Sales Therapy 101: Breaking Your Fear of Cold Calling

<p>Almost every day, visitors to my Unlock The Game™ website click on my live instant-messenger chat button, which invites them to "Ask Ari a selling question."</p>

<p>The fear of cold calling is a painful, daily struggle for many entrepreneurs and salespeople who have been trained in traditional selling techniques.</p>

<p>Traditional sales trainers answer questions about cold calling this way:</p>

<p>"All you have to do is make more phone calls."</p>

<p>"All you have to do is think more positive thoughts."</p>

<p>"Just learn to accept rejection as a normal part of selling."</p>

<p>In other words, "It's your fault that you aren't succeeding in sales."</p>

<p>1. It's Not Your Fault</p>

<p>We can't help thinking there's something wrong with us if other people keep telling us that something shouldn't be a problem, but our own inner feelings tell us that we aren't comfortable doing it.</p>

<p>There's a sort of "old boys' club" sales-conditioning mentality prevalent in English-speaking countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, that says, "I had to suffer to succeed in sales success, so you need to, too!"</p>

<p>This thinking comes from traditional sales programs that continue to be the accepted approach to selling.</p>

<p>What you need to understand, though, is that you may fear cold calling because you have probably been exposed only to traditional selling approaches, which triggers rejection.</p>

<p>These approaches teach us to make cold calls this way: introduce yourself, explain what you do, suggest a benefit to the potential client...and then close your eyes and pray that they won't reply with "Sorry, not interested" or "Sorry, I'm busy."</p>

<p>If you're still using this traditional approach, you probably hear responses like these the moment you stop talking.</p>

<p>They're rejections, and what they do us make you feel rejected -- and that's reason enough to make you dislike, fear, and avoid cold calling.</p>

<p>How can cold calling be a positive experience if rejection is the most common response you get?</p>

<p>2. Are Your Self-Perceptions Passive or Aggressive?</p>

<p>Whenever I chat with people about the fear of cold calling, they almost< always tell me that they're afraid to make cold calls because they don't want to be perceived as "aggressive."</p>

<p>This is another part of the internal battle -- they beat themselves up for being too passive and lacking the confidence to make the next call, but they don't want to call for fear of being seen as aggressive.</p>

<p>Here's the good news: there is a middle ground between "aggressive" and passive."</p>

<p>It's a place where you can be who you are while still being extremely effective with cold calling, without ever experiencing rejection again.</p>

<p>Unlock The Game™ shows you how you can be incredibly effective in cold calling without triggering rejection from potential clients. Imagine the possibilities (and the income potential).</p>

<p>3. Learn to Let Your Language Match Your Thinking</p>

<p>If you can center yourself into a place where you can let go of feeling that you have to go on using traditional cold calling "scripts" and behaviors, you'll find yourself spontaneously using language that you would use in a natural conversation.</p>

<p>Using natural words and phrases -- speaking exactly the way you would with someone</p>

<p>you know, can transform cold calling into a refreshing and productive experience.</p>

<p>And, as you let go of the old-school cold calling model, in which your product or service is your only way of generating a phone conversation with a prospect, you'll make the most crucial transition of all: you'll begin thinking of approaching potential prospects not from your perspective, but from theirs.</p>
<p>What do I mean by that?</p>

<p>Imagine what it would be like if you could hear your prospect's thoughts about the problems they are having -- and that your solution can solve.</p>

<p>Even more importantly, suppose you could also make note of the words and phrases they're using as they think about their problems, and that you could take that language and embed it in your cold calling approach.</p>

<p>"Yes, but how would I do that?" you might ask.</p>

<p>It's simple. Just ask your current clients what three core problems your product or service has solved for them.</p>

<p>When you change your thinking, you can't help changing the language that you use, which lets you connect in a whole new positive way with the other person you are calling.</p>

<p>If you can let go of your old-school belief system and open up to the possibility that there is a more natural, comfortable way to cold call -- one that doesn't trigger rejection -- you'll be surprised by how easily you'll break through and overcome your fear of cold calling.</p>

<p>Bruce, one of my Unlock The Game™ clients, did just this... and here's his story (click the PLAY button to listen).</p>

Dead Silence From Your Prospect : The Worst Sound Of All

<p>Could this be the worst moment in your selling cycle?</p>

<p>You've done all the right things with your prospect:</p>

<p>• You've identified a real need and developed a reasonably solid relationship.</p>

<p>• You've determined that your prospect is interested in your solution.</p>

<p>• You've had a couple of great meetings or conversations that let</p>
<p>   the prospect move the sales process forward.</p>

<p>• You've supplied everything needed to  make a final decision.</p>

<p>• And you've followed up, as customary, by leaving messages or e-mails to see if you can get a final decision, But instead, all you're hearing is dead silence.</p>

<p>Not a word. Not a peep.</p>

<p>"I don't get it," you say to yourself.</p>

<p>"Everything was going so well, there's definitely a fit, we had a good relationship.</p>

<p>Then, all of a sudden, nothing.</p>

<p>What went wrong?</p>

<p>I know this feeling well because just about everyone who gets in touch with me (and I speak with dozens of you almost every day) struggles with this exact desperate situation --- wondering what went wrong, why your prospect has broken off communication, and, most importantly, what you can do about it.</p>

<p>The only person who can solve this mystery is -- guess who? Your prospect.</p>

<p>You may have done all the "right" things throughout the sales process, but, somewhere along the way, he or she has never felt truly comfortable enough to tell you the truth about where they really stand with the decision to buy or not buy your solution.</p>

<p>Why not?</p>

<p>Because in most cases prospects don't want to hurt your feelings by telling you something that might disappoint you.</p>

<p>The problem is, something in your selling approach (your tone of voice, your attempt to create forward momentum, your use of traditional sales language) told them that the most important thing on your mind was making that sale.</p>

<p>However, what your selling approach must do is let prospects feel comfortable telling you the truth, all the way through the sales cycle, about exactly where you stand with them, without their having to worry that you'll feel disappointed.</p>

<p>This is the gap that makes it easier for prospects to break off communication, because keeping you at bay lets them feel safer and more in control.</p>

<p>So, how do you get to it?</p>

<p>Not by moving forward, but by moving backward to try to repair the hidden break in the relationship. "I don't understand," you say. "How would I do that?" It's simple:</p>

<p>1. Just Give your prospect a call (avoid leaving a voicemail, and send an e-mail only if you have no other options) in which you convey the following message:</p>

<p>2. "Hi John, it's Ari with XYZ company, how are you? John, I'm not calling about moving the project forward or anything about the project itself. I'm just calling to apologize...I haven't heard from you for a few weeks and I figured it must be my fault or something that I may have done, maybe I dropped the ball somewhere along that way...so I'm simply calling (or writing) to see if you wouldn't mind sharing some feedback so I can improve for next time?"</p>

<p>In other words, you apologize.</p>

<p>That's right -- you apologize because it's crucial for you to take the high road and be willing to be told that something on your end did cause the communication breakdown.</p>

<p>However, most of the time, prospects will find your apology so disarming that they'll stop worrying about you trying to "sell" them and will finally feel comfortable telling you their truth.</p>

<p>Try it, and let me know how it goes.</p>

Are You Risking The Relationship for the Sale -- And Then Losing the Sale Anyway?

Losing a sale can be disheartening, especially if you lose it for reasons you aren't even aware of.

Traditional selling approaches tell us that sales are usually lost because of some element -- price, features, benefits -- having to do with our product or service.

So, when we sell, we naturally focus on what we're selling because we feel we have to differentiate our product or service so prospects understand what we're offering that's unique.

But...what if focusing all your energy on WHAT you're selling is actually the main reason

WHY you're losing sales?

"Not possible!" you say. No?

Let's hear, in my client Ryan's own words, what happened to him.

His story will help you realize why you may be losing sales without really understanding why.

Ryan's story points to a very important lesson: if you don't have an approach that is a perfect balance of nonaggression and effective penetration of your prospect's core needs, you'll end up asking yourself time after time, "Why am I losing sales, and why has selling become so painful?"

You can risk the relationship and lose the sale, but with a different sales mindset, you don't risk anything at all -- because you can preserve the relationship, and make the sale.

Aikido and The Art of Selling

What's your first instinct? Most of us will do one of two things. We’ll either try to step away, or we’ll raise our arms to deflect him and fight back, which can result in harm to you or to your attacker.

But if you were trained in Aikido, the Japanese martial art that focuses on diverting an attacker’s energy, you could quickly diffuse the situation by immobilizing him without harming him in any way.

In essence, you’re diffusing the energy that he’s using to try and attack you in a way that takes the conflict out of the situation.

Unlock The Game and the philosophy behind Aikido have many similarities.

Traditional cold calling and selling are designed to focus only on the "close" by presenting -- or in too many cases, "pushing" -- your solution onto prospects, sometimes even when they’re not interested.

But if you focus only on your goal of making the sale before having a discussion about the problems that you can help your prospects solve, something happens.

They start feeling that you’re "attacking" them. After all, you’re a stranger to them, and when you start talking about yourself and your solution rather than about them and their specific issues, you immediately trigger their suspicion and cause them to start "pushing back."

This pushback is the resistance or energy that Unlock The Game teaches you to diffuse. Then both of you can quickly "get on the same page" and open a natural dialogue that will let you determine whether it makes sense for you to work together.

Let's look at two real selling scenarios -- cold calling and "get-you-off-the-phone" objections:

Scenario 1: Cold Calling

Suppose you’re at your desk and you receive a call from someone who says "Hi, my name is Jack Johnson, I'm with XYZ Company, and we’re a full-solution provider of..." Is your first reaction to welcome and be open to his call? Or do your mental defenses immediately kick in and you shut down against this stranger "salesperson"?

Probably the latter, especially if you sense that the caller is focused on his interests and not yours.

That’s why this old-school cold calling approach triggers the resistance and negative energy that prospects immediately throw your way.

The Unlock The Game way to make a successful cold call -- "successful" being defined as not triggering rejection -- is by beginning your call with, "Hi, my name is Jack, maybe you can help me out for a moment?" That simple question is a very natural way of beginning a conversation with a stranger.

But you can't just read this word for word, like a script. It won’t work. That would be like an Aikido instructor teaching a first-time student the physical movements before he or she has learned the philosophy necessary to carry them out.

The same applies here. First you need to integrate a new Mindset that changes the goal of your call from making the sale, or getting an appointment, to engaging the person in a natural two-way dialogue.

To do this, your voice has to be low-key. You have to avoid communicating any hint of typical "salesperson" enthusiasm, or any sense that you’re trying to direct the conversation to an end goal. Once you integrate the Mindset, all this kicks in naturally.

So, if you want to succeed in prospecting and cold calling, become aware of how you might be triggering the resistance or energy that instinctively causes prospects to push back against you.

Scenario 2: "Get-you-off-the-phone" objections

Here’s another example. Forget the idea of "overcoming objections." Doing that only triggers more resistance from prospects that’s very difficult to diffuse.

Think about it for a moment. When prospects give a reason why they don’t want to proceed --when they "put up resistance" -- you’ve been trained to "overcome" their objections rather than to diffuse their resistance by acknowledging that what they’re telling you is their truth.

By applying the Unlock The Game Mindset™ and skills, you diffuse that resistance and remove the conflict from the situation, just as in Aikido.

Here’s the Unlock The Game™ process for dealing with objections:

1. Diffuse the objection with "That's not a problem... (Pause)"

2. Acknowledge the truth of their objection (see the sample language below).

3. Reopen the conversation with "Would you be open to..."

For example, suppose a prospect says, "We already have a vendor." The path of diffusing and reengaging would go like this:

1. "That's not a problem...(Pause)"

2. "I wasn't calling to replace the vendor you’re currently using." Here, you’re addressing their suspicion that your only focus is on making the sale and on ripping out their relationship with their current vendor. You’re simply asking whether they would be open to different ideas that might help them solve a problem. This diffuses the tension.

3. "Would you be open to some different ideas that you might not be using now?" After the tension is dissolved, this lets you reopen the conversation in a natural way because they clearly understand that your goal is to help them. Then, if things are a match between you, you can decide where to go from there.

Keep in mind that this process will work only if you fully integrate the Mindset so it feels as natural to you as breathing.

In short, if you’re using any form of traditional selling, you could be triggering a resistance every time you communicate with your prospect.

But if you learn this new Mindset, along with words and phrases that remove any conflict or tension from the relationship, you’ll have taken your first steps toward your black belt in unlocking the cold calling game!

4 Classic Cold Calling Mistakes

<p>Have you noticed that the old "tried and true" cold calling techniques which were once successful have completely lost their effectiveness over the years? They just don’t work anymore.</p>

<p>But many salespeople are still use them because that’s all they know. They’re working from that old, ineffective cold calling mindset. And they’re making the same mistakes over and over again.</p>

<p>I’d like to talk about 4 classic cold calling mistakes from the old traditional approach that will put you on the wrong path if you’re not careful.</p>

<p>1. Deliver a strong, enthusiastic sales pitch</p>

<p>People almost always feel "pushed" by sales enthusiasm, especially when it’s coming from someone they don’t know.</p>

<p>You see, a strong sales pitch includes the unspoken assumption that your product or service is a great fit for the other person. But think about it. You’ve never spoken with them before, much less had a full conversation. You can’t possibly know much about them at this point.</p>

<p>So to them, you’re just another salesperson who wants them to buy something. And so the walls go up.</p>

<p>It’s much better to modestly assume you know very little about your prospect. Invite them to share some of their concerns and difficulties with you. And allow them to guide the conversation, rather than your pre-ordained strategy or pitch.</p>

<p>2. Your goal is to always make the sale</p>

<p>When your target in cold calling is to always make the sale, prospects are aware of your agenda. And almost immediately, they’re on the defensive. After all, you’re primarily focused on yourself and the sale – not on them.</p>

<p>In the old traditional mindset, you forge ahead with the hope of getting a sale. You’re coaxing, persuading, and pushing things forward.</p>

<p>But most cold calls break down the moment the other person feels this sales pressure.</p>

<p>Why? Because they don’t know you, and they don’t trust you.</p>

<p>So the sales momentum you’re trying to create actually triggers a backlash of suspicion and resistance. They’re trying to protect themselves from a potential "intruder" with what appears to them as a self-serving agenda.</p>

<p>Instead, you can approach cold calling with a different goal. Your focus can be on discovering whether you’re able to solve a problem for the other person.</p>

<p>When you become a problem-solver, this feels vastly different to the person you’re talking to. You’re not triggering rejection. You’re calling with 100 percent of your thoughts and energy focused on their needs, rather than on making a sale.</p>

<p>3. Focus on the end of the conversation – that’s when sales are lost</p>

<p>If you believe that you lose sales because you’ve made a mistake at the end of the process, you’re looking in the wrong direction. Most mistakes are made at the beginning of a cold calling conversation.</p>

<p>You see, it’s at the beginning that you convey whether you’re honest and trustworthy. If you’ve started out your cold call with a high-pressured sales pitch, then you’ve probably lost the other person in just a few seconds.</p>

<p>When you follow a sales script, strategy, or presentation, then you’re not allowing a natural, trusting conversation to evolve. So the "problem" has been put into motion by your very first words. So the place to put all your focus is at the beginning of the cold call, not at the end.</p>

<p>4. Overcome and counter all objections</p>

<p>Most traditional sales programs spend a lot of time focusing on overcoming objections. But these tactics only put more sales pressure on your prospect, which triggers resistance. And you also fail to explore or understand the truth behind what’s being said.</p>

<p>When you hear, "We don't have the budget," or, "Call me in a few months," you can uncover the truth by replying, "That's not a problem."</p>

<p>And then using gentle, dignified language, you can invite them to reveal the truth about their situation.</p>

<p>So move away from the old sales mindset and try this new way of approaching your cold calling. You’ll find yourself being more natural, and others will respond to you in a much more positive way.</p>

Do You Have to Be Aggressive to Make Sales?

We could say that Unlock The Game™ actually takes the "middle ground" between passive and aggressive by being authentically unassuming, yet effective - and that this is the most stress-free and effective way to sell.

What do I mean?

I mean that you have to shift away from assuming that every prospect is a fit for your solution.

It's sort of like the legal concept of "being innocent until proven guilty."

We can't afford to make any assumptions about "fit" until our conversation with the prospect indicates that we've mutually arrived at that conclusion.

The aggressiveness that turns off prospects sets in when you assume, every time you pick up the phone, that you have a solution for them.

Your tone of voice and language gives them that message long before they've even had a chance to agree that they have a problem you might be able to help them solve.

But if you can manage to find that middle ground of not assuming anything while also communicating in a low-key, unassuming manner, you'll discover a whole new effectiveness you could never have imagined.

Can prospects sense when you're assuming too much?

Sure they can -- because most of us have been conditioned to present or talk about our solution as a way to engage prospects so they'll reveal their problems to us.

But that logic is completely flawed, because when you launch into your solution to someone who doesn't trust you yet, all you do is allow them to pigeonhole you as a stereotyped "salesperson."

So how do you make this concept of being unassuming but effective a reality?

First, learn to start conversations by focusing 100 percent on generating discussions around prospects' problems, rather than pitching your solution the second you hear an opening.

Second, learn to begin those conversations by converting the benefits of your solution into problems that your solution can solve.

Third, after you and your prospects have identified a problem or problems, you can then engage in a discussion about whether fixing those problems is a priority.

It's only at that point that prospects have finally given you implicit permission to share your solution with them.

Jumping in with solutions prematurely will only land you back in the trap of being perceived as "aggressive."

3 Cold Calling Mistakes that Trigger Rejection

<p>Here are 3 common cold calling techniques that you should probably avoid:</p>

<p>Mistake #1: Center the conversation around yourself and what you have to offer</p>

<p>In the old approach, you introduce yourself, explain what you do, and suggest a benefit or feature of your product. And then you close your eyes and pray that the other person will be interested</p>

<p>Unfortunately, the moment you stop talking you usually hear, "Sorry, I’m busy," or "Sorry, I'm not interested."</p>

<p>You see, you’ve started your cold call by talking about your world and what you have to offer. But realistically, most people aren’t all that interested in you. When you talk about your company and your product, it’s just another advertisement to them. You haven’t engaged them, so they often just "turn the page."</p>

<p>Prospects are much more interested in themselves and what’s important to them. So if you start the conversation by focusing on their world, they’re more likely to interact with you.</p>

<p>So instead, talk about an issue or problem they may need solving. Focus on them rather than on what you have to offer. And see where it takes you.</p>

<p>Mistake #2: Be confident they should buy your product or service</p>

<p>In the old cold calling mindset, you’re taught to focus on the sale and be completely confident that what you’re offering is something the other person should buy.</p>

<p>The problem with this approach is that you haven’t asked them to determine this along with you. So think about it – in the old mindset, you’re really deciding for someone else what’s good for them. I know this isn’t intended, but that’s exactly what comes across to your prospects.</p>

<p>So rather than being full of confidence and enthusiasm, stop for a minute and think about the other individual. Relax into a real conversation instead of moving into a persuasive strategy or sales pitch. Put yourself in their shoes and invite them to explore along with you whether what you have to offer is a match for them.</p>

<p>Others really can distinguish the difference. You’re inviting them to see if you might be able to help them solve a problem. This makes for a much better connection right at the beginning, and you’ll get that immediate rejection reaction much less.</p>

<p>Mistake #3: When someone brings up an objection, try to overcome it</p>

<p>You know, one of the reasons cold calling is so difficult is that sometimes you may not be very familiar with the other person and their business. When you make that first call, you don’t know very much about their issues, problems, budget, and time constraints.</p>

<p>Chances are, not everyone is going to benefit by your product or service.</p>

<p>So realistically, your company or product isn’t going to be a match for everyone. And yet, when someone brings up an objection ("we don’t have the budget for that," etc.), the old cold calling mindset trains you to "overcome," "bypass," or "override."</p>

<p>But when you do that, you put the other person on the defensive. Something they’ve said is being dismissed. And here’s where rejection can happen very suddenly.</p>

<p>So it’s much better to listen to their concerns and continue to explore whether what you’re offering makes sense for them. There are some wonderful phrases you can use that validate their viewpoint without closing the conversation.</p>

<p>So now you’ve discovered the 3 major cold calling mistakes people often make. See if you can shift away from those old self-sabotaging mindsets. When you do, you’ll notice that people will engage you much more, and the immediate rejection you’ve grown so accustomed to will happen much less.</p>

"When Prospects Give You The "Silent Treatment"

<p>If you’ve been selling for a while, you’ve probably had at least one experience in which your prospect suddenly started giving you the "silent treatment."</p>

<p>Anthony described this dilemma very poignantly when he called me a few weeks ago:</p>

<p>"Ari, I don’t know what to do when I get hit with the ‘silent treatment’ -- you know, when I’ve worked with a prospect for quite a while, and we’ve had great conversations, and they've expressed interest in our solution -- and then all of a sudden everything stops.</p>

<p>I try calling them back once or twice. I even send a follow-up e-mail, but nothing. They just disappear. And I figure I’ve lost the sale, and I don’t know what I did wrong, or what to do next. It makes selling feel like such a painful and arduous process."</p>

<p>If this has happened to you, you may have felt anxious and confused. You may have told yourself, "It’s not as if I’m the one who did anything wrong. I put everything into the relationship. How can I rescue the sale if I can’t even get them to talk to me?" </p>

<p>The "Hopeium" Trap</p>

<p>There is a pressure-free way to reestablish communication when your prospect starts giving you the "silent treatment." But first, it’s important to understand why the situation has happened in the first place.</p>

<p>Most of us who sell get caught up in "hopeium," a comical term that means we focus our hopes and desires on making the sale. But hopeium can be a trap, because it's impossible for you to keep in mind your most important goal: to learn your prospect’s truth.</p>

<p>When we fix our minds on the outcome -- making the sale -- we automatically begin anticipating how the process will go, and we also begin expecting that things will happen as we hope they will.</p>

<p>But if we’re in that mindset and our prospect suddenly breaks off communication, we feel lost, anxious, frustrated, discouraged, and confused. We become preoccupied with what went wrong.</p>

<p>We may even feel betrayed.</p>

<p>Is there any way to clear up the mystery?</p>

<p>Yes, by giving up your agenda and learning the truth about where you stand with your prospect --and being ok with whatever the truth may be. "But how can I learn the truth when they’re avoiding me?" you may ask. "And why do I need to let go of the sale?"</p>

<p>Let’s take the second question first.</p>

<p>If you approach your prospect while you still hope the sale will happen, you’ll introduce sales pressure into the relationship. This will push your prospect away from you and destroy any trust you have developed with them. Instead, you can eliminate sales pressure by telling them that you’re okay with their decision if they’ve decided not to move forward.</p>

<p>In other words, you take a step back instead of trying to chase and follow up with calls because you’re focused on getting a "yes."</p>

<p>The bottom line is:</p>

<p>When a prospect gives you the "silent treatment," it doesn’t mean you’ve lost the sale. It just means you don’t know the truth yet.</p>

<p>What you need to do is call and learn the truth.</p>

<p>Why is learning the truth so important?</p>

<p>Here are 4 important reasons:</p>

<p>1. You stop losing confidence in your selling ability. The "silent treatment" threatens our "hopeium." We start blaming ourselves. We don’t know where we stand -- a painful state of limbo. Our self-talk is negative and full of self-blame, and we’re on pins and needles wondering whether the sale will still come through somehow.</p>

<p>2. You increase your selling efficiency and decrease your stress level. Once you learn the truth about your prospect’s situation, you can either stay involved with the prospect or move on. I often say, "A ‘no’ is almost as valuable as a ‘yes.’" Why? Because it frees up your time to find prospects who are a better fit with your solution. This lets you work much more efficiently because you can quickly weed out prospects who aren’t going to buy. Knowing the prospect’s truth lets you walk away without that guilt-laden voice whispering, "If you give up, you don't have what it takes."</p>

<p>Learning your prospect’s truth translates into tangible results that equal real dollars. You’ll also put an end to the self-sabotaging stress that comes from living in "silent treatment" limbo.</p>

<p>3. Sales pressure pushes prospects away. When you respond to the "silent treatment" with calls and e-mails, you’re really telling them that you’re determined to move the sales process forward -- which means you’re looking out for your needs, not theirs. This makes them mistrust you and run the other way.</p>

<p>4. The "silent treatment" -- totally breaking off communication -- is how prospects protect themselves from sales pressure when they don’t feel comfortable telling us their truth. The more we press, the more they run.</p>

<p>But the opposite is true, too. The more we relax and invite the truth, the more straightforward they’ll be with us. Prospects feel okay sharing what’s going on with them when they know we’re okay with hearing it.</p>

<p>How to Reopen Communication</p>

<p>After Anthony and I had talked about some of these issues, he said, "This all makes a lot of sense, Ari, but I’m still not sure what to say when I make that call."</p>

<p>It’s simpler than you might think.</p>

<p>* First, simply give your prospect a call. (E-mail and voicemail are very impersonal, so use them only as last resorts if you can't reach your prospect after several phone calls.)</p>
<p>* Second, take responsibility and apologize for having caused the "silent treatment".</p>

<p>Here’s some language I suggested to Anthony that will make prospects feel safe enough to open up and tell you the truth about their situation:</p>

<p>"Hi, Jim, it’s Anthony. I just wanted, first of all, to call and apologize that we ended up not being able to connect. I feel like somewhere along the way maybe I dropped the ball, or I didn’t give you the information you needed. I’m not calling to move things forward because I’m assuming you’ve probably gone ahead with someone else, and that’s perfectly okay. I’m just checking to see if you may have some feedback as to where I can improve for next time."</p>

<p>When you respond to the "silent treatment" this way, the results will probably surprise you. You may even learn that the prospect has legitimate reasons for not having gotten back to you.</p>

<p>You’ll also find yourself more productive and less frustrated. It’ll make a world of difference in your productivity level, your stress level, your income, and how much you enjoy what you’re doing.</p>

<p>Remember…</p>

<p>You haven’t lost the sale. You just don’t know the truth yet.</p>