And even though I had access to all the standard sales presentation techniques and traditional public speaking advice...

I still had to figure out how to make it work in real-world sales situations where my income and career were on the line.

Those cookie-cutter approaches just weren't cutting it in actual client meetings and sales presentations.

Looking back, those first 6 months were brutal.

Late nights.

Hard work.

Stress.

I remember following all the conventional advice - practicing my pitch in front of the mirror, memorizing every objection handle, rehearsing my product demonstrations until I could do them in my sleep.

And yes, I was making some sales, but something wasn't right.

The more I tried to be "professional" and follow the script, the more my prospects seemed to put up walls.

They could sense I wasn't being genuine. Even worse, whenever I got thrown a curveball question or objection, I'd completely freeze up because I was so focused on remembering my lines instead of having a real conversation.

I was doing everything the traditional sales training said to do, but I was creating a bigger problem - I was coming across as robotic and untrustworthy, the exact opposite of what I needed to build relationships with clients.

My fear of public speaking was actually getting worse because I was trying so hard to be perfect instead of authentic.

That was my life and I was ready to quit.

But thankfully, I didn't...