The World Has Changed. What is a Sales Professional to Do?

Written by Jim McCormick


Continued from page 1

I know this works from personal experience in successfully pursuing goals like a skydiving World Record. NASA has verified this method of fear management through controlled studies of astronauts.

If you find you are significantly distracted and having difficulty concentrating because ofrepparttar terrorist attacks or continuing threats, you may want to seek assistance. There is no shame in taking care of yourself. The only shame is in significantly hampering your performance by not seeking it. You would not expect your car to function well after a major accident. Similarly, afterrepparttar 127333 trauma we all have experienced inrepparttar 127334 last year, it may be time to treat yourself to some “service.”

Focus on Your Goals

And finally, keep your goals in focus. If you need to revise your goals – do. They need to be relevant. But keep them foremost in your mind. By keeping focused on your personal and professional goals, you will keep yourself on track. And there is another benefit. You will be underminingrepparttar 127335 goals of those who would love nothing more than for us to lose touch with our greatness – as individuals and as a country.

© Jim McCormick 2002

Jim McCormick is an MBA, speaker, author and professional skydiver. He draws on his experiences in earning a skydiving World Record and parachuting to the North Pole to help people effectively deal with fear and take the critical risks that lead to improved personal and organizational performance. More information is available at www.TakeRisks.com.


From Cowardly to Courageous - How to Succeed at Cold Calling

Written by Jim McCormick


Continued from page 1

When you’re cold calling, you will experience rejection. It is unavoidable. Here isrepparttar important thing to keep in mind: It is not about you! Your prospect is not rejecting you. They are rejectingrepparttar 127332 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 allowrepparttar 127333 rejection to get to you, it will profoundly impact your effectiveness. When you getrepparttar 127334 “nos,”repparttar 127335 terse responses, or evenrepparttar 127336 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 ofrepparttar 127337 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 - Acceptrepparttar 127338 Fear - Then Move Through It

No one likes being rejected or hearing “no.” That is normal and okay. It is easy to allowrepparttar 127339 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. Ifrepparttar 127340 fear is there, don’t try to convince yourself it’s not. Don’t deny it.

Until you acceptrepparttar 127341 presence ofrepparttar 127342 fear, it’s in charge. When you accept its presence andrepparttar 127343 fact that it is likely effecting you - you take a great deal of power away fromrepparttar 127344 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 onrepparttar 127345 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, seerepparttar 127346 article called You Want Me to Do What? - Risking to Win at www.TakeRisks.com.) So, accept thatrepparttar 127347 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 makerepparttar 127348 next call, regardless of whether it is a sale or not,repparttar 127349 better. You build momentum. One sale will lead to another.

Ifrepparttar 127350 last call was not a success, it is even more important to pick uprepparttar 127351 phone right away. The longer you wait,repparttar 127352 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 soonerrepparttar 127353 better! It’s time to leaverepparttar 127354 plane!

© 2004 Jim McCormick

Right to publish or post this article at no cost is granted provided copyright is attributed to Jim McCormick andrepparttar 127355 above information aboutrepparttar 127356 author is included in its entirety.

Jim McCormick is an MBA, former corporate Chief Operating Officer, three time skydiving World Record holder and was a member of an international expedition that skydived to the North Pole. More information is available at http://www.TakeRisks.com and 970.577.8700.


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