Julia Cameron is one of my absolute favorite writers, authors, and thinkers. She shares this great quote from Theodore Roethke.
“I learn by going where I have to go.”
The best way to set up a lot of visits is to set up a lot of visits.
‘Practice’ as it relates to getting visits, is to actually ‘practice’ what you’re going to say, how you say it, how to respond, etc. Then, go where you have to go – on the phone, working through your ‘words’ to get the visit.
Here are 3 ways to think about this idea of PRACTICE.
- The Message and the Words
- Handle Objections
- Do the Work
1. THE MESSAGE AND THE WORDS.
One of the best books I’ve read recently is ‘PRACTICE PERFECT’ by Doug Lemov. One of his big points is that the best teachers and coaches focus on small and seemingly mundane aspects of the work… especially on the right ‘words’ they use!
The idea here is to actually practice/test, the ways and the words.
- Keep it simple. (Again, goal is to get visit!)
- Keep it at 30,000’. (High altitude. No detail on phone.)
- Keep it about the ‘story’. (Selling is not telling, unless it’s a story!)
Commit to being able to articulate your message… clearly, concisely, compellingly…in :30 seconds! Then, add ‘story’ after they have responded.
2. HANDLE OBJECTIONS.
Important to be able to pre-think (not sure that’s a word but you get my point) how you’re going to handle the normal objections.
- “I’m in. We don’t have to meet.” (Response could be as simple as “I know you’re in. We just haven’t met in a while and I have some really cool stuff to SHOW YOU around _________, ____________, __________.”)
- “What is this about?” (Response: “We have a plan called Vision 2015 that I would love to share with you. You are one of our most committed Champions and we really want to get your feedback.”)
- Why do we need to meet?” (Response: “We’re meeting with Community Leaders, like you” or “I really want to show you how we are presenting our Message and Story…”)
Bottom Line: We need to convince them that we need a little bit of their time… for a really big impact.
3. DO THE WORK.
Steven Pressfield’s DO THE WORK is another one of those great books that captures everything you need to know on the cover/in the title.
In this case, SOMEONE just has to DO THE WORK. Block out 90 minutes. Get on the phone. Make your calls. Do the follow-up. Do the work.
