Selling is a difficult, scary job. And most would agree that prospecting is the most difficult, scariest part. That's why most producers come up with countless reasons to avoid it.

But, that's not OK; you have to own the responsibility.

People only embrace the pain of change once the pain of the status quo becomes greater. You will only embrace your prospecting responsibility when you realize avoiding it is the scarier option. And, if you are the responsible professional I'm sure you are, there are at least four things scarier than making that call.

1. Letting yourself down. If you think calling is tough today, wait until you have to overcome another day/week/month of accumulated head trash that is inevitable when your “self-talk” has you kicking the can. If you make prospecting calls part of your daily routine, it will get less scary and you will definitely like the results.

2. Letting your team down. You have an entire team depending on you making that call. They know it's scary to make it; that's why they chose another position in the agency. But their future opportunities, continued employment, bonuses and livelihood depend on you making the call.

Is that a heavy weight for you to have to carry? Yep! But you signed up for it. If you want a little motivation, look your teammates in the eyes next time you walk through the office and remind yourself how much they depend on you.

3. Letting your clients down. If you don't ask clients for targeted introductions, you deny them the opportunity to do a good deed.

We like to do good things for people. When you don't ask your best clients to introduce you to their best relationships, you deny them an opportunity to return the help you've provided them.

4. Letting that future opportunity down. Producers tell me they are reluctant to “interrupt” someone by asking them for a meeting.

They are usually taken aback when I tell them it's their responsibility to call. That they have knowledge and an understanding of how to deal with problems that have a terribly negative impact on their clients' business — problems the prospect may not even realize they have.

When you possess the knowledge that can improve — or even save — someone else's business, you have a responsibility to share it. And if you haven't educated yourself to that point, your own business is in trouble.

The universe keeps everything balanced

The great thing about this life is that the universe keeps everything balanced. You have a scary, difficult job. When you stand up to fear and tackle the difficulty, you get to enjoy rewards beyond what most anyone else gets to experience.

When you own the responsibility:

You build an inner confidence that you can take on anything.
You can look your teammates in the eye and know they have opportunities they wouldn't have if not for you.
You have the type of relationship with your clients that only happens when you are close enough to ask one another for help.
You improve, or even save, businesses, and the countless lives that depend on them, because of the knowledge you accumulated and shared.

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty freakin' cool.

Game on!

Kevin Trokey is founding partner and coach at St. Louis-based Q4intelligence, a business, sales and marketing consulting firm working with insurance agencies. Contact him at (314) 436-7171 and check out his LinkedIn profile and follow him on Twitter @kevintrokey.

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4 things scarier than a prospecting call

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