Christine Volden

Author, Founder & Entrepreneur

"I hear it time and time again from entrepreneurs. "I feel guilty/shameful/uncomfortable/greedy talking about my business!"

As someone who has worked in sales for over 15 years, this makes me want to grab them my the shoulders and shake some sense into them. Seriously.

But the more I heard this from people (and it was almost EVERYONE) it made me wonder where this guilt comes from.

Why do we feel so guilty? If we own a business or if our job is to sell and promote things, why do so many of us feel negatively about telling people about it?

Here are the main reasons:

1. You are focusing on yourself and not your service. For example, you are thinking about getting new clients, making more money, etc and not on the impact you will make with that person or company. Its a subtle shift in your thinking but by focusing on the service you provide to others will make your own feelings more positive.

2. You worry you will be judged or worry that your product or service is not good enough. This is classic comparisonitis (yep, thats a word). You compare yourself or your business to others and worry that what you have is not good enough. The reality is that you are completely unique because no one has your set of life experiences and no one sees the world through your lens. We could all be selling widgets and we would all have different customers because its not really about the widgets. Its about me and you and our unique perspective.

3. You have had bad experiences with salespeople that were traumatic. This is no joke! I heard a story about a timeshare sale recently that horrified me. But I have also spent money on things that I love and cherish and that I recommend to all my friends. I walk through a great exercise in my Quiet Selling course where I have everyone focus on the last purchase they loved and that was worth every penny (mine was a very expensive pair of shoes!) We all have had bad experiences but we also spend money every day on things we value and love. Focus on the good stuff.

How do you feel about promoting yourself?  Share in the comments.