"I Can't..."​

“I can’t reach out more than once a week.”

“I can’t call them and send an email the same day.”

“I can’t call them on a Monday morning.”

“No one wants to hear from a sales rep late in the afternoon.”

“They said they’d get back to me by yesterday. I’ll wait until next week to try them.”

“I just called the other day. I’ll wait a couple of weeks to give them a chance to review those documents.”

“I can’t call them on their cell phone.”

“Send a text? Are you kidding me?”

“I want to build a relationship with them first.”

“I’ve already tried to reach out three times; I guess it’s time to move on.”

The number one key to opportunity creation is making your prospect believe that you’re someone worth talking to and that you have something worth talking about. That’s it. That’s the bar you’re trying to clear.

In order to make someone else believe it, then you’d best believe it too. 

Given how often I hear the phrases above (and so many others like them), many sales reps don’t believe they’re worth talking to. It’s easily the biggest problem there is in sales today.

It’s not the economy. 

Cold calling isn’t dead.

It’s not because of the Do Not Call registry or GDPR.

It’s not because people are working remotely and not answering the office phone.

It’s not widespread layoffs.

It’s certainly not ChatGPT.

People are still selling things. People who believe in what they sell, whom they sell it to, how they sell it, and why. 

People are making sales because they believe so much in their solutions and their own abilities that they’re willing to adapt. They’re willing to start at the solution and work backward. They’re willing to chuck the instruction manual and do it their own way. They’re willing to listen to their intuition and the voice inside their head and find a creative way to get the job done.

Sellers who believe in themselves find a way to do the opposite of the statements I listed. They may not all make sense to you, but every last one of them is worth seriously considering before you discard them.

Why not call more than once a week?

Why not call a mobile number if you’ve acquired it reasonably?

Why not send a text message in a follow-up sequence?

If you don’t have a good reason, or if you’re afraid you’ll upset a prospect or customer, it can always be traced back to you not believing your message is worth hearing.

Nothing will come easily until you solve that problem. Can you?

There’s a football game this evening that is ultimately going to come down to belief. The athletes on the field will be put in situations where their beliefs and skills will be put to the ultimate test. The outcome of the game is usually decided by whether or not they believe they can execute and win. It’s one of my favorite aspects of sports and why I’ll be watching regardless of who’s playing.