What does cold calling say about you?

Cold calling: What does it REALLY say about you?

I'm not talking about the obvious stuff, like the fact that cold calling annoys people, it can irritate and turn off people who would've bought from you otherwise, the fact that cold calling is a waste of time, or that less than one in five decision makers will even take a cold call in the first place.

No, I'm not talking about the problems with cold calling itself. I'm talking about what it says about YOU.

Several years ago when I was going through the journey of trying to start my own business, I read the Rich Dad series of books, and came across a quote that has never quite left my mind: A job is a sign of laziness.

Naturally, this isn't an all-encompassing statement. Choosing to remain unemployed is clearly more lazy than getting up and going to work every day.

But when you consider the fact that it came from a book about starting a business, it begins to make sense: What Kiyosaki is saying is that if you aspire to be an entrepreneur or business owner, continuing to remain at a job means you're taking the "safe" route instead of getting your ass in gear and building a business. And for that reason, it's a sign of laziness - in that context.

I have similar feelings about salespeople who buy my programs and ask for advice, but then go on cold calling anyway, even after I've told them to stop. They're not much different from the aspiring entrepreneur, who claims to want to work for himself, but continues to go to a job every day to work for someone else.

Now don't get me wrong: If you're cold calling and you're content with the results - making a living and hanging on to your job - then go right ahead with your cold calling. I won't try to stop you.

But if you have a desire to achieve sales greatness and earn well over six figures as a salesperson, you owe it to yourself to open your mind, start thinking, and start learning new and better ways to generate leads.

You see, in the world of sales, cold calling is a sign of laziness, because any truly successful salesperson can rattle off over a dozen other lead generation techniques that work far better than cold calling, and don't cost anything. (And that's not even including the myriad of sales prospecting goldmines that the internet and social media give you.)

Someone who claims to want to become a top salesperson, but continues cold calling, is talking the talk but they're not walking the walk. 

Get out of your safety zone if you want to become truly great at sales. Cold calling is the "safe and secure" zone. Everyone seems to do it, and enough people are clinging to jobs as a result. But if you observe any of the very top sales professionals, you'll see that they don't cold call. They know that cold calling is for beginners and amateurs. If you want to join them, you'll have to use your brains and make the effort to learn new and better methods for generating leads.

And yes, that means work. Forget about "making" money - the top sales pros EARN money.

"No one makes money. The only people who make money work in the mint. We must EARN our money." -Earl Nightingale

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of the New York Times best-seller Never Cold Call Again and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s top 30 most influential people online. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com

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