And do you know what their most common question is?

Yes, you guessed it: "Is there any way I can break through or overcome my fear of cold calling?"

Most of us have at least some resistance to cold calling, and some people I talk with have such a paralyzing visceral and emotional fear of cold calling that they can't even consider doing it.

In some ways, fear of cold calling is practically an epidemic -- but not kind of epidemic that gets publicized on TV or in newspapers. It's a silent and personal one, a psychological struggle that happens in our own hearts and minds.

The fear of cold calling is a painful, daily struggle for many entrepreneurs and salespeople who have been trained in traditional selling techniques.

Traditional sales trainers answer questions about cold calling this way:

"All you have to do is make more phone calls."

"All you have to do is think more positive thoughts."

"Just learn to accept rejection as a normal part of selling."

In other words, "It's your fault that you aren't succeeding in sales."

This is like telling someone who's terrified of jumping off a diving board, "Don't be a wimp! Just jump!"

In my experience, very few people are able to overcome their fears that way, because underlying message is that, if you force yourself to do something uncomfortable, "just doing it" will magically solve problem.

But this is a response that shows no understanding at all of psychological barriers that underlie fear of cold calling. So, how do you overcome your fear of cold calling?

In my opinion, solution actually is simple, and is based on understanding three simple concepts:

1. It's Not Your Fault

We can't help thinking there's something wrong with us if other people keep telling us that something shouldn't be a problem, but our own inner feelings tell us that we aren't comfortable doing it.

There's a sort of "old boys' club" sales-conditioning mentality prevalent in English-speaking countries, including US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, that says, "I had to suffer to succeed in sales success, so you need to, too!"

This thinking comes from traditional sales programs that continue to be accepted approach to selling.

What you need to understand, though, is that you may fear cold calling because you have probably been exposed only to traditional selling approaches, which triggers rejection.

These approaches teach us to make cold calls this way: introduce yourself, explain what you do, suggest a benefit to potential client...and then close your eyes and pray that they won't reply with "Sorry, not interested" or "Sorry, I'm busy."

To paraphrase management guru Peter Drucker, a leader is someone who not only does things right, but who also does right things, while helping others do same. The same holds true in sales: how better to serve your clients than to really know and understand what they do, and to truly help them do it better?

With that in mind, here are Mr. Hill’s eleven secrets to leadership, as they apply to leadership in selling:

1.“Unwavering Courage”: Selling successfully requires courage; taking a risk where odds may seem stacked against you; courage to make that extra call, to deal with tough client or prospect, and to not let anything deter you. As Hill says, courage is “based upon knowledge of self and one’s occupation.

2.“Self-Control”: The ability to set a course for yourself and take disciplined action each day is a key attribute of all successful salespeople.

3.“A keen sense of justice”: Knowing right from wrong - understanding what is fair and just - allows you to make, wise informed decisions.

4.“Definiteness of decision”: Deciding on what you want to achieve, and then doing whatever it takes to get there, even in face of obstacles and setbacks, is crucial to your success. For those who don’t quite make it, failure can usually be traced back to a lack of decisiveness about what they really want.

5.“Definiteness of plans”: In Hill’s words, “the successful leader must plan his work, and work his plan. Truer words were never spoken when it comes to selling. Plan your time, and then take action on your plan each and every day.