Greasing the Path to Success: Finding the Confidence to Step Up to Key Moments

Whether it's making a prospecting call to a promising business contact, giving an informal "elevator speech" to a networking group, or attempting to close a transaction, there are certain key moments when putting your best-dressed foot forward really matters. Some of life's fortunate people seem to be naturally at their best finding confidence under pressure. The rest of us have to learn.

Confidence matters.

Few would argue that developing confidence is a good investment. You'll be more comfortable and therefore more motivated in your marketing efforts. It's difficult to sustain an effort over the long haul - a requirement, for successful networking and marketing - if we're miserable doing it. Furthermore, marketing and branding experts tell us that confidence is the #1 reason people buy what they buy. Where do they get confidence to try the product or service for the first time? From you, from your confidence in what you offer.

Confidence on command.

Let's say you have to make an outreach call to someone who can potentially refer you business. Stomach butterflies are on a rampage. You've scripted the call, but your voice is still flat with anxiety. How do you suddenly summon confidence? Confidence is like one of the body's involuntary muscles. You can't make it fire on command. It either fires or it doesn't. But the smaller muscles around it, contributing to its tone and strength, are voluntary. You can help yourself build confidence by doing the small things. You probably already have a repertoire of quick-fix confidence-builders that work for you. From my years of helping people grow, here are some of my favorites.

Practice

Talk about your product or service, with strangers as well as acquaintances. Do it again.

Do it frequently, whether "successful" or not. Keep the interval between short.

Don't let being awkward stop you

Create a temporary "no fault" zone, where you goal is to do it, not do it right.

Remember: the pool of potential contacts is infinite. There's plenty of room for practice.

Let timing help

Capitalize on confident or successful moments to create more of them.

There will be days when you're under a cloud. Don't try then. Letting yourself off the hook today breeds confidence that tomorrow will be better.

Tough love

Act "as if"

Just do it

Protect your environment from negativity: call a temporary moratorium on friends or family who may be envious or skeptical of your endeavor

Seek inspiration

Rub shoulders with someone who has exuberant confidence in you

Read some inspiring quotations

Read testimonials from your own clients

Watch a squirrel leap through space from a secure branch to an untested one

Quit being mean

Make a quick list on paper of the 5 confidence-sabotaging voices in your head. Quote them verbatim, and give each one a name.

Send them all out for a beer, and while they're gone, make the call

All of these suggestions are simple and even simple-minded. They're ways to develop the internal muscles that in turn will support the success we're reaching for. After all, if you're to grow into a new level of success, you will need more than good ideas and hard work. You'll need the internal muscles to support it. Confidence is one of those qualities that can seem to vary with the weather. Very few of us are born for success any more than we're born to bench press three hundred pounds.

For most, the daily work-outs, coupled with an attitude that gives generous credit for perseverance, are what qualify us to have that golden ring. I'm cheering for you!

About The Author

Nina Ham, certified coach and licensed psychotherapist, is principal of Success from the Inside Out, providing individual coaching and teleseminars to build the skills, attitudes and habits for sustainable success in your career or business. Mail to: Nina@womenssuccesscoach.com, subscribe in subject line, for free monthly e-zine, or visit http://www.SuccessfromtheInsideOut.com.

Nina@womenssuccesscoach.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Coaching Information:

Related Articles

Corporate Coaching and Employees: One Step Ahead
"Don't shoot..
Integrating Life and Work
Organizations are finally creating cultures that support a work and life balance for their employees. After years of demanding high productivity and increasing on the job hours and expectations and not achieving the hoped-for better results, companies are finally embracing polices and procedures that support employees in integrating their life and work experience.
Become More Self-Confident
Signs of Self-ConfidenceLet's explore the meaning of self-confidence by taking a quiz. Read the list of statements below and check which ones, in your opinion, are signs of self-confidence.
Empowering Vision
Playing Our Part:Sir Michael Costa was conducting a rehearsal, in which the orchestra was joined in a great chorus. About half way through the session, with the trumpets blaring, drums rolling, and violins singing their rich melody, the Piccolo player muttered to himself, "What good am I doing? I might as well not be playing.
Truth About Life Coaching School Accreditation
With life coaching becoming "the" career choice in this millennium, many of you are seeking the right choice for training and certification. Hopefully this article will answer some of your questions.
Diverse Marketing Strategies for Those Living with Disabilities
Imagine yourself as the only means of financially supporting you. A little scary isn't it? In today's economy, it is difficult living on a single income.
Still Wondering About Coaching?
A friend called me the other day from Lower Alabama. He has followed my career as a coach with enthusiasm, and continually refers clients to me, and I'm sure has done his part for making coaching known in his neck of the woods.
Living In The Now
I hope you are sitting down as you read this! You cannot begin to work on this kind of subject without addressing the subject of time itself - and when was the last time you did that?There are three basic areas or modules of time that are most commonly referred to:1)The Past2)The Present3)The FutureWhat I would like to do is have you work out where the "present" is though. In the time it has taken you to read just those last few words, that space in time that we might refer to as the present has gone.
Guilt By Association & Wealth By It Too!
"Tell me what company thou keepst, and I'll tell thee what thou art." - Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616) Spanish novelist.
10 Things I Wish I Would Have Known Before I Went Into the Real World
I must confess, I laughed when I saw that Maria Shriver has come out with a book called, "Ten Things I Wish I Had Known Before Going Into The Real World." The real world? Come on, she grew up a Kennedy and married the biggest action movie star of all time! That aside, it got me to thinking: What are ten things I wish I would have known before going out into the real world? So, here they are.
The Incredible Human Psyche
The intriguing Human psyche - more complex than the metamorphosing cocoon, and more phenomenal than the human brain could ever imagine.Deep within the realm of your subconscious is the centrifuge, or cerebral core of all Human possibilities.
Listening Skills In Relationships
Recently, when out to dinner with another couple, my husband is surprised at what someone says about one of our neighbors. He even comments this to the person about his amazement.
Do You Dither in Your Job Search?
I looked up the definition of "to dither" before writing this article. It is to be agitated and in a nervous state.
The Right Time and Place
(Channelled)Roy?I am sending you this quote from Sōtō Zen, Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki, please read it.Once someone advised Dōgen to go to Easter Japan if he wanted to see Buddhism prosper.
Simple Tips to Move Forward on the Job
Someone I know wants to move into another job in the same company. It is not a management job.
Do you know WHAT MAKES ME MAD?? It makes me SO MAD I just want to...
Sound familiar? If you want to manage anger, the only way of doing so is to listen to your self-talk. This doesn't mean listening to yourself talk.
Some Business Coaches are in Error
Many business coaches deny the power of suggestion while using it. For instance a corporate inner circle will be told that they have inner conflicts with ethical practice due to the stockholders coming first, the customers coming second and employees coming third.
Who Do You Talk To?
Many of you reading this will be running businesses, or parts of, whether they are your own or not. This means that you have many things to deal with on a day to day basis plus trying to do the long-term thinking needed to lead and run the business.
Ch-Ch-Chain of Hearts: Cranking Up Compassion
Can you hear your compassion? It's time to crank it up.One of the most difficult challenges we face in our quest to be compassionate is dealing with conflict.
4 Brilliant Tips to Speed Read Faster than Ever
Many people, particularly students, would love to beable to absorb information faster. But before retaininginformation, they have to go through the first stage oflearning, which is reading.