Look, cold, outbound prospecting can be difficult and not all that fun. It requires salespeople to step outside of our comfort zone, to put ourselves out there, to flex all of our sales skills we’ve built up to that moment.

The reason why it is so difficult for many of us is because of how much harder we make it. Before you ever pick up the phone your inner judge, self criticism, and the stories you’ve created start to get louder and louder. 

I’m bothering them.

They’re going to think I’m annoying.

My Dad used to get so frustrated when people like me would call the house.

I’m going to trip over my words and embarrass myself.

You have to remember: these stories aren’t real. They exist in your mind for the very specific purpose to keep you stuck exactly where you are. Your mind doesn’t want you to take action outside of your comfort zone. It thinks that it is dangerous and scary. But you and I both know that it isn’t. 

You are perfectly safe and not in any actual danger. 

Thank this part of yourself for doing its best to keep you safe, because it loves you. Then remind yourself of these inherent truths:

You’re not bothering anyone
While the story in your head might be one of “bothering” the person on the other line, you aren’t actually bothering them. You are reaching out to help them. And if they don’t need your help, that’s perfectly okay.

It’s not about you.
The call you’re about to make, the email you’re about to send, the walk-in you’re about to do…it’s not about you. It actually has nothing to do with you. It is about them, period. Have the courage to put them first and to take action to see if you can help them. Shift your focus away from yourself, your stories, your fears, and focus on them. Their situation, their problems that you could potentially help them with. It’s about them, not you.

You might have the opportunity to really help them 
If they do have a problem that you could potentially solve, what a gift you just gave them! The problem exists for a reason, and that reason may be because they didn’t know how to begin to find the right solution for it. Now, you have done the work for them in helping them get to a place where they can feel more at peace, make more money, improve efficiency, [insert whatever your product or service helps people with!].

How others perceive you is not yours
Get out of your own way and remember that the more you think about what other people think about you, the more you take on a responsibility that isn’t yours. Free yourself from that weight and that pressure and just be in the moment. You cannot control how your prospect is going to perceive you personally or professionally. Show up fully as your most authentic self, what others do with that is out of your control.

Be here now
The possibilities of the future will distract you from being in the present moment, if you let them. When you catch yourself becoming anxious about what might happen, just bring yourself back to the present and repeat, “Be here, now.” Right now is all you have! 

In the end, you might be uncomfortable doing cold calls or walk-ins. You might feel slimy. You might be talking yourself out of it. But, these are all just manifestations of fear and rationalizations of staying in your comfort zone. Everything you want to become in this life exists on the other side of fear. Everything. 

If you make these calls today, they will be a little bit easier tomorrow. And you will have conquered your fear for another day. 

You can do it. I believe in you and I know you have it in you. 

Now…go help someone.