Are Limiting Beliefs Hurting Your Sales?

For old-school salespeople, the term “limiting belief” is another way of saying OBJECTION.

Objections are usually linked to beliefs about a situation, an offer, or something similar.

There are two main categories of limiting beliefs: internal and external.

Internal Limiting Beliefs

Internal limiting beliefs usually come from personal experiences.

From a sales standpoint, internal beliefs refers to something people believe about themselves, their situation, or circumstances. These beliefs prevent them from being able to do whatever it is you want them to do (buy, try, signup, etc.)!

You can look at this from two perspectives:

There’s an unlimited number of limiting beliefs an individual can have.

Or

People are people, and they’re going to have objections and limiting beliefs that fall into specific categories.

I fall into the second group. 

I always think that people are people and that each individual has some complaints, objections, and past experiences that are the foundation for their limiting beliefs. Those limiting beliefs hold them back and keep them from benefitting from what you have to sell them.

Here’s a universal example for internal limiting beliefs we see all the time. No matter what you say to somebody, some people will say, “I don’t have enough money, so it doesn’t matter.”

Ironically, it’s never that they don’t have enough money. The reality is that you haven’t demonstrated enough VALUE and they are using the lack of money as an excuse.

You can overcome that with:

• Stories
• Examples
• Proof
• Adding value to your offer

Once you overcome the underlying objection of “not enough value,” they’ll FIND the money!

Categories of Internal Limiting Beliefs

There are several categories that most internal limiting beliefs fall into. Below is a list of the most common ones. 

“I won’t have enough money left over if I buy that.”

But that’s not entirely true! They have the money, but they won’t have it leftover for other stuff if they spend it on your thing.

“I don’t have enough time!”

That’s a popular one, and people use it to justify their refusal. The truth is they can make time for it if they see the value!

“I’m going to have to work too hard.”

Here people are worried that they’re going to have to put out too much effort vs. the ultimate payoff they think they’ll get.

“I’m going to get hurt.”

This is about the fear of getting uncomfortable. You need to know this up front. It can help you establish the basis of your sales message, promotional campaign, and so on.

“I’m sure this is going to make me feel stupid.”

In this case, you’ll have to help your buyer overcome the roadblock he’s faced. Sharing stories, insights, and other information about what you’re trying to sell can help him discover that that statement isn’t true.

The Universal Rule

I always search for the universal rule (or the 95%-of-the-time rule).

Why?

Because if I can find the rule, I can build a script for it!

And when it comes to internal beliefs, the universal rules tend to relate back to all the reasons people buy, which are:

• Make money
• Save money
• Save time
• Avoid effort
• Escape pain

The list goes on depending on what you’re trying to sell. From my experience, 90% to 95% of all limiting beliefs will fall into those categories.

Conclusion

Universal internal limiting beliefs stop people from taking action. But you can use those to identify what you need to say or do to overcome those limiting beliefs and get people to buy from you.

Remember, you will often hear the objections:

• “I don’t have enough money.”
• “I won’t have any money left over.”
• “I don’t have enough time.”
• “I’m going to have to work too hard.”
• “I’m going to get hurt.”
• “I’m going to be uncomfortable.”
• “I’m going to feel dirty.”
• “I’m going to feel stupid.”
• “I’m going to feel alone.”
• “I’m going to feel like I am less or diminished in some way.”

So you need to find stories, evidence, and proof that disproves those beliefs so people can change their beliefs… and feel like it was THEIR idea to change (not you telling them they’re wrong, which never works). 

That’s how you get people to change their beliefs, take action, and buy.

If you need more insights on universal internal limiting beliefs, you should join my Sales Copywriting And Content Marketing Hacks Facebook Group. It’s FREE, and we’ll get the chance to talk!

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