Cold calling can be a daunting task for many salespeople, especially if you lack confidence or experience. However, cold calling is also a valuable skill that can help you generate leads, build relationships, and close deals. In this article, you will learn some practical tips on how to feel more confident cold calling and overcome your fear of rejection.
Before you pick up the phone, you should have a clear idea of what you want to achieve from the call and how you will communicate your value proposition. A script can help you structure your conversation, avoid awkward pauses, and handle objections. However, you should not read your script word for word, as this can sound robotic and unnatural. Instead, use it as a guide and adapt it to the situation and the prospect. You should also set realistic and measurable goals for each call, such as getting an appointment, a referral, or a follow-up.
Choose your words carefully when reaching out. Stay away from: ???? "Sorry to bother you" -- If you sincerely felt sorry, you wouldn't bother them. Have confidence in what you bring to the table- you're offering real value and want prospect to benefit. ???? "To be honest" -- does that mean you're not always honest? ???? "I'm just following up" -- this phrase is overused and easily associated with a used-car salesman. Be creative in your verbiage when reaching out. ???? "We're better than..." -- N.E.V.E.R put down your competition. Even when it's true. Your goal and focus has to be to prove to the prospect that YOU have the skills and know-how to solve their problems. These are a few examples which hopefully will help. Good luck!
Cold calling is about finding prospective clients and uncovering how you can help them with their business. If you approach them with a positive attitude, listen, watch and realize that not every office will benefit from what you have to offer you will gain trust quicker and receive more clients.
Before making a call, do your research on the company or person you are contacting. Even if it's a cold call, you can find a lot of information to help you understand their needs and challenges and how your product/ service can help them before you even pick up the phone.
Remember to be yourself. Don’t get so caught up in what you’re doing that you forget to take time to have a normal conversation.
In my experience, it has helped to remember that you're just one human talking to another human. They have real life things going on and so do you, so remember to lead with curiosity to build a meaningful connection. I guarantee that you and the person on the other side of the phone have something in common to connect on. The product will always come up at some point, so it's more important for that to naturally occur rather than force it into the conversation. And you can always pivot to the product later once you've built a connection if need be.
One of the best ways to improve your confidence is to practice your cold calling skills regularly. You can practice with a colleague, a friend, or even a recording device. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become with your pitch and your tone. You should aim to sound confident, friendly, and professional, but not aggressive or pushy. You should also avoid filler words, such as "um", "like", or "you know", as they can weaken your credibility and impact.
Be unique, i would sing as the call was answered, a universal happy summer song. Then let the gatekeeper catch you, have a laugh and breaks the ice, then got put through to target contact.
When I started my last job, I had to travel far distances frequently in my car. I would take that time to practice my introduction out loud by myself and would then have a full conversation by acting as the other person on the phone, just going back and forth. This allowed me to understand what worked and led to smooth transitions, and what didn't. Yes, I felt a little crazy doing this because I was talking to myself out loud in the car, but at the same time it helped me bridge that gap between myself and the person on the other side of the phone. AND, it helped me better describe the purpose of my call by doing so many repetitions and alterations of my own "script".
Another tip to boost your confidence is to warm up your prospects before you call them. This means doing some research on them and their company, finding out their pain points, needs, and interests, and reaching out to them via email, social media, or other channels. By warming up your prospects, you can increase your chances of getting a positive response, as well as show them that you care about their problems and solutions. You can also use the information you gathered to personalize your call and make it more relevant and engaging.
I couldn't agree more with the interests portion of this. People like talking about the things that they find engaging and interesting. If you're reaching out directly to people and you have a way to view some sort of social media they have, such as LinkedIn or something similar, then dive through their profile and research the things that they've liked or mentioned in their posts. After you introduce yourself, if you can lead into "I noticed that you showed interest in xyz, which I find fascinating, I'd love to learn more about your perspective on it", then you have a good chance of getting them talking and opening up, which is the goal. The more people talk, the more they'll feel comfortable with you, and the more they'll trust you.
Some way's I like to break the ice or warm them up is mention something relevant to what they're experiencing. Example, at a previous industry I was cold calling dealerships, I'd mention a unique vehicle they had on the lot and it normally broke the ice. Whether that be priced lower, a unique color that no other dealer had, or something so off the wall that you knew it was one of a kind... It normally got them talking about the car, then the dealership, and finally they'd realize, "Wait... what did you call for?" without realizing they'd given me a ton of info about their specific location, pain points, customer base, and how I could help.
One of the biggest challenges of cold calling is dealing with rejection. It can be discouraging and demoralizing to hear "no" or "not interested" repeatedly. However, you should not let rejection affect your confidence or motivation. Instead, you should focus on the positive outcomes of cold calling, such as learning from your mistakes, improving your skills, and finding new opportunities. You should also celebrate your small wins, such as getting a callback, a referral, or a compliment. By focusing on the positive outcomes, you can develop a growth mindset and a resilient attitude.
Cold calling is a numbers game. Take the advice above: get your script down, prepare for each call, be personable, have fun with it, but definitely celebrate the positives. Each gatekeeper is important. So are the conversations with your desired contact. These conversations will lead to callbacks, referrals, and even closes. Set yourself goals of what results you’d like to achieve. Keep notes from your call blocks so you can measure your successes.
When I started cold calling I developed my own 3 L’s to be successful. Listen, Learn & Love. Listen with total focus, Learn by asking the right questions and MOST IMPORTANTLY Love the process. Cold calling is all about creating opportunities that leads to decisions. Be clear in your objective, follow your script and stay focused on your goal. Practice, practice, practice is key.
Not going to lie. Scared deeply on my first cold calls. Many centuries after, I still feel the nervous wreck feeling but am more determined and the rush of those first 8 seconds is intense. Preparation, Practice, More Practice... You will get there. Never take it personally.
Finally, you can feel more confident cold calling by seeking feedback and support from others. You can ask your manager, your mentor, or your peers for constructive feedback on your cold calling performance, such as your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. You can also ask them for advice, tips, or best practices that they use or have learned from others. By seeking feedback and support, you can learn from the experts, improve your skills, and build your confidence.
Nobody appreciates a cold call. Be upfront when prospect answers and ask if you can have 30 seconds of their time. This is your chance - you've got 30 seconds to ask the right questions and prove relevancy. At the end of your 30 seconds- be respectful and ask prospect if this resonates with them and they'd like to continue speaking or if they prefer to schedule time to speak further. To be successful with the above approach - one needs to do prep work ahead of call to already figure out what the prospects pain points are that you can target them directly during your initial 30 seconds. Be genuine. Not pushy. And best of luck!
One of the key to do right delivery of your message on cold call is comfortness of the caller. In enterprise sales people who are beginning their journey to do cold calls are overwhelmed as they start thinking themselves as the Telecallers who are supposed to sell their credit cards or services over a single call. My observation on the mindset is to perceive your genuine personality and then communicate it to your prospect. Now let's look at the observations: 1. 3% buyers are in buying cycle 2. They receive a good amount of commoditized soliciting calls 3. With these figures the purpose of your call should be getting heard the next time you call them One must follow up understanding that it's ok not to get something from all calls
If you do not have proven Value and truly believe in what your story is then none of the above matters. I have one of my first customers that is still with us for years and I had to speak to over 7 people before we got in the door. 1) Ferocious Tenacity 2) Skills- challenge prospect and if they ask if a cold call or are you calling my cell, move on as they are mostly non action leaders. Remember, your services will earn promotions for them. You should not be telling a story that does not Improve and bring High Value. Bottom line, you want Improvement leaders and you need to focus on their personality. Someone says you have 30 seconds, get it done. 3) Hefty tool box- When C levels say things, listen and then say it back to next c level
The only way to sound more confident is to be more confident. Stand up upright, then start projecting your voice from your lower diaphragm. Focus on improving your confidence in other areas of life and it will carry over to your sales. Expect and be prepared for objections, most things a client will say to you are very predictable, so you have no excuse not to be prepared for these.