When you’re cold calling, you will experience rejection. It is unavoidable. Here is important thing to keep in mind: It is not about you! Your prospect is not rejecting you. They are rejecting product or service you’re offering.

They may just not need it right now. Or they may be so overwhelmed with challenges, they just cannot focus on what you’re offering and have to say. They’re not rejecting you! They don’t even know you.

Rejection is a part of life. So is occasional sub-par performance. I have walked away from many skydives very disappointed with my performance. But you have to shake it off and keep going. If I allowed my disappointment to get to me, I would eventually stop jumping. And that would deprive me of something I truly love.

It is similar with cold calling. If you allow rejection to get to you, it will profoundly impact your effectiveness. When you get “nos,” terse responses, or even hang ups - you have to be able to say to yourself, “Oh well, their loss. I’m sorry they’re not able to take advantage of wonderful product or service I am offering right now. But I am going to keep calling to find people who can” - and mean it.

Step 4 - Accept Fear - Then Move Through It

No one likes being rejected or hearing “no.” That is normal and okay. It is easy to allow desire to succeed lapse into a desire not to fail - which can then lapse into fear.

Don’t worry. Being fearful of rejection or failure is common and appropriate. What is important is that you not play games with yourself. If fear is there, don’t try to convince yourself it’s not. Don’t deny it.

Until you accept presence of fear, it’s in charge. When you accept its presence and fact that it is likely effecting you - you take a great deal of power away from fear.

I have had to learn this lesson thoroughly in order to succeed as a Professional Exhibition Skydiver. If I had not learned to acknowledge and accept my fears, there is no way I could have successfully jumped into small landing areas on middle of large cities or sporting events with audiences of over 100,000. (If you would like more information in this method of fear management, see article called You Want Me to Do What? - Risking to Win at www.TakeRisks.com.) So, accept that fear is there and that you’re are experiencing it. Not doing so will hold you back.

Step 5 - Keep Dialing

You build momentum with each call. When you stop dialing, you lose it. Set things up so you have plenty of prospects to call before you get started. Do your research in advance. When it comes time to call, do it with a vengeance! The sooner you make next call, regardless of whether it is a sale or not, better. You build momentum. One sale will lead to another.

If last call was not a success, it is even more important to pick up phone right away. The longer you wait, more likely it is to get to you.

Get Started

Cold calling will always be challenging. But you can make it more pleasant and be more successful at it by following these steps. Now get started. The sooner better! It’s time to leave plane!

© 2004 Jim McCormick

Right to publish or post this article at no cost is granted provided copyright is attributed to Jim McCormick and above information about author is included in its entirety.

“We never make a mistake.” You might not say it that bluntly but you might imply it with your praises, your promises, and your passion. On other hand, you don’t want to dwell on mistakes you and your company have made. If they ask you about reliability of your product, tell truth. Focus on what you do to make things right when things go wrong, your clients’ comments about your recovery strategies, and your commitment to excellence. Every organization has challenges. It is how you respond to those challenges and your customers’ concerns that can help you stand apart in your industry.

“We’ve just always done it that way.” So they’re asking for something you’ve never tried before. Just because you haven’t tried it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Isn’t it true that many of best ideas come from customers and clients? Probe for more of their ideas. Tell them about something else you currently do that was first done to meet another client’s needs. Most of all, thank them for their creative ideas and suggestions. When your organization decides that this really is a good idea, send them something special. If their idea is something you can’t implement, then still help them find a reasonable solution. After all, you are there to listen, learn, and help them find solutions.