Cold calls can be tough. Yes, there are some of you out there that it’s no big deal and you don’t even think twice about it, but for a lot of people, including me, cold calls can be tough. Just the thought of the call begins a narrative of stories in your mind. Who do I ask for when I call? What if they say no? What will I say?
Maybe it’s easier to just not make the call and save yourself the stress and embarrassment, right? Well, not in the life of an entrepreneur or someone in any type of sales position.
I recently was in this position while I was trying to make some major decisions for one of our companies. I had thought through some scenarios and the idea came to me that there might be an opportunity to collaborate with one of our competitors to create a win-win for both of us. But my thoughts tried to sabotage the idea. “I don’t even know who to talk to. Do I just call their toll free number and ask for the boss? What if they think it’s a dumb idea?”
Any time that I’m in a situation like this I think of a book that really changed my life as an entrepreneur.
The Aladdin Factor by
Mark Victor Hansen and
Jack Canfield. The principle they teach that I find most helpful in this type of situation is to basically not care what the other side thinks of you when, if the worse scenario in your mind happens, nothing in your life changes.
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If you make the call and get a NO. Nothing has changed in your life. You didn’t have whatever you were asking for before. You asked and you don’t have it now. So nothing has changed by asking, so who cares. Sure, if you don’t have “it” right now, you. still don’t have “it” if you don’t ask and nothing has changed in that situation either. But if you don’t ask at all, you are not giving the opportunity for a YES. So go ahead and make that call.
Back. to my story. I made the call and told the lady who answered that I didn’t know who I should ask for but explained why I was calling. Turns out that it was a great action to take. The deal we are working to put together is nothing like I had imagined when I was first making the call. In fact it is significantly different. But in the end it’s looking like it will be better for both of us and I’m having an opportunity to work with some great business people that I would have never known if I didn’t make the call.
Anticipation
, Persistence is the Eighth Step Towards Riches. He says that the “lack of persistence is one of the major causes of failure.” “Without persistence, you will be defeated, even before you start. With persistence you will win.”
