Selling is a difficult, scary job. And most would agree thatprospecting is the most difficult, scariestpart. That's why most producers come up with countless reasons toavoid it.

But, that's not OK; you have to own theresponsibility.

People only embrace the pain of change once the pain of thestatus quo becomes greater. You will onlyembrace your prospecting responsibility when you realize avoidingit is the scarier option. And, if you are the responsibleprofessional I’m sure you are, there are at least four thingsscarier than making that call.

1. Letting yourself down. If you think callingis tough today, wait until you have to overcome anotherday/week/month of accumulated head trash that is inevitable whenyour “self-talk” has you kicking the can. If you make prospectingcalls part of your daily routine, it will get less scary and youwill definitely like the results.

2. Letting your team down. You have an entireteam depending on you making that call. They know it's scary tomake it; that's why they chose another position in the agency. Buttheir future opportunities, continued employment, bonuses andlivelihood depend on you making the call.

Is that a heavy weight for you to have to carry? Yep! But yousigned up for it. If you want a little motivation, look yourteammates in the eyes next time you walk through the office andremind yourself how much they depend on you.

3. Letting your clients down. I discussed thisin October, but there's another way you let your clients down Ididn't mention. If you don't ask clients for targetedintroductions, you deny them the opportunity to do a good deed.

We like to do good things for people. When you don't ask yourbest clients to introduce you to their best relationships, you denythem an opportunity to return the help you’ve provided them.

4. Letting that future opportunity down.Producers tell me they are reluctant to “interrupt” someone byasking them for a meeting.

They are usually taken aback when I tell them it's theirresponsibility to call. That they have knowledge and anunderstanding of how to deal with problems that have a terriblynegative impact on their clients’ business—problems the prospectmay not even realize they have.

When you possess the knowledge that can improve—or evensave—someone else's business, you have a responsibility to shareit. And if you haven't educated yourself to that point, your ownbusiness is in trouble.

The universe knows what she's doing

The great thing about this life is that the universe keepseverything balanced. You have a scary, difficult job. When youstand up to fear and tackle the difficulty, you get to enjoyrewards beyond what most anyone else gets to experience.

When you own the responsibility:

• You build an inner confidence that you can take on anything.

• You can look your teammates in the eye and know they haveopportunities they wouldn't have if not for you.

• You have the type of relationship with your clients that onlyhappens when you are close enough to ask one another for help.

• You improve, or even save, businesses, and the countless livesthat depend on them, because of the knowledge you accumulated andshared.

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty freakin’cool.

Game on!