Every one of us hits the wall on some days. You know how it is. It’s 2:30 pm and you still haven’t made your first phone call, but at least you know the five-day weather forecast and the scores from last night’s game because of your internet research.

Sometimes, especially if you’ve been in the business for a long time, the phone seems to get heavier and heavier. This is the most common problem that I’ve seen among seasoned billers and for some reason, the longer we’ve been in the business, the more of a problem it becomes because we know better.

I figured out a way on how to put some juice in your day so that when this happens to you, you can push through it and get moving on and get over it and get back on that phone. I developed this technique because I still get that way as well.

Try this out the next time you find yourself doing anything but making phone calls:

Set a goal just for one hour, and then give yourself permission to blow off the rest of the day. That’s right. Just for one hour, connect with as many people as possible, then give yourself permission to surf ESPN.com or catch a matinee for the rest of the day.

Here’s what’s going to happen when you make this conscious decision:

1.  First, you will actually get on the phone. You’ll break that habit of procrastination and will start doing what you are supposed to do.

2. You’ll feel good about yourself. Hey, look at me, you’ll think to yourself, I’m on the phone again!

3. You’ll connect with people who will be interested in talking with you. You will have some good calls with candidates and clients and yes, they’ll be interested in talking further with you about things. All of a sudden, you are reminded that even though you’ve been doing this business everyday for ten years, it still works and that talking to people over the phone doesn’t hurt that much.

You’ll forget about blowing off the rest of the day and will be excited about staying on the phone the rest of the afternoon. You’ll forget about that promise you made to yourself and will actually start making more calls. Who cares about checking out an afternoon movie when people want to do business with you. Forget about blowing off the rest of the day. You’ve got activity and have to move deals forward.

Remember that getting on and staying on the telephone (making quality calls, of course) is a core competency of the business. Use this technique to help you push past those dry spells of activity and to push through that wall of fear.

Copyright (c) 2008 Scott Love
Scott Love improves recruiter performance by getting recruiters to think at a higher level, to develop a better strategy, to master recruiting tactics, and to develop better work habits. He has created a simple step-by-step system of recruiting success that is replicable. Nearly 2,500 search firms and staffing agencies from sixteen countries have invested in his training tools. Visit his website for free videos, training tools, free downloads, and articles at www.GreatRecruiterTraining.com