The Right Mindset for Cold Calling... Success, Rejection, Fear, the Numbers and Taking it Personal.

This is a topic that is near and dear to me because I believe in the "thought process" behind cold calling and using it as a tactic to create meaningful connections in selling environments. I am currently working on a book that details the key elements of cold calling success (Cold Closing, The Art of Making The Connection) so there will certainly be more to come on this topic; but for now... The Short, The Sweet and The Sour (My version of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly)

How does one achieve a proper mindset for cold calling success and overcome a fear of rejection? I think it is important to emphasize these two words because cold calling is typically conducted with rather unsuccessful results. Which produces great fear, apprehension and dislike for the practice. In my opinion, the right mindset for cold calling is developed long before a call is ever placed and can be attained by developing the 5 C's (Characteristics) of Cold Closing Success:

-Clarity, focus and clear the mind
-Consistency, keep at it
-Competence, listen actively and develop effective communication skills
-Confidence, believe in yourself
-Commitment, sell out and make it a way of thinking and life

For more on the 5 C's of Cold Closing Success enroll in Cold Closin...

At this point I will not go into great detail but will say that in order to become highly skilled at any practice you must focus all your mental energy, develop personal and professional success principles, and maintain consistent action habits backed by PMA, personal belief, burning desire and a "burn the ships on the beach" attitude. Examples... Tiger Woods may have wanted to do something else with his recreational time as a youth and Michael Jordan liked baseball; look where each stand in sports history... they are leaders in their field of expertise because of some form of the 5 C's.

On, rejection and fear...

Once one understands how to overcome fear, facing rejection will be easy. Simply put- action cures fear!
Do something (like pick up the phone, dial a number and talk with someone) and the fear will begin to subside.
Do something consistently with a willing and positive attitude and an expectation of success- and fear will become fearlessness! Thus, rejection will become like a tickle in your stomach that makes you giggle as you drive over a hilly road.

On, "it's a numbers game..."

I used to believe that sales was simply a numbers game until I began to understand the power of making connections and relationship building. Don't get me wrong, there are statistical components; but I like to look at numbers in this way:

Let's say I am separating face cards and number cards in a playing deck. There are only so many of each and you cannot change the face value from one to another. If you are looking for Kings then you have to understand that there are only 4 in the deck. Same with the Aces, Twos, Jacks, Sevens, etc. The whole idea is to change the thought process the keeps us only looking for Kings! For me, the numbers changed when I realized that I was simply connecting with people and building relationships. (that just happen to be for sales purposes) So I use the numbers to my advantage (all the numbers) and capitalize on each opportunity to build a bridge, open a door and create a connection.

On, "dont take it personal..."

It is very personal and it always will be when we are dealing with people! I tried to work my mind to the extent of believing that I was not being rejected; rather that my product/ service or company was the culprit. Then I realized that it was my feelings, confidence, esteem and image on the line as opposed to the product/ service or company.

PEOPLE were not buying ME!
PEOPLE were not listening to ME!
PEOPLE did not believe in ME!
PEOPLE were rejecting ME!
Thus, I had to work on ME... so that I could work more for PEOPLE.

If we maintain the attitude that "it's not personal" then it never will be and we will miss out on the fundamental aspect of making connections and building relationships with people. People (by definition and nature) are personal. So, please take it personal...

For more of developing the Cold Closing Attitude, please visit Cold Closing Network and enroll in Cold Closing University.