Breaking through the Rejected Comfort Zone
A great many of my clients are required to extend themselves beyond their comfort zone on a regular basis. This includes making cold-calls.
Now, if you're like most people, making cold-calls would be the last thing selected on the list of things you'd like to do next to public speaking. The same thing goes for my client base.
What most people don't realize is that they are making cold-calls all the time. Only we don't know it. We do it by walking down the street in meeting the gaze of people we encounter. We do it when we walk into the store to make a purchase for the first time. We even do it when we make that phone call to someone we don't know asking for information we know they have. In principal there is no difference in the process. However, there is a difference in the mind set.
In the previous examples, we are not invested in the outcome. We're invested in the process. The process of walking down the street will cause encounters with people. If we open ourselves up to meeting their gaze, we make contact. If we're not opened, we don't make contact.
The same thing applies when making a purchase. We're not invested in a relationship between ourselves in the store keeper. We're only invested in the process of making the purchase if what they have to offer is what we want to buy.
That phone call out is no different when we know that the person at the other end is supposed to do what they're supposed to do. When you dial 1-411, you'd expect the other person at the other end to supply you with the information you're requesting. So you invest yourself in the process of dialing the number while fantasizing making the request. The only outcome you should expect from the professional at the other end of the line is 1) the information you seek; or 2) the information is unavailable. Simple.
The problem that occurs with cold calling is no different from that which occurs when one person approaches another for the first time. You know, like introducing yourself social gatherings and such. Usually the person who is approaching has spent an inordinate amount of time fantasizing about the outcome prior to making their move. That fantasizing tends to cause a tremendous amount of emotional investment (and anxiety), which is usually followed by a lot of emotional let down when the expectations are not met.
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Do you find this concept "provoking?" Care to read more? Want to take action that will "provoke your success?" This and fifty-seven more chapters designed to provoke your success can be found here.
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Coach John S. Nagy is CEO and Lead Business Coach for Coaching for Success. Inc., a Business Coaching Service specifically designed for top level decision makers dedicated to peak performance in all facets of their activities. He's hired to focus them continuously in activities that bring higher returns on their resource use. His programs are for the seriously committed. This means having his clients work "ON" their businesses, not just "IN" it. He's a published author and a multi-degree professional with a nationwide client base. Coach Nagy can be reached through his E-mail address at his website at http://www.coach.net and by calling 813-949-0718.
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Copyright © 1999-2007 John S. Nagy
