Get Over Your Fear of Cold Calling in 8 Steps
When I first started cold calling, I would get the worst feeling in my gut. Whether it was excitement or fear, it did not feel great. At the start of my cold calling journey, that feeling, whatever that feeling was stopped me from reaching my sales goals and targets.
When I had this realization, I knew something needed to change. As a new university graduate with only a few years of retail sales under my belt, what follows are the steps I took to successfully overcome my fear of cold calling and a guide to how I doubled my sales demos in 2 weeks.
1. Expect positive outcomes. Change your thoughts, increase your success
If you are expecting the person on the other end of the line to hang up, be rude and not give you the time of day, chances are they won’t. Entering a call with positive expectations truly changes the way you come across to a prospect, therefore increasing your chances of landing a deal.
2. Find your OWN sales style that matches your personality
During the first few weeks in your sales position, you will go through training that will most likely include a generic sales script. Sales scripts are a good way to get started on the job. However, I would argue that a great way to make calls is by customizing your script to fit your personality. For instance, if you are naturally a bubbly and outgoing person, don’t follow a sales script with a hard sell. Instead, integrate phrases and tones that you use during regular conversations with friends and family, this will make you come off as less of a salesperson and more like a friend.
3. Learn to manage rejection
The truth is you are going to get rejected, hung up and ghosted a lot. It happens to every salesperson, beginners and experts alike. The best salespeople are those who can keep calling and come back even after getting rejected time after time. If you want to stand out, you need to learn to manage rejection.
4. Use your nervousness or mess-ups to your advantage. You will come off more personable and relatable
Your nervousness might just be your superpower. If you mess up your “script” use this as an opportunity to sound less like a robotic call center salesperson and more like a real human. If you stumble on your words 30 seconds into your pitch, use this fumble to flex your friendliness!
5. Read the callers’ tone and pace
Don’t be too pushy and know when the sale is not happening. Instead, leave the caller with a good impression of the company. If they reach out in the future they will remember your kindness. People often don’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel.
6. Reciprocate the tone and pace of the caller, ie. match their energy
You pick up the phone to call a prospect and they sound impatient and busy, you should quicken the pace of your voice and speak with a downward inflection to exude more confidence. In contrast, if the person on the other end of the line speaks slow and calm, don’t spew out your script as fast as humanly possible. Instead, speak with an upward inflection to invite conversation and questions from the prospect.
7. Have open body language when you call
Creating an open body language when you call primes your mind and body for success. If you’re hunched over your desk with your arms crossed you will come across as cold and potentially nervous. In comparison, if your body language is open and expansive you will instantly feel more in control and confident due to a natural reduction in cortisol (stress hormone) and an increase in stress-reducing hormones.
8. Make MORE calls
This may come as a surprise, or maybe not. But cold calling actually becomes easier the more calls you make! Once you realize the worst thing that can happen is a hang-up or a rejection, picking up the phone becomes a whole lot easier!
