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Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress for human beings. When this anxiety level reaches a limit where it interferes in the day to day to life of an individual and makes him/her incapable of performing at an optimum level then it is termed as an anxiety disorder.
The difference between anxiety and fear can be stated as, anxiety is a state of mood which might exist without any trigger or stimulus whereas for fear, there is definitely a cause or trigger behind it.

Five major types of anxiety disorder are:

1. General Compulsive Disorder
2. Obsessive compulsive Disorder
3. Panic Disorder
4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
5. Social Anxiety Disorder

General Compulsive disorder: It is a kind of anxiety disorder which happens because of excessive stress in normal day to day life. This can make an individual incapable of shedding off unnecessary worries or concern about regular events which matter in somebody’s life like an office presentation, a travel schedule or a family event.

Obsessive compulsive disorder: It is a kind of anxiety disorder where the concerned individual keeps thinking about an event over and over again which makes him/her anxious. To do away with this feeling of anxiety people often perform certain gestures which give them a temporary relief, like cleaning, checking, counting etc.

Panic Disorder: It is a kind of anxiety disorder where there is repeated occurrence of intense phobia attacks and the symptoms can be chest pain, breathing problems, dizziness etc

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: This kind of anxiety disorder is a result of exposure to an unpleasant/unwelcome incident like death of a loved one, an accident natural calamity or act like sexual abuse, physical torture etc

Social Anxiety Disorder: It is a kind of anxiety disorder where an individual becomes overtly conscious about his image in public or how he is being judged by other people. This kind of anxiety disorder has symptoms like stammering, sweating profusely blushing etc while making a public appearance or when an individual is in a social group

Treatment for Anxiety disorder:

Medicines: Medicines are a proven way to deal with anxiety but it should be taken only under the expert guidance of a doctor. Herbal drugs are also available which claim to have no side effects. These drugs have their origin in china.

Psychological counseling: Psychological counseling by qualified counselors can also give people who are suffering from anxiety, considerable amount of relief.

Physical and breathing Exercises: It is said that breathing exercises done on a regular basis along with a thorough physical fitness routine can do away with anxiety over a period of time.

The methods of treatment mentioned above can be administered in combination also (as deemed necessary by experts) to get better results.

My mom always used to tell me how we learn more in life from our failures than we do from our successes, yet for too many of us in sales this concept doesn't seem to sink in.

I've lost plenty of sales in my life. If I wanted to get really down on myself, all I'd have to do is take a piece of paper and start writing down as many as I could remember. If I wanted to go into a complete state of despair, all I'd have to do is to write down next to each sale I lost the amount of commission I failed to receive because of the lost sale.

For this simple reason too many of us in sales choose not to dwell on what didn't happen. Instead, we merely move on.

It's much easier to move on than dwell on the past, and I'm a firm believer that dwelling on the past doesn't do anyone any good. If you want to damage your sales motivation, go right ahead and dwell all you want.

As much as we can't dwell on the past, we do need to spend a few minutes doing an autopsy on the lost sale and learning from it. If we don't learn from each sale we fail to close, then we're committing ourselves to a pattern of losing more sales.

The key I've found to the process is to do the autopsy on the failed sales call right away. The sooner you can do it, the sooner you can apply what you've learned to the next sales call.

The only downside to doing it quickly is you have to make sure you're in a stable frame of mind. I'm not meaning to be rude with this comment, but you can't think clearly if you're so hot emotionally over losing the sale. If you are worked up over the lost sale – wait till you calm down. Then do your autopsy.

Ask yourself the following questions:

* Was I able to get the customer to state their key needs and desired benefits?
* Why specifically did the customer choose not to buy from me? How do I know that?
* What were two things I know the customer appreciated about me?
* What did the customer ask and how did I answer? What can I learn from the questions?
* What were all of the customer's objections and how did I respond to them?
* Did the customer clearly understand my value proposition? How do I know that?
* What closing technique did I try? How specifically did the customer respond to it?
* What did the customer agree with me on? How can I leverage this for future sales?
* What is my next step with this prospect / customer?

Take the time to answer these questions. Doing so will provide you with key information you need. Also, never hesitate to go back to the customer after they've turned you down and ask them why they didn't select you. Be sincere in how you speak to the customer and be appreciative for what they tell you.

This is not the time to be defensive or attempt to convince the customer they've made a dumb decision by selecting someone else. Your ability to be professional and appreciative in listening to what the customer shares with you will do more than anything else to help ensure you have a good relationship going forward with that person.

It's been my experience both personally and professionally that by doing this process right, you can position yourself to become the salesperson these individuals turn to in the future.

The beautiful thing about this entire process is you come away with two major outcomes.

First, you find out things you can do differently to help you with other customers. Second, you deepen your relationship with the customer you weren't able to close, setting yourself up to potentially close with them next time around.

Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter," is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit http://www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also follow him on http://www.Facebook.com/TheSalesHunter, http://www.Twitter.com/TheSalesHunter and http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/MarkHunter.

Reprinting of this article is welcomed as long as the following is included:
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter," www.TheSalesHunter.com, © 2011

Every customer has a price range where they are willing to make a decision without any further thinking. I refer to this as the Price Tolerance Ratio – also known as the PTR.

Knowing your customer's PTR is critical. I believe it is one of the major obstacles salespeople fail to comprehend. As a salesperson, when you don't understand a customer's PTR, at least one of the following results is inevitable:

* You offer a price that does not maximize the profit potential.

* You get the order but encounter resistance from the customer that hinders the relationship.

* You encounter resistance that leads to spending too much time on the selling process and ultimately no order.

Let's look at each of these individually, starting with the first one where the price offering does not maximize the profit potential.

I start with this one because it is the most common. The salesperson rarely finds out the price is lower than necessary until long after the sales is completed – or worse yet, they never find out.

The only way around this is by asking the customer early in the relationship, before they've expressed any intention to buy, how they determine value and what their critical needs are. Many times, trying to ask these questions during the sales transaction itself is too late, unless the customer is experiencing a significant issue as to why the order must occur.

The reason I say this is because once the customer has determined they need to buy, they many times become focused on seeing what it will take to get a lower price. If you, the salesperson, ask them a question about value at this point in the sales process, the customer may very well use the question against you.

Take the time to ask the customer why the order is important and what risks they feel they would encounter should they not receive it on time. Ask them how their order fits into the overall scheme of what they do and what their customers do (if you're in a B2B environment).

As a salesperson, if you can identify value or risk in other parts of the supply-chain, you can leverage this information during the sales process and increase the amount the customer is willing to pay (essentially widening their PTR).

The key is to find out as much information about the customer as you possibly can early in the sales process. Also, you need to understand how critical time is to their process. Obviously, the more critical time is to the customer, the wider the customer's PTR will be. The impact of time could be reflected in how quickly they want to order.

By thoroughly understanding the customer's PTR, you will be able to effectively price your product and/or service. Pricing too low means you leave profit on the table; pricing too high means you don't get the order. There is no magic formula. It comes down to your level of knowledge and your confidence.

The second scenario a salesperson may encounter with regard to PTR is that they get the order, but with resistance that ultimately hinders the relationship. Resistance is not always a bad thing. I believe strongly that if you don't encounter some customer resistance from time to time, then you have not truly pushed the process to the point of being able to maximize profit.

When you encounter resistance, you first have to determine if the resistance is real or superficial. Many times the customer is merely venting as a way to assert their control.

The best way to measure if the resistance is real or superficial is to see if they continue to express their concerns about price on multiple occasions. If price comes up only once or twice, then you can reasonably assume it is merely the customer venting. You can overlook it and continue with your sales process, knowing your level of service and support is going to overcome any pricing perception.

If the customer does carry on regarding pricing, then the resistance is real and it will slow the sales process. You then can adjust accordingly.

The final reason knowing the PTR is essential is it prevents you from spending too much time with someone who is nothing more than a customer from whom you can't make any money.

Early in the prospecting and sales process, you must begin determining the customer's PTR. The easiest way is by simply asking them what they've been paying for services in the past and what their expectations have been for the companies they've been using. If you are not direct with questions like these, you will waste time chasing customers you ultimately do not want.

Price Tolerance Ratio (PTR) is a new concept. I am pleased to be one of the first to educate people on this. Since explaining this concept, we've seen salespeople and companies significantly improve their profitability.

If you want to improve your bottom line, begin now to identify the Price Tolerance Ratio (PTR) for each of your customers. Waiting until you close the sale is too late.

Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter," is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit http://www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also follow him on http://www.Facebook.com/TheSalesHunter, http://www.Twitter.com/TheSalesHunter and http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/MarkHunter.

Reprinting of this article is welcomed as long as the following is included:
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter," www.TheSalesHunter.com, © 2011

Recently I had a friend who was interested in listing their home for sale and asked me to discuss the difference between having a licensed agent list their home as opposed to listing their home on their own as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO). After our discussion I thought this might be something good to share with others who may benefit from knowing this knowledge.

My goal of this blog is not to scare anyone from selling their home on their own, but to point out the common pitfalls that people fall in and why it’s recommended to thoroughly research your options. The thought of selling your own home appeals to many homeowners as it allows the potential to save thousands of dollars. On the contrary, this can also cost thousands of dollars if not done properly. Taking on the job of selling your own home will lead to taking on a large amount of work and responsibility.

It is obvious that most homeowners choose to sell their own home in an effort to save money. A full service brokerage firm will usually charge 6% of the total sales price as their fee. Therefore if your home were to sell for $600,000 the fee would be $36,000 which is typically split between both the buyer and sellers brokerage firms. This would be the amount a homeowner could save. However if you underestimate the worth of your home, miss file paperwork, leave it on the market for too long, you could lose even more. Also, something to consider is most buyers will be represented by an agent who will request 3-4% when working with a FSBO as they will probably be doing more work than if the seller were represented by a licensed agent. In the end, (if you get full price) your real savings would be $15,000, is this worth any headaches and potential legal problems down the road?

It’s important to calculate how much money you would save without the use of a licensed agent and decide if this would be worth the effort and time you would need to dedicate to the sale of your home. This would involve researching legal issues, necessary contracts, technicalities of contracts, as well as having the knowledge of the real estate market in your area and in general; this is something a licensed agent has already done and should be doing on a daily basis. If you don’t have time to do the research you may want to consider working with a professional.

Marketing your home can seem quite simple. Getting posters, signs, fliers, newspaper and magazine ads are something that is available to everyone. A licensed real estate agent has access to MLS, the Multiple Listing Service, which is a computer database service where agents can share property information across the state or even the country. Real estate professionals have access to MLS. An option is to pay a fee to have your home listed on MLS, however if the home does sell through MLS you will need to pay a fee to the buyers brokerage firm.

In addition to MLS, licensed agents will know how to properly market your property. The best chance to sell your home is in the first 60 days of listing the property for sale. Therefore, it is very important to properly market your property to the potential buyers or the individuals who will bring the buyers. A licensed agent will put together an individual marketing plan for your property.

Selling your own home will require you to put the money forward for any sale-related costs, including: appraisal of the home, costs of experts to determine the value of the home, title insurance and title investigators. With a licensed agent, the agency will absorb the costs of marketing and legal fees.

On top of having to pay for the costs of various professionals, you will also be responsible for finding these individuals. A licensed agent will have access to professionals who you can contact. They can also give their feedback on ones they have worked with on previous transactions.

Negotiation is a very important part of selling a home, it is a business transaction and there may be individuals coming in with ridiculously low offers that are not intended to be accepted. A licensed agent can help to ensure you have a strong negotiating platform, especially knowing there is a good chance the buyer has an agent working for them.

Real estate contracts can be long and complicated. Most individuals who are determined to sell their home on their own will need to consult a lawyer to look over any contracts involved. This can be a very costly process. This is an area you want a licensed professional on your side as one word can make all the difference.

Being a homeowner has a potential negative as you may have built an emotional attachment in your home. There is a risk of attaching too much sentimental value to your home and putting value that would not be there for another buyer. A licensed agent will act as a third party, and although they will act in your best interest, they won’t have an emotional attachment to the property.

If you have the time, patience, money and desire to sell your home by yourself, then you may want to consider selling your home as a FSBO. Be aware of what you are getting yourself into first, there is a reason real estate agents exist; buying and selling property is not easy. Overall, you may decide that your time, piece of mind and happiness is worth more than the money you could save. Research your options and choose wisely.

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