Top Telephone Consultant Cites A Big Cold Calling Hangup Fear Of Beginning At The Beginning

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Zen practitioners make a big deal out of something utterly simple: the need to cultivate a beginner's mind.

By this they mean we need to have a state of mind free from preconceptions, judgments, biases, confusing abstractions, and other concerns if we want to do our best.

Athletes cal this frictionless mental state, "The Zone" and the feeling of doing only what you're doing without distractions, as being "Locked-In."

When we have a beginner's mind, also called no-mind, literally we don't mind doing what is in front of us to do, whether it is making our beds, enjoying the entrée without thinking about desserts, or listening to that customer who is in pain about the performance of one of our products.

If you're in sales or telemarketing or you're simply looking to hustle up some new business as the head honcho of your own firm, you need to have a beginner's mind.

Cold calling requires it.

You can't afford to be thinking:

(1) About the things you'd rather be doing, or what came before;

(2) About the odds of truly getting new business this way;

(3) About how easy it is to send our brochures and wait for clients to come to you; or

(4) About anything that will pull you away from this task.

There are tons of reasons people shy away from making cold calls, and I recite many of them in my books and articles.

But, in the spirit of the Zen folks, one of the most daunting obstacles is what I call the Fear of Beginning at the Beginning.

Cold calling means introducing yourself to strangers and making an offer to them, to see you for an appointment, to receive more information, or to actually say yes and buy a product or service during that initial encounter. Some folks find the challenge of walking up to a stranger and introducing themselves, socially or for business, utterly daunting, and it doesn't help many of them that they're doing it through phone wires or microwaves.

They can speak volumes about themselves and their products, but they feel at an utter loss distilling all of this detail into an attractive sound bite.

This isn't that surprising. A second date with someone you want to be with is always easier than the first, and the first date is always easier than striking up initial interest and asking for a phone number.

I've worked with lots of sellers who need no help whatsoever seeing people face to face or delivering a great presentation.

They break into a cold sweat over the idea of saying hello for the first time, and being called on to warm up strangers in a matter of mere seconds.

Happily, when they learn to have a beginner's mind, and they really get into the NOW, most of their issues and failings melt away. They discover to their delight that what was a cold stranger suddenly becomes a hot prospect, providing they do the right things, one at a time, without trying to make a Hail Mary pass or an end run on 4th and long.

Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 900 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered "The Gold Standard"--the foremost expert in sales development, customer service, and telephone effectiveness. Top-rated as a speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the globe and the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.