Breaking the Ice - Making Your First Call

The term "cold calling" is enough to frighten most people away. Instead, let’s reframe it, think of it as making your "First Call" or "New Call."

This subtle shift in terminology can significantly alter your mindset, making the experience less daunting and more exciting. If you've been hesitating to make that first call, understanding the benefits and impact it can have on your career might just give you the necessary push.

Over the past 30 years, I have never tired of seeing the relief on a learner's face after they make that first call. Before working with me, many have spent months or even years avoiding it, so it's a huge relief when they finally do it and come out the other side just fine!

Why Make the First Call?

Reaching out to someone new over the phone can be intimidating, rooted in a fear of rejection or a lack of confidence in one’s abilities. However, making that first call is a crucial step in overcoming these fears and expanding the opportunities and potential networks you could grow. It serves not just as a bridge to potential? sales but as a significant opportunity for personal and professional growth.

I’d like to share THREE Major Benefits of Making Your First Call

1. Increased Confidence:

The initial call might feel overwhelming, but once you’ve made it, your confidence begins to build. Each subsequent call becomes easier, increasing your ability to promote, sell and negotiate.

The problem is while you over analyse what might happen, due to fear this will increase your anxiety around making calls. The more anxiety, the more barriers and arguments you’ll find to not doing them.

I often hear phrases like

• I don’t have time
• I prefer to send emails
• I don’t think anyone will be interested

Translated often means the person is scared. And my job is to change that mindset.

2. Faster Rejection Handling. Rejection, whether you like it or not, is part of the job. You'll always encounter people who say NO. I'm not saying it's easy to handle, but it does become easier over time.

Making your first calls helps you learn not to take rejection personally. This resilience can boost your persistence and perseverance in all aspects of your work.?

To improve your calls, you need to deal with each rejection individually, reflecting on what could have been done better.?

You’ll make that first call, and the next goal is to make the next one, and then the next. Momentum is key to building your confidence, so don’t shy away from calling the next prospect.

3. Increased Sales Opportunities: Naturally, the direct goal of making your first call is to convert a maybe to a YES. increase sales. Every single call is an opportunity to identify a potential need. No calls, means no conversations. No conversations means targets won’t be reached.

I've seen someone anxious about making calls complete a one-hour session, resulting in two appointments, identifying a job, and converting a sample sent into an order. This would never have been achieved if they hadn't persevered.?

The hardest thing with anything in life is getting started, and making that first call is no exception. However, make the first call, sit back, reflect, assess and then repeat. If nothing else it will highlight where improvements can be made. After which time you can ask for internal support, or get in touch with me if you need help.

It would be great to meet you, so if you want to use this opportunity to ask me anything, discuss issues raised in this article or just fancy a catch up do visit my calendar link here.?https://calendly.com/audreyletschat/virtual-chat

Alternatively feel free to email me:?[email protected]

Here are some of my client recommendations

Rochelle Seddon – Operations Manager – The Growth Company

When I first started in the Employability sector, many moons ago, I attended Employer Engagement training delivered by Audrey, shaping the way I performed as an advisor. Therefore, when mobilising a new contract, I reached out to Audrey to deliver Employer Engagement training for the new team.

The one day training course was incredibly interactive, with so much detail and feedback along every part of the day. The team now feel so much more confident with approaching employers and have a clear 'script' to get the best results. This training was a great investment and as the team grows I will be booking in future sessions.

Thank you so much Audrey!

Lynne Wells

Regional & Hospitality Sales Director at Bunzl UK and Ireland

Audrey was recommended to us for internal sales team training by one of our sister operating companies. The training package that Audrey pulled together for the team was 2nd to none.

Our team were quite nervous of the training, particularly around the role play elements, but their post training feedback was brilliant - with the role play elements being the highlight for all!The quality of the teams outbound and inbound calls since they completed the course has improved drastically, with some real clear steps identified, but also a real focus on gap filling and upselling. Highly recommend!

Emma Woan – Director – Education Business Partnership (NW)

Audrey and the training she delivered was fantastic!

We chose Audrey and Outshine Telephone Training as we needed some refresher support about how we go about engaging with businesses to support our services (in the education sector).

I liked the look of Audrey's LinkedIn profile and after watching some of her short video clips online decided to arrange an initial conversation. Audrey completely understood our sector and role from day 1 and was very approachable and professional. I like her zest and passion for training!

Audrey delivered 'how to successfully engage employers' telephone training face to face in our meeting room - with a mixture of power point, discussion and role play (using phones to record conversation for feedback and support). The training fit the bill and met the objectives we had discussed previously during our scoping and planning meeting.

The team were engaged throughout the day, and the pitch and tone suited our group: informal, friendly and bespoke. We also had a lot of fun.

As a business, the training offered our staff a CPD opportunity to not only benefit themselves but help us strive towards achieving our company objectives and so it was certainly a good investment to arrange the training all round.

I was very pleased with our training and would not hesitate to recommend Audrey.

My team would agree too. Audrey and the training she delivered was fantastic!