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I was never supposed to be a speaker, author and sales trainer.
I was supposed to be a ballerina.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. My mother has
told me that when I was a small child I would constantly turn
on the radio and dance. She said I had no sense of rhythm
so she enrolled me in ballet class. That was the beginning
of a first career and a great passion.
As a child I danced with Pittsburgh Ballet
Theater, always one of the child guests in Act I of Nutcracker.
As I grew older, it was the corps de ballet, Snowflake and
Waltz of the Flowers. I was even the Sugar Plum Fairy a few
times!
At age 17 I moved to New York City to dance,
and like every artist in the City, needed a day job. At first
I waited on tables. Then I found something more lucrative
and more fun— telemarketing.
An ad in "Backstage," the trade
publication we would read to look for auditions, caught my
attention. It was an ad for a telemarketing company. They
would hire actors because actors can read scripts. (Hiring
tip: If you are looking for a part time telemarketer—hire
an actor.) The job was calling high-level executives and setting
new business appointments. I got the job and was really good
at it. Who knew? Ballet dancers don't even talk.
Eventually the telemarketing company started
to give me all the "hard leads," the Presidents,
the CEO's, the people who "didn't take cold calls."
I'd call them, get them on the line, have a great conversation
and set up the meeting. It was fun and it was easy.
Years later when I started my training and
coaching business I thought all that was necessary was to
show clients a system and help them write a good script and
we would be finished. Imagine my surprise upon discovering
all of the human and psychological barriers people face when
prospecting by telephone.
That sent me back to the basics to think
about not only the system and scripts but also the thought
process and mind set as well. I realized something fascinating.
At the time of that initial telemarketing
job, I was 19, rather naive and inexperienced in the ways
of the world. I lived in a small apartment with four other
dancers. I made very little money. Yet, when I would pick
up the telephone to call that CEO or President, believe it
or not, I felt that I was superior. I may have been calling
someone who made 100 times more money, someone who lived in
a wonderful house or apartment, someone whom everyone would
consider to be the epitome of success, yet I felt superior
because I was an artist. My belief system at the time was
simply that artists are superior in every respect. It never
occurred to me that prospects would be anything but delighted
to speak with me.
While my mind set and beliefs about the business
and corporate world, my place in it and my "superiority"
have changed drastically over the years, that belief system
was what enabled me to successfully pick up the telephone
and speak easily with high-level executives. Perception is
reality. Although my life circumstances at the time were far
from ideal I didn't view it that way.
Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling
& Selling Success," is a sales trainer, author and
sales coach. Her recently released, self-study program, Cold
Calling College, along with her book, Cold Calling for Women,
can be ordered by calling toll-free (866) 405-8212 or visiting
http://www.wendyweiss.com.
© 2004 Wendy Weiss
jan 05
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