I was recently on the Interact Quiz Podcast with Josh Haynam, and we got into some really good conversations about why entrepreneurs struggle with sales. After coaching hundreds of business owners—from those making their first dollar to those running multi-million dollar companies—I see the same patterns over and over.
Here’s the thing: It’s not that you’re “bad at sales.” That doesn’t get to the root problem. That doesn’t identify the gaps or specific areas where you’re actually struggling.
So let’s talk about the 5 things that are really blocking your sales (and more importantly, what to do about them).
1. You’re Stuck in Head Trash
This is the biggest one. Hands down.
It’s not your strategy that’s blocking you. Strategy is actually the easiest part to teach and to change. It’s your mindset. It’s your head trash—whether it’s something that’s happened to you, an experience you’ve had, or just underlying fear.
Here’s what I mean: You know all those lies floating around in your head?
“I’m not an expert…” “I don’t know what I’m doing…” “Nobody will pay this price…” “I shouldn’t be here…”
Those lies. They’re running on a loop subconsciously, and they’re killing your ability to show up and sell.
What to Do About It:
Walk through what I call the Fear to Faith™ cycle:
- Life Events – Identify what shaped how you see things
- Fear – Recognize what gets triggered when you show up
- Pause – Take your power back and acknowledge the subconscious thought
- Truth – Replace fear with reality (Is it actually true? 99.9% of the time, it’s not)
- Action – Take even small movement forward
The pattern is: Acknowledgement. Decision. Action.
Once you learn this loop, you start breaking the cycle. Your confidence grows. You take steps. You get closer to what you’re wanting.
2. You’re Avoiding Income-Producing Activities
“I don’t have any leads coming in.”
Okay, so what are you doing? What are your income-producing activities?
This is where I see it happen every single time: They look back at their week and realize they’ve been doing all these things that FEEL like progress (refreshing analytics, tweaking their website, reorganizing their email list)… but they’re really just avoiding the thing they know they need to do that makes them uncomfortable.
They went to that networking event. They got business cards. They made connections.
But they didn’t follow up with anyone.
What to Do About It:
Get at bat.
It’s like baseball—the more at bats you have, the better swings, the better opportunities you have to get better. But if you’re not at bat, how do you expect to hit the ball? You won’t. It’s not happening.
Stop doing busy work. Start following up. Make the calls. Send the emails. Have the conversations. That’s where the growth happens.
3. You’re Making It Too Personal
Here’s what makes sales so much harder when it’s YOUR business:
You can easily sell a product you can put in front of you. No problem.
But the minute you’re selling something YOU represent? Something YOU birthed? Something that came from YOUR heart? It becomes very personal.
We attach these personal things to our worth:
- If they say no, I’m not good enough
- If they say no, my idea wasn’t good enough
- If they say no, I made a mistake
But that’s not always true. It’s just a story we tell ourselves.
What to Do About It:
Make it about them, not about you.
Your gift was given to you—not to hide, but to give. Whatever your gifting is, it’s meant to impact someone else. So it’s not about you at the end of the day.
The more you get off of your ego, your pride, what you want to accomplish, or the lack of money in your bank account… and the more you see someone in front of you who needs what you offer… that’s when sales becomes so much easier and more authentic.
Don’t keep someone else’s destiny trapped in your own mouth. Open your mouth. Talk about what you do AFTER you find out what your client needs and why they need it.
4. You’re Making Assumptions Instead of Asking Questions
Here’s what kills most sales conversations: People start making assumptions about what the other person needs.
They immediately jump into talking about their product, their service, how great it is, all the features…
But if you have a partner or close friends, you already know this: Making assumptions is NOT a good way to have a relationship.
So why would you do that when it comes to sales?
What to Do About It:
Take a consultative approach.
When you really distill it down, sales is simply communication with another human. There’s energy involved, yes. And there’s a process and strategy. But where we get stuck—where we make it so awkward and weird—is we forget we’re talking to another human.
Your real purpose and intent is to serve that person who has a need that you might be able to fix.
So ask better questions. Be more inquisitive. Focus on that person instead of talking about how great your product is. When you’re focused on them, they’re drawn into that, because at the end of the day, we’re all humans. We want people to listen to our problems and help us.
5. You Don’t Have Clarity on Where You’re Actually Struggling
“I’m just not good at sales.”
I hear this all the time. But that statement doesn’t help you move forward. It doesn’t identify the specific gaps or areas where you’re struggling.
Where there’s clarity, there’s opportunity.
Are you struggling with the actual sales call—not knowing what to say or when to say it? Are you struggling with pricing? Following up? Handling objections? Mindset around taking someone’s money?
These are all different issues that require different solutions.
What to Do About It:
Get specific about your struggle.
This is exactly why I created my sales assessment. It helps people identify: Are they sales-confident? Sales-insecure? Sales-lukewarm? Then it shows them exactly where they need to focus.
Because here’s what I tell people when I’m speaking: You’re going to hear a lot of information. But I want you to pick ONE thing you want to focus on. One area where you need to improve. Then take one action when you leave.
That’s how you move forward. Not by trying to fix everything at once, but by getting laser-focused on your specific gap and taking action there.
The Bottom Line: Sales is a Skill Set
Sales is a skill set, not a personality trait. We all have the opportunity to be better at it. But you need to know where you need to focus.
And here’s the truth: Skillset is the easiest to teach. Mindset is the hardest to uncover and change. But it’s also the tip of the iceberg that will either sink your ship or set you free.
So start there. Identify what’s blocking you. Address the root, not just the symptom. And remember—it’s not enough to be passionate. You also have to be profitable. And in order to be profitable, you have to be focused on sales.
Now get at bat.
Want to catch the full conversation with Josh? Listen here.
Ready to identify exactly where you’re struggling with sales? Take my free Sales Assessment to get clarity on your specific gaps and what to focus on next.
