*This is a guest post from Cheryl Woodhouse*
Your palms are sweating.
Your heart is racing.
You can’t think straight, let alone type an email or pick up the phone. You have been procrastinating for hours, days, weeks, or even months. You know that this potential partner could mean big things for your business, but you’re stopped – dead in your tracks.
The “what ifs” begin to take over.
“What if they don’t like me?”
“What if they don’t respond?”
“What if they think I’m rude?”
“What if??”
This probably sounds pretty familiar to you. In the business world, especially today, success is built upon connection. But reaching out and making those connections can be intimidating, and scary – like staring into a sea of potential pitfalls. You’re paralyzed by the fear of failure, fear of success, or fear of rejection.
The first thing I want you to know is that what you are feeling is okay. Everyone who has ever reached out to another business owner has been through the same feelings and thought processes, and they have all lived to tell the tale. Do not let it stop you!
It is also important for you to know that you can move beyond these fears.
The scariest things about approaching a potential joint venture partner, blogger, or authority are often rooted in limiting beliefs that we hold about ourselves and the world of business.
Take a look through some of these common thought patterns, and see if any of these resonate with you…
“I am too small to get a joint venture with ______.”
“______ will be too busy to respond to me.”
“If I don’t get this right on the first try, _______ will never work with me.”
“_______ will never want to publish my guest post.”
“I am too new / small / unqualified / unimportant to get ______’s attention.”
All of these thoughts, and many others we have when approaching potential partners, are the result of limiting beliefs that tell us why we can’t succeed.
The belief that you have to be big, established, and important in the industry to get a response.
The belief that your desired partner doesn’t respond to requests from people they don’t know.
The belief that this contact is “all or nothing”.
The belief that you have to “sell yourself” in this email, or they will never respond.
The belief that you will fail, are not good enough, or are not on the same level as your desired partner.
Becoming aware of these beliefs is the first step to recovery. When we are aware that these beliefs exist in our minds, we can see when and where they are holding us back.
When we remember that these beliefs are not fact, and can be changed, it opens a whole new world of opportunity. Our limiting beliefs lose their power once we recognize them for what they are.
If you want to overcome your fear and get the joint ventures, guest blog posts, and partnerships you deserve, you are going to have to let go.
Industry experts and big name coaches and bloggers do not live in an impenetrable fortress of doom, decorating their lawns with the remnants of up and coming entrepreneurs who weren’t “good enough” for them.
By allowing these beliefs to control your interaction with potential partners, you are setting yourself up for failure. You will be too afraid to communicate authentically, you will over-sell yourself or your opportunity, and you will come across as desperate.
How many potential partners would react positively to a desperate, inauthentic salesman?
Remember that thoughts like “I have to prove myself”, “I’m not good enough”, and “I’m too new in this business for _____ to pay attention” are not facts. They are simply the opinion of your subconscious mind, based on past experience or influence.
To overcome our fear, we simply have to recognize these beliefs as the source. Acknowledge that your belief is one possible outcome among many others. Open your mind to other possibilities, and rob your limiting belief of its power.
Then all that is left to do is send that email or pick up the phone!
Want to get better results in your business? Learn to identify and remove the beliefs that limit us from authentic, effective marketing and communications with Cheryl Woodhouse’s FREE breakthrough assessment! Claim yours now!
Be sure to visit her blog for more tips on marketing, communicating, and selling with authenticity!
Photo Credit: Flikr, SoggyDan
