Sales Confidence Code Blog Series: Habit #3 — Sales Confidence & Resilience Under Pressure

Sales| success mindset| Habits| Business Development

October 25, 2025•3 min read

Habit #3: Sales Confidence & Resilience (Self-Confidence in Action)

In sales and business development, confidence isn’t merely a feeling — it’s a strategic advantage and it can be your competitive edge. It’s the belief that you can create value, guide the customer, and win deals even when obstacles show up. It is your ability to be your true, genuine, and unique self - instead of trying to fit in. I also see it as being a leader, not a follower.

Yet many professionals confuse confidence with personality. Some may confuse confidence and arrogance. More often than not, there can be a pattern of minimizing our power, instead of owning it. Maybe you assume you must be loud, extroverted, or naturally bold? That’s a myth.

True sales confidence is built, not born. It is a skill we can all learn.

And it’s forged in the very moments most people want to avoid:

* A tough objection

* A stalled opportunity

* A buyer going silent

* A “no” after weeks of effort

* Market shifts and uncertainty

Confidence expands every time you face adversity and stay committed. One of the biggest mistakes we make is we quit, or we give up too soon. On average, it takes 11 follow ups to get an advance or a YES in sales and business development.

Where Does Confidence Come From?

Confidence grows when you:

✅ Know your process - trust the sales process

✅ Prepare intentionally - mentally rehearse high stakes meetings and important presentations

✅ Practice and role play conversations, and have a plan A, B, and C for the possible roadblocks that could come up

✅ Celebrate small wins - do not wait for the big wins, especially in complex sales and long sales cycles.

✅ Track metrics that matter - activity equals results, and the numbers do not lie. Sales and business development are not a spectator sport

✅ Recover quickly from setbacks - ask 'What did I do well that I can repeat? What would I do differently next time?' Quickly move on,

This habit aligns with resilience. Top performers bounce back faster because they don’t take rejection personally. They recognize that rejection is redirection — often toward a better opportunity or a sharper approach. The best sales professionals are coachable, flexible, and always looking for constructive feedback.

Three Ways to Strengthen Sales Confidence Today

1. Run the “Evidence Exercise”

Document the wins you’ve already earned. Evidence quiets self-doubt better than positive thinking. Notice the trends and embrace the idea that 'success leaves clues.' Stop doing whatever is not working, including negative thinking.

2. Ask Better Questions

Confidence isn’t about having the perfect answer — it’s about the courage to uncover truth. Deep discovery creates influence. One of the reasons sales professionals get a bad rap is that they talk too much about themselves or their products/services prematurely.

3. Get comfortable in discomfort

Every uncomfortable action — following up again, clarifying urgency, asking budget questions — expands your capability. When you do what is hard, it becomes easier. Life begins outside your comfort zone.

When Confidence Improves, Everything Improves

Pipeline conversations get clearer. Prospects trust you faster. Deals move forward. You feel energized instead of exhausted. Remember, confidence is a skill we all can learn. Invest in building self confidence and sales confidence every day.

Confidence is contagious. And in sales, it’s currency.

Amy Lemire CSP

Amy Lemire CSP DTM works with success-driven leaders and teams who want to be more, make more, and sell more with confidence, with momentum. She is the creator of “The Best Version of You: Success Habits Breakthrough” Program. For the past 10 years, she has trained thousands of sales and business professionals on standards of excellence, and mastery of the keys to success and the ‘Sales Confidence Code.’ Her focus is on how to win the inner game of self-confidence to drive peak performance results in sales, business, and speaking, through the mastery of success habits. After spending 2 decades in business-to-business and medical sales and training, Amy founded AIM Training and Consulting International. She is a certified “Habitfinder” Leadership Coach. Amy is the author of 2 books: “From Zero to Sales Hero,” and “From Zero to Speaker Hero.” Amy was recently designated as a Certified Speaking Professional, in March 2023, by the National Speakers Association, for delivering over 300 hours of training and speaking. She is also a VISTAGE-certified speaker. Amy is a Distinguished Toastmaster, the Past President of National Speakers Association, St Louis Chapter, and a Member of the National Speakers Association. She has been recognized as a Fortune 500 top sales performer and sales trainer for over 3 decades. When she is not working you may find her at local rock concert, personal development seminar, or at home with her husband Nigel and her cat Brianna.

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