The 5 Phony Fears of Cold Callers


by Dr. Gary S. Goodman - Date: 2007-03-07 - Word Count: 429 Share This!

"Of course you're afraid to cold call," the smug article writer said; it's only "natural."

I don't believe that and neither should you.

The fear of cold calling isn't innate.

We don't instinctively leap away from phones when we hear them ring, as we do when venomous snakes rattle underfoot.

Your hand isn't hard wired to recoil with the phone in it when you hear a "no" or an objection, the way it flies off a piping hot stove.

People are afraid of cold calling, to be sure, that's what they say; but they've learned this very undesirable and self-debilitating response.

Specifically, they're intimidating themselves with these 5 PHONY FEARS:

(1) Fear of Embarrassment. They're scared they'll freeze up, lose their poise, and sound like school kids that have suddenly been called on by teacher and they lost their homework. Our egos prevent us from trying lots of things because they're hard before they become easy. I know for a fact that many more folks would try martial arts but for the fact that they're scared to look uncoordinated, which of course, is a necessity before you can look like Jet Li.

(2) Fear of Wasting Time. Time is money; it's true. And no sensible person wants to work for nothing, to get no return for his efforts. That's what phone phobics feel, that they'll sink hours and days and weeks in making calls and they'll get ZERO results. It's highly improbable.

(3) Fear of Social Stigma. Nobody wants to sound as untrained and mechanical and insincere as "those people who call us at home at the dinner hour." But suddenly, like a 1950's B movie, we believe we'll sound robotic and mindless merely by using this medium. "Of course I'm your husband, Marge. Ignore that implant in my neck!"

(4) Fear of Getting Stuck Forever in Cold Calling if You Are Good at It. "That's right Bud, you're the best we have on the phones, so we're taking away your company car, your expense account, and your assistant, and we'll simply feed you by steel tray under the door while you labor in darkness."

(5) Fear of Success. If you succeed today on the phone, the same or better performance will be expected of you tomorrow. How will you ever keep up with the increasing demands?

If there is a fear that people experience that is at all rational, it is the Fear of Hard Work.

Cold calling will tire you out; there is no doubt about it. But I'm sure it won't exhaust you nearly as much as when you try to avoid doing it, when in your heart, you know it must be done.


Related Tags: fear, training, leads, cold calling, seminars, sales seminars, appointment setting, negotiation seminars

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books and more than a thousand articles. His seminars and training programs are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UCLA Extension, where he has taught since 1999. Dynamic, experienced, and lots of fun, Gary brings more than two decades of solid management and consulting experience to the table, along with the best academic preparation and credentials in the speaking and training industry. Holder of five degrees, including a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a law degree from Loyola, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies along with successful family owned and operated firms across America. Much more than a "talking head," Gary is a top mind that you?ll enjoy working with and putting to use. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

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