Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven’t Met Yet

I heard a phrase recently that made me think about cold calling:

“Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet.”

It’s probably a little optimistic.

But I like the mindset.

Because one of the things that makes prospecting difficult is what happens in our head before we make the call.

We imagine rejection.

We imagine someone being rude.

We imagine interrupting them.

We imagine the conversation going badly.

And we haven’t even dialed the number yet.

What if you approached the call differently?

Not:

I need to sell this person something.

Not:

I need to get an appointment.

Just:

I’m going to have a conversation with someone I haven’t met yet.

Get curious.

Who are they?

What do they do?

How long have they been doing it?

What’s happening in their world?

What are they working on?

What’s keeping them busy?

You’re not trying to force an opportunity into existence.

You’re trying to find out whether there is one.

Sometimes there won’t be.

That’s okay.

You had a conversation.

Maybe you learned something.

Maybe they learned something about you.

Maybe you call them again in six months.

And sometimes, you’ll discover there’s a reason to keep talking.

Cold calling gets much harder when every call feels like a test you have to pass.

Take some of the pressure off.

You’re not calling a prospect.

You’re calling a person.

A person you simply haven’t met yet.

Start there.