{"id":2315,"date":"2026-08-26T23:12:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/?p=2315"},"modified":"2026-08-26T23:13:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:13:33","slug":"what-are-you-so-afraid-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/sales\/what-are-you-so-afraid-of\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are You\u00a0So\u00a0Afraid Of?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever heard of a salesperson who had to go to therapy because they stopped into a business and asked to speak with the owner?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither have I.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet prospecting can feel strangely terrifying.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0busy?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if I interrupt them?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0having\u00a0a bad day?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if they say\u00a0<\/span>NO?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if they release the hounds?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, that last one is\u00a0probably unlikely.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But\u00a0the fear\u00a0is real.\u00a0You\u2019re definitely not alone.\u00a0This fear\u00a0causes a lot of salespeople to do everything\u00a0<\/span>except<\/span><\/i>\u00a0the\u00a0thing\u00a0that\u00a0creates\u00a0new\u00a0business.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They organize their CRM. Send emails. Research prospects for 47 minutes. Tweak a proposal. Check LinkedIn. Refill their coffee.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All very productive-looking ways to avoid contacting another human being.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing that makes prospecting less intimidating is\u00a0<\/span>knowing what\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0going to say before you make the call or walk through the door.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not memorizing a speech. Preparing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And know your goal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your goal on that first contact\u00a0probably isn\u2019t\u00a0to sell anything.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0to get 20 or 30 minutes with them later.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the phone, keep it simple:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey Fred, can I steal a minute from you?\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty honest.\u00a0You\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span><\/i>\u00a0stealing a minute.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(I remember this from an audiobook I listened to years ago called \u201cNew\u00a0Sales. Simplified.\u201d By Mike Weinberg\u00a0\u2013 and I really like\u00a0it.)<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then get to the point:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0hoping to visit with you for about\u00a020 or 25 minutes\u00a0next week.\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0like to bring you a couple of ideas, learn a little more about your business, and see if we might be a good fit.\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then stop talking.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0need a five-minute pitch. You need a reason for another conversation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparation creates confidence.\u00a0And confidence usually doesn\u2019t come\u00a0<\/span>before<\/span><\/b>\u00a0taking action\u00a0anyway.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It comes\u00a0<\/span>because of<\/span><\/b>\u00a0taking action.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pick a few businesses. Know who you want to talk to. Know what\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0going to say. Know what your goal is.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then make\u00a0the\u00a0call. Walk through the door.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Worst-case scenario?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They say no.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five minutes later, your life looks remarkably similar to the way it did before the call.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Check your pulse.\u00a0Still there?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Good!\u00a0Call the next one.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duane Christensen
Ens Media<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like to learn how our\u00a0SoundADvice<\/strong><\/span> program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at duane@ensmediausa.com to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"increase<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever heard of a salesperson who had to go to therapy because they stopped into a business and asked to speak with the owner?\u00a0 Neither have I.\u00a0 Yet prospecting can feel strangely terrifying.\u00a0 What if\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0busy?\u00a0 What if I interrupt them?\u00a0 What if\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0having\u00a0a bad day?\u00a0 What if they say\u00a0NO?\u00a0 What if they release the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574,562],"tags":[404,100,87],"class_list":["post-2315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prospecting","category-sales","tag-cold-calls","tag-prospecting","tag-selling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2315"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2324,"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315\/revisions\/2324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ensmediausa.com\/ens-on-sales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}