Cold Calling Doesn't Have to be Painful!

For many people, ‘cold-calling’ ranks right up there along with giving a speech, which is to say that most people absolutely hate it!  If you approach it correctly, however, there’s a good chance that you can learn to love it. (Well, maybe ‘love’ is too strong a word but, you get the idea!)

Don’t worry if you aren’t initially successful. It takes a while to feel comfortable talking about your product or service to people you has never met! Practice is key here, and believe it or not, the more cold calls you make, the better you’ll become at it.  (who knows: you might even learn to ENJOY the process!)

The most important thing is to be perceived first as friendly and second as non-threatening.  (Hint: it won’t help you if the person on the other end of that line thinks that you’re reading from a script!)  If you sound like a robot, you’ll get an automatic hang up, so put some personality into what you’re saying.  Be enthusiastic and energetic!

It is said that you can ‘hear’ a smile over the phone.  Practice your presentation in front of a mirror until it sounds natural to you. Then, recruit a couple of good friends and ask if you can call them to get their impressions. At the end, ask them what their honest opinions were. Were you….Engaging? Entertaining?  Cheerful? Optimistic? Informed? Intelligent?

Did you falter while you were speaking, or did you include a lot of ‘um’s. ah’s and ‘ya knows’? Did you sound literate and articulate? Most importantly, did you come across as though you knew what you were talking about? Did you use a compelling tone of voice?  Did  you sound poised and confident? Were you able to come across as reassuring and honest?

As difficult as it may be, try to avoid sounding like a sales person. In general, people hate talking to sales people. When your prospect raises an objection, this is the time for you to agree with him or her by saying “I understand” or “I can certainly appreciate where you’re coming from: I felt like that myself before I tried this product.”

Have all of the information at your fingertips so that you can respond to questions. Don’t rush headlong into a complicated answer. Listen to what the respondent is asking and take your time in constructing a thoughtful reply.