the most important factor in building confidence. By knowing it like the back of your hand, you’ll be prepared to answer whatever question your client throws your way. Any rebuttal they give you, you’ve got the answer set and ready. It’s easy to talk about something that you’ve mastered.
3. Know your end goal: Know what it is and what it should look like. A basketball player knows what a perfect jump shot looks like — so a real estate agent should know what steps A through Z should look like in a perfect transaction. It’s impossible to confidently sell something when you don’t know what the next steps are. Know what you’re working toward.

Confidence is the top tool employed by successful salespeople. It’s a trait that some are born with, but believe it or not, it can be developed and honed by anyone willing to put the work in.