Cold calling a stranger to pitch successfully is a challenging task. Only the bold and courageous pick the phone to make cold calls, as no one knows what is waiting on the other end of the line.
The thought alone in itself is stressful but actually calling is even more stressful. If you are new to cold calls or you have long years of experience in cold-calling, the unwavering point remains that, getting stressed does not bring about positive results in your cold-calling campaign. So, it’s better to learn tricks to alleviate stress as it would not make any difference but rather put you off your job role earlier than expected.
Having said that, the positive aspect of cold-calling is that no matter how bad it seems, you will make a sale at some point.
The driving point is to remain positive until you make your sale and disregard all other negatives that may arise in the course of your calls. By focusing on the positive, you will begin to believe more in the process and that is all you need.
Ever wondered why cold-calling hasn’t fizzled out of strategies used for making sales? It is because it works. Now, here are some simple tricks to get you going on your daily work routine and to keep you focused throughout the process.
7 Best Ways to Make Cold Calls
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Check your perspective
Do you fear rejection so much that it makes you pessimistic when trying to make a cold call? This is usually the normal reaction especially for a newbie. Regardless, you should try not to allow this thought- process to cloud your mind as it is the beginning of stress, and once you get stressed, the job is usually left undone; you get discouraged and give up on your goal.
So what should you do? Think the other way, this means imagining that you are trying to give out a benefit to the person you are cold calling and not that you are asking them for one.
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Get mentally prepared
No matter who picks up the phone, (because in cold calls, you do not know whose number you called) you shouldn’t get nervous or lose your breath, so, before you make the call, think, what’s the worst response I could get, a ‘No’, and that’s it. Then you can make that call with every ounce of confidence you got.
Imagine yourself sounding confident and being asked questions whilst providing every necessary answer. Envision giving out every necessary information as much as possible, and visualize making a sale.
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Prepare a Script and a non-Script
Aside from mental preparation, you should prepare possible answers to frequently asked questions, such as a cold call script, but also know the benefits of your products at your fingertips. Know what you are selling excellently well so that you can always answer any question posed.
Study your materials before attempting to make a call. If you must, go through the “frequently asked questions” page on your website to get familiar with possible questions and provide your version of answers to them.
The point here is, be so immersed with the knowledge of your product that no question catches you off guard. One of the things consistent rejection does to people is that they feel they are not up to the task or somewhat not as brilliant, intelligent or as talented, which is usually untrue.
To work against these feelings, you must be aware of the features and benefits of the products you sell.
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Practice makes perfect
Sure you’ve heard this long old saying, but it remains evergreen. The more you practice a skill, an act, a phrase, a language, a thought-process or state of mind, to get better at it, you do not give up or give in to fear but only keep crossing the Ts and dotting the Is until you get the result you need.
You can act out a script so well that it starts to feel natural. If you get a tongue-twist halfway through your practice, don’t be discouraged to start from where you stopped before you start all over. If you feel overwhelmed, you can take breaks and forget that the script exists, occupy your mind with other important things on purpose and get back to it when you are well relaxed.
To keep you going, think about the enormous positive results you are likely to get from speaking confidently and answering every type of question thrown at you.
- How is your body language?
What does body language have to do with calls? When placing a cold call and you feel stressed, it can be sensed by the person at the other end of the line.
A positive body language gets you in charge psychologically and gives the recipient a positive perception of you. So why not, if not.
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Rejection is definite
The harsh truth about cold calls is that there is a higher rate of rejection than success. But as soon as you can adjust to this reality, stress is out the window. Yes, it may take some practice here and there but always remember that rejecting your offer isn’t about you, your company or the product, but more about them.
People have several reasons why they do not buy products or services at a particular time and that is perfectly fine. Moreover, a rejection now doesn’t mean a rejection forever, sometimes, with your call, you would have sown a seed that may be ripe for harvest later on. Some rejections do yield future sale, after all, so you can be hopeful that you will get a call rather than you calling them.
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Take a break
Cold calling has its ups and downs, many of which have been discussed in this post. To balance the feeling of rejection (which is usually the greatest fear) and making a sale, you will need to take deliberate long and short breaks. You can take regular 5 minutes break or once in a while 15 minutes break after several calls. Do things that make you happy at such times.
You can watch a short comedy on your smartphone, take a walk or have a snack, whatever resonates with you, just do it before getting back on the routine.
Conclusion
Stress is one huge negative result of cold calls, so once you can combat the possibilities of stress arising, you will be able to do your job with a positive outlook; which is necessary for successful cold calling.
Visualize making 500 calls a day and you get only one customer every day of the working days in a month. All the sales you made would have paid for your phone bill, so it’s a win-win situation, only keep your eye on the ball and ignore distractions in the form of rejection, and negative responses from others. Keep your eye on the ball at all times. Good Luck.
