Pulling back the curtain on cold call anxiety

The simple things in life usually offer the greatest lessons.

The classic Hollywood production "The Wizard of OZ" is certainly

no exception.

My boys and I had just finished watching it for probably the

dozenth time and, as I usually tend to do, I started to analyze what

I had just witnessed.

Such a simple movie but what powerful lessons are contained within.

People have long debated what the true meaning of the movie was and

that debate will probably never be settled; however, I saw something that

certainly applies to those who make their living in sales.

Cold calling, for many, is an area that weak personalities tend to try to avoid

or often tremble with fear simply by the thought of calling on someone they

don't know.

This self-imposed anxiety only leads to a dead end with no appointment and

certainly no sale.

Realizing that the people you need to be in front of in order to secure an

account or make a sale hold the keys to the castle, it is imperative that you

overcome your fear of the dreaded cold-call.

The lesson in the "Wizard of OZ" shows Dorothy and her friends in awe of a

"Wizard" they have never seen.

They had only heard of the "great powers" that the Wizard was said to possess

and built up a huge preconceived image of this "magical" person.

Salespeople, in the same fashion, seem to do the same thing and build up the

person that they need to see as someone or some thing that is much bigger than

life and this leads to their downfall BEFORE they even set foot in front of the

mighty decision maker.

Often times, even a harmless receptionist can intimidate a salesperson who has

bought into "he is still in a meeting" or "he just stepped out of the office".

Follow the boldness of Toto and pull back the curtain!

Understand and realize the person you need to get in contact with is human

just as you and they possess no more power than you.

Let no secretary build up this person as "too busy" or something larger than

what they are.

They are just people and as Dorothy and her friends discovered, their elaborate

front can easily be penetrated by simply looking and knowing they are just

people with a title; no more, no less.

So if you or your company depend on outside sales to generate business, watch

this timeless video clip and take from it the lesson that people are just people.

Get past the curtain, expose 'em and close 'em!

Watch the video here

Mike Malone

www.innovativeperformancegroup.com