Does that telephone weigh 10 tons? Do you have a fear of prospecting? Would you like to learn about overcoming fear of prospecting? You are not alone! Everyone has this fear, believe it or not even highly seasoned, very experienced sales people are not immune to the fear of prospecting.

The fear of prospecting is deeply rooted in your subconscious mind and is in fact your subconscious mind doing its job. Your subconscious is protecting you from possible negative consequences of prospecting. We have all had negative experiences with sales people.

Maybe the used car salesman you encountered years ago was a real sleaze. Maybe you have been rudely interrupted at dinner time by a telemarketer trying to get you to change your long distance carrier. Whatever the cause, these memories are stored away and they have two consequences. One is that you don’t want to be one of them and two is your subconscious mind is protecting you from the negative consequences of being one of them. So overcoming fear of prospecting entails overcoming your subconscious mind.

The first step is to realise you are not one of those sleazy used car salesman or a telemarketer. You are a professional who is in the business of helping people achieve their objectives. It is important to recognize that if a prospect gave you his or her phone number, THEY WANT YOU TO CALL THEM. Now that does not mean they want to be interrupted at dinner time or want to be treated unprofessionally, but they do want the help that you have to offer. So let’s proceed on that basis.

Reasons To Prospect.

Your competition is prospecting so if you don’t call the prospect and develop a relationship with them, someone else will.

There is no other way to understand what your prospect needs. In order to uncover their pain, you must talk to them.

So overcoming fear of prospecting is essential to your network marketing success.

When To Call The Prospect.

Now! It is that simple. If they gave you their phone number they are looking for help NOW! You might think it is best to give them some time to download your free offer or review whatever material you are sending them that enticed them to opt into your list. Wrong! While you are procrastinating, someone else is likely prospecting your customer. After all, you really don’t think that your list is the only one they opted into do you? Look, they are asking for help now! Now is the time to offer it to them before your competition does.

Preparing Yourself For That Call.

Step 1: Breathe: First take a few deep breaths to oxygenate your brain and get it relaxed and thinking clearly. If you are tense or nervous, you will breathe shallow and that causes your brain to begin to panic as it thinks it is running out of oxygen.

Step 2: Be prepared for some pushback: They may not remember who you are or what list they opted into so be prepared to remind them. That doesn’t mean they are not interested, it means they don’t remember. Remember they are human too!

Step 3: If possible look up some basic information about them. Check the area code so you know at least where their phone is from. You might check their e-mail against Facebook and see if you can get just a little information to prepare yourself. Don’t get weird and appear like a stalker. Just gather a couple of basic facts. Maybe their Facebook page suggests they like to sail, or they have kids or some other activity they enjoy. You can use this information in the opening dialogue to get the conversation rolling

The Opening Line Do’s And Don’ts.

Assume you are calling Joe. DO NOT ask, “May I speak with “Joe” please”. That initiates an entire sequence of unwanted questions like, “May I say who is calling”

Assume Joe answered and simple say, “Hey Joe, this is “your name” from “your city”. The reason for the call is you opted into one of my websites requesting information on how to generate leads on-line”

Very important, the next statement is. “I want to see how I can help you with that. IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO CHAT FOR A FEW MINUTES?”

IF Joe says, “Yes” then proceed. If Joe says, “No”, not a good time, then simply ask when would be a better time and set an appointment.

If Joe asks, “How much time”, tell him, “oh maybe just a few minutes say maybe 5 or 10 minutes” and get his permission to proceed

If Joe asks, “What website” tell him you really don’t know because you have several websites but it appears he is looking for help generating leads for his home based business.

Now use what information you have about Joe to start the conversation. For example you might say. “Based on your area code, I see you live in Sydney. That’s a great city. I have been there several times. How long have you lived there.” So the idea is to get Joe talking by asking open-ended but very non-threatening questions. This way Joe relaxes and you gradually get him to open up and discuss his pain.

The Bottom Line.

It is basically quite simple. Your prospect is looking for help and you are the help so give them the help they deserve. The more calls you make the easier it becomes. Just do it. Your bank account will thank you. And really overcoming fear of prospecting is a matter of “just do it”.

For more tips and tricks on how to succeed in network marketing, be sure to visit my website at network marketing. Len is an experienced author, speaker, coach and internet and network marketer. To learn more about joining Len’s team and working with Len visit tips and tricks.