by Frank J. Rumbauskas Jr.http://www.nevercoldcall.com

FJR Advisors, Inc.8409 Pickwick Ln., Suite 226Dallas, Texas 75225

Cold Calling Is Fun!

Don't be fearful - I haven't lost my mind. (Yet.) Cold calling is never enjoyable. You know it and I know it. So why did I say that?

Because I can recall numerous instances when I heard someone say, "Cold calling is fun!" In fact, I even said it once. I'm serious. Early on in my sales adventures, when I was job hopping, failing by cold calling, and not understanding why it wasn't generating sales - after all, my managers all said it would work - I began deluding myself into believing that cold calling is truly enjoyable, and that I love cold calling.

I figured that if cold calls work, like everyone told me it would, then the issue must be with me, so if I changed my attitude while making cold calls, the cold calling would suddenly work.

But cold calling never worked.

No matter how much I deluded myself into believing that cold calling was fun, and no matter how many others might try to do the same, it still doesn't get results.

Of course I'd feel really happy after those long days of cold calling. Sure, it was hard work, but I sincerely felt like I'd achieved something! All those days of making cold calls would surely pay off down the road, right?

Nope. They didn't.

Eventually, it causes practically all salespeople who do it day after day to enter the feared mindset known as "call reluctance," a condition caused by the never-ending rejection of cold calling. Contrary to popular opinion, endless rejection will not "toughen you up" - psychologists have proven that what it really does is beat you down, and causes a downward spiral.

I reached that state myself after many long years of cold calling. It's called a "rut." I've witnessed it with far too many sales reps. They hear the nonsense from sales managers and old-timers: All those time-worn cliches about "getting out into the trenches," "dialing for dollars," "beating the streets" … you've heard them all, I'm sure.

But thankfully, I got back up again and made it my singular goal to never cold call again. And when I was finally able to stop cold calling forever, and removed all of that rejection and negativity from my world, then my commission checks increased dramatically. What's more, I actually looked forward to getting up and selling every day, instead of dreading it.

I was not only using 100% of my productive selling time face-to-face with qualified prospects (rather than wasting every day searching for prospects), I was meeting with prospects who actually wanted to buy from me! I didn't have to "sell" them and go through endless objections. Which means that my closing rate went up as well, raising my sales numbers through the roof.

So if you want to become one of the top 1% of elite sales superstars, stop trying to convince yourself that cold calling is fun, but rather, begin utilizing powerful, Information Age strategies and techniques that will bring qualified prospective customers to you - prospects who are ready to buy right now.

And just what are those strategies and techniques?

The other day, another speaker and me sat down and it took us about 30 seconds to rattle off over a dozen solid lead-generation techniques that work better than cold calls, ranging from old-fashioned business networking, speaking at free events, and offline marketing, on up to online marketing, social media, Facebook, and beyond.

If you think there are no alternatives to cold calling, guess again! Use your imagination and do some thinking and you'll marvel at how you ever wasted time cold calling in the first place!

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the New York Times best-seller Never Cold Call Again and several other books. Over 50,000 salespeople at organizations around the world have stopped cold calling thanks to his programs.

For lots more sales tips and advice from Frank, along with a free 37-page PDF preview of his lead-generation system, visit his Sales Blog at http://www.nevercoldcall.com