We all have some kind of fear, but when we discover what causes fear and how to overcome it, we can discover new opportunities and success. Fear can prevent us from experiencing amazing things in life, or pursuing new business opportunities. We suffer through anxiety and difficulty when dealing with these fears. But no more! James Moffat, CEO and Founder of Visibility Impact guides new entrepreneurs and people wanting to start businesses by providing them with the tools and information they need to grow their business with proper exposure. He accomplishes this through a number of programs to drive results. His clients achieve bigger goals in a shorter amount of time and gain visibility. [02:00] Self-limiting I used to have a fear of talking to important people. I felt like I wasn’t worthy of their time or attention. It was a fear I quickly had to learn how to overcome in order to succeed in sales. When I finally understood that I was speaking with other human beings, people who were maybe just as nervous about talking to me as I was about talking to them, it made all the difference. I was the only limiting factor to my success. [10:37] James and I will talk about fear. What is it? How can we overcome it? What can we do on a daily basis to conquer fear instead of allowing it to conquer us? The Effects of Fear Many of us in sales have fears that hold us back and cause inaction. James defines fear as a worry about the unknown. It has a physiological effect not only on your mind but on your body as well... cold sweats, stress, etc. [05:10] Common fears among salespeople include worrying about what to say during a cold call, worrying about having enough product knowledge, and worrying about how prospects may react. Many of us also fear giving our first presentation to a real audience. Is my content relevant? Will people even listen to me? [05:48] Overcoming fear Overcoming these fears - or at least accepting them and learning how to cope with them - is necessary for success. You don’t have to suddenly like what it was you once feared; you may always dislike cold calling for example, but you must learn how to deal with it. We often find ourselves assuming the worst before we even begin. We have negative thoughts instead of positive ones. Controlling Fear Using cold calls again as an example, James still doesn’t particularly enjoy making them but he found a way to make himself feel more comfortable about it. He took the time to learn more about the person prior to the making the call. James spent time on their website, learned about their business, and visited their LinkedIn profile. James would also coordinate the time of the call via email. This allowed for a more relaxed introduction and eradicated the fear James had about interrupting a prospect with an unexpected phone call. [08:37] Using these techniques, James was able to turn a cold call into a warm call. Reducing negative outcomes Once the negative possible outcomes are reduced - once the number of unknowns is reduced by planning ahead - the level of fear is reduced. We may not conquer the fear, but we will have it under control. James recalls a situation, outside of sales, when he was atop a tall building with a friend and found himself convinced that he had a very real fear of heights. His friend disagreed because James has no such fear when traveling by airplane. It is not a fear of heights but a fear of falling. When James feels safe, he is not afraid. This lesson applies to sales. When we change the paradigm and view our fear from a different perspective, we gain control over it. [11:48] Moving Beyond your Comfort Zone James introduced a new concept to his Facebook group in order to help people overcome their fears. He didn’t want people to join without being known, so he required a short introduction from all new members via a 40-second video. The videos are posted to the group for comment which in turn stimulates discussion and comments. It creates immediate visibilit