Don’t Lead With Fear

You’ve probably heard some of the buzz around leading with fear.

It’s the concept of learning about a prospect’s pain points and doing everything in your power to develop fear in their minds so that buying your product or service can be the only logical choice in alleviating that fear.

You might have heard of this idea—to talk about the “doom and gloom” or the worst possible outcomes. 

This doesn’t resonate with me. And, it doesn’t need to be anyone’s default when selling if they’re bringing real and tangible value on board.

As I’ve previously discussed, sales at its core is about solving your clients’ problems. But, why do we need to lead with fear, when we can start with value instead?

That is:

• Instead of painting a picture of “doom and gloom,” why not paint a picture of success and achievement?
• Instead of focusing on the problems, why not focus on solutions instead?
• Instead of scaring people into working with you, why not excite them instead?

Any successful and long-lasting relationship—personal or professional—is mutually beneficial to both parties. Relationships fail when one party wins and the other loses. And they really tend to crash and burn when both parties lose. 

So, we need to focus on bringing tremendous value to the table for our clients. When we do, there’s less of a reason to even bring fear into the equation at all. When a client can clearly benefit and gain from working with us, why should there be any need at all to discuss anything other than your value?

If you haven’t already, make this crucial shift. And watch what happens when you begin your working relationships focused on excitement and value, rather than fear and problems.