I am constantly encouraging sales professionals to make more calls. With email and texting so prevalent, we can often hide behind those forms of communication and forget to use our phone…to actually make calls!

People always tell me “But Mike, I feel like I am annoying people when I call” or “I don’t want to be a pest”

The reality is – no one is excited to be interrupted by a call. No one looks down at their phone, sees a number they don’t recognize and thinks  “oh goody – I wonder who this is – let’s see!”

So the advice I give is to help people feel more comfortable – you are annoying someone, you are interrupting them, and that is OK.

Your job is to take the opening 5-10 seconds and show them that you are here to help, not annoy. Show them that that it is worth their time to talk to you.

So overcome that reluctance – don’t worry about “annoying” someone. Use a post it on you phone for the subtle reminder. (thanks Allissa) The phone is your friend!