There are three kinds of salespeople:
(1) Those who hate cold-calling, and would rather get a route canal;
(2) Those who love and hate it, knowing it's good for them, but are still uncomfortable doing it;
(3) And those who actually look forward to doing it, who find it exciting and challenging and financially rewarding.
99% of the people I've trained are in the first two groups. They are only moderately successful as salespeople.
The real winners teach themselves to enjoy cold calling, to relish the thrills and spills and the special status that accords to the Big Dogs, who really know how to hunt.
Speaking of which, there are three kinds of hunters:(1) Those who want to hang around the campfire and tell stories; (2) Those who stay near the campsite, gathering berries and low-hanging fruit; and (3) Rambo's.
Of course, you remember Rambo, the movie character brought to life by Sylvester Stallone. He was the guy that the small town Sheriff tried to bully. The Sheriff's name, by the way, was Dummo.
Rambo can do it all, fashioning a poncho from a scrap of canvas, hunting with only a knife, some self-made string, and his grit. And he, better than anyone else can survive and thrive on adversity.
I was doing a ride-along with a salesman in Florida whose specialty is building his insurance accounts by cold calling at business parks and out of the way factories.
I asked him why he enjoyed cold calling so much. Here's how this Rambo replied:
"You never know what opportunities you're going to walk into, " he beamed, brightly.
A second later, we passed through a portal only to find a million-watt, gorgeous smile waiting for us.
I'll tell you why I like it. Once you can successfully cold call, you can accomplish anything else in selling. It's like bench-pressing 300 pounds and then cutting back to 100.
A Rambo who is handed a warm lead swarms all over it, and doesn't back off until a deal is made. If he's so lucky as to receive an inbound call, well, the game is over.
He'll definitely transform the lukewarm inquiry into a sizzling sale, on the spot—-no call backs, or "Please send me a brochure" dodges, allowed.
Don't believe anyone who says cold calling is dead, unnecessary, or passé.
Just Rambo-up, and you'll prove them all to be wrong!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2005
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, sales management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone!, Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and How To Sell Like A Natural Born Salesperson. President of Customersatisfaction.com & The Goodman Organization, he is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. Gary's programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn't consulting, Gary can usually be found in Glendale, California, where he makes his home. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at gary@customersatisfaction.com
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