The Kitchen Sales Coach Issue #26 - Succeed By Overcoming Your Fear
By Robert Foltz, CKD
Five years ago, my wife and I looked at our lives and we weren’t happy with how hard we were working and how far behind we were getting. The harder we worked, the farther behind we got! We’re good, honest people doing good, honest work and yet we weren’t ‘successful.’ What we’d been taught wasn’t working and we wanted to learn why.
We started reading ‘success’ books, beginning with Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad and T. Harv Eker's Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. We felt like they were onto something, so off we went to a ‘free’ weekend "Millionaire Mind" seminar. Harv teaches that the only thing that makes wealthy people different from you and me is the way they think. Really wealthy people come from every walk of life, every area of the country, every race, every religion, and every business. The only thing they have in common is a set of beliefs about their abilities and about the world around them.
I decided then and there that I wanted to adopt those same beliefs and attitudes. Harv has a system and there are thousands of books on the subject. Everything you need to know about changing your beliefs is spelled out clearly and simply. I kept thinking, this is simple. Sure, it’s simple, but it’s not easy. It’s not easy to change the habits of a lifetime and it’s really not easy to change that little voice that loves to keep you in your comfort zone.
You may think this inner voice is you talking to yourself, but it’s really just the voice of fear that wants to keep you exactly where you are—nice and safe and in the same place, even if you don’t like it. “No, no, it’s safer here. You know what to expect, you know the results you’re going to get, and you know who your friends are,” it says. Please think about what’s holding you back, and what’s making your business more like all the other businesses in your marketplace.
Here are a few fear statements I have heard recently:
“I can’t grow to the next level until I feel that I’m ready” - Can you hear your fear keeping you in the exact same place that you are? Wow, I can! Growth only comes from being outside your comfort zone. You know you’re growing when you're worried about how you're going to get specific things accomplished.
“I can’t afford to implement these changes” - How can you afford to put another dime into advertising in the same old magazine, or worse, an unproven new magazine to increase your business that drives prospects to the same old showroom, using the same old techniques of selling? Can you hear yourself now?
“Shouldn't I develop a rapport before asking someone to buy from me?” - If you’ve done your job and earned the prospect's respect by giving them information, authority, and time to choose, then how can you expect to have a win-win relationship if you allow the prospect to waste your time and theirs?
These three examples are only a very small sampling of what I call “limiting beliefs.” Limiting beliefs occur when your fear exercises its power over you, holding you back from the changes that will make you rich. Every business, every designer, and every person has setbacks and challenges. This is your life, my life, and everyone else's life. It’s what we do with those challenges that separates us. Do we have the courage and grace to grow into the lives we were meant to live—the lives that are waiting for us when we rise up and fulfill our dreams?
My heroes this month are Joe and Bill Feinberg from Allied Kitchen & Bath. They just completed a gorgeous new showroom here in Fort Lauderdale. They could have stopped or held the project back as the economy stumbled, but instead they said to themselves, “We’re going to complete this expansion and it will help us increase our business and market share.” Of course, I’m paraphrasing, but earlier this month when they had their grand opening, cars were backed up for two miles trying to get in. People love to associate with a winner, and want that positive and resourceful energy to rub off on them.
Change is hard because you have to get past your own fears and limiting beliefs. You’re the only one that can unblock these limiting beliefs. It gets easier with practice and I find it helps to work on just one at a time. I’m realizing that other people don’t have the same tolerance for change that I do and I need to be more sympathetic and understanding as they go through these changes.
If these ideas interest you, then I recommend that you read The Power of Now by Ekhardt Tolle, Ask and it is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks, or The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles (published back in 1910 and just as relevant today as it was 100 years ago). You might also want to watch the movie The Secret (available at www.thesecrettv.com for only $5). All of these teach how to quiet the voice of fear to live a life of abundance and joy. While you can complete this journey on your own, it’s much easier and faster with someone holding your hand.
Accountability is the Key to Success
Last month, I called my coach and said, “I’ll try to make the changes you suggested.” “Try?” my coach said. “There’s no try, there’s only do.” No, my coach is not Yoda from Star Wars. I speak with him every two weeks for 30 to 45 minutes. We discuss my business and what I might be doing to limit my success. He holds me accountable to myself. When I’m accountable, then I move forward at a more rapid pace. I stop allowing my fear to keep me in my comfort zone. He has had some great suggestions for me when I need fresh ideas, cheers me on every time I’m successful, and encourages me when I get stuck. Every month, I move steadily closer to my ultimate goals of financial freedom.
As I discussed in the article above, it’s often our beliefs that keep us from living our dreams. The path to your dreams is clear and simple; you can read the books I suggested above to find out how to get there, but, it’s not easy. It really helps to have someone who reminds you of where you want to go and helps you find the path when you stray from it. Overcoming your fear and trusting yourself to make the right decisions is truly at the core of becoming successful. If you don’t like where you are, then look in the mirror and make a commitment to change. It’s entirely up to you.
I coach only professionals in the kitchen and bath industry, and I’m proud of the help I’ve been able to offer to my clients. They trust me with their dreams and I hold them accountable to the things they say they’re going to do. They know that they can achieve those dreams much more quickly with the help of a sympathetic coach. Call me and let me help you attain success.
About Robert Foltz, CKD
Robert Foltz, CKD is experienced in all areas of the retail kitchen and bath business. As a manufacturers' representative, his experience and expertise can help improve your business. He also works as a sales trainer, consultant, and personal coach.
With 23 years of experience in every area of the kitchen business, he has personally experienced the most common mistakes all business owners and sales people make. He has used that experience to develop a formula that will help you avoid those common mistakes and to dramatically accelerate your success.
Robert can be reached at and his work can be seen on www.KitchenSalesCoach.com.