Clients Comment: Banishing fear nets huge results

Way, way back in December (you remember 2006, right?) Sherri Loomis, of sl4design, left a comment on Ilise's post about cold calling—everyone's favorite pastime (not).

It's a pretty great story, with a really great outcome, so with her permission, I'm posting it for all to see:

"Now for homework, Sherri, complete your first cold calls", Ilise of the velvet voice says calmly. "It will get easier; you'll do fine."

I knew the inevitable results before she finished the last honey-dripping word: failure big time.

I delayed the failure for days. Made time to do any tedious task rather than pick up the phone and give my script, even resorting to backing up my year-end data, a sign of desperation.

I was trapped in the corner by the fear of knowing I would utterly fail when I impulsively made my first call. My heart was racing and when I heard a beep and left my message. Hey, I survived that. Wow!

Better, now I can tell Ilise I did something. I did another one, quickly. And I felt a gathering confidence growing, replacing the fear with real experience, leaving messages, feeling the blood return to my head.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my fear and got excited at finding that my fear was MUCH bigger that making the cold calls!

And Ilise says "I told you it would get easier." But how could she know that it would work for me, the shy, I-don't-want-to-bother-you-with-a-telemarketing-goon-call designer?

She was right. And now I have a new feeling of self-confidence because I challenged my fear, and created new patterns that worked. Brain templates for the timid.

Thanks, Ilise, see, I finally posted this! Fearlessly (for the moment), Sherri

Thank you, Sherri. And anytime you want to write a post for The Marketing Mix, just give a holler...

Comments

[Dani Nordin]

That's such a great post. I think cold calls are going to be my Thing to Get Over in the new year as well. That, and the need to do everything at once.