Overcoming Your Cold Calling Fears
When talking to strangers begins to make its way into your professional life, you may not know exactly how to handle it. You know that you need to get the word out about your company, and you know that calling other businesses is a great way to do that. There are numerous B2B telemarketing services at your disposal, including cold calling. It is an excellent tool that is used in marketing for lead generation purposes as well as talking up new products and services. The benefits are clear, although this tactic does sometimes require a thick skin. There are many in the field that do not just doubt their cold calling abilities, but may even fear calling a new client out of the blue. If you feel this way, you can breathe easy. You are not alone, and there are plenty of strategies you can use to get past your anxiety. Take a break from your day and read about what you can do to excel at your cold calls.
Fear of Rejection
When you start to talk about why people are afraid of cold calling, an overwhelming amount will bring up feeling incompitent when they are rejected. It is easy to tell someone that rejection is just part of the job and something that they will get used to, but saying this does little to actually help. Instead of just explaining the situation, tell them to make calls where they’re almost certain to be rejected. Call the slim chances and companies that have little use for the product. Once the rejections start to pile up, and the expectations are lowered, more solid clients will seem like a breeze. It may be a difficult road to take, but completely worth it in the end.
Fear of Forgetfulness
It happens to the best of us. When you are put on the spot there will come a time where your mind will go blank. Even if it is a question you’ve answered a hundred times, there is always a chance that you just forget what you’re supposed to say. This fear is easily overcome with preparation. After you have a few conversations with prospective customers, you will start to see the main questions and concerns they want you to address. Write these issues down starting with the most common to the least. If you ever find yourself coming up empty, just check your notes and read. There’s no need to be afraid as long as you come prepared.
Fear of the Unknown
There are so many different types of sales calls that you will make throughout your career. Some people you will know directly and others may have been referred to you by happy customers. It’s the cold calls that are unpredictable. You are aware of their importance for lead generation, but that does not make it any less daunting when you have no idea what is going to happen. The company you reach out to may be calm and receptive, or angry and crass. There is just no way to know. To deal with this type of uncertainty, you need to expect the worst and learn how to handle it. Knowing what to say to calm someone down will come in handy when you connect with someone who just does not want to talk to you. If you are ready for a negative response, but instead have a pleasant exchange with someone, you’ll feel much better than if the situation was reversed.
Fear of Failure
When another business is not prepared to do business with you, they may or may not listen to your pitch. Sometimes it is actually the latter that people fear. It is one thing to be rejected outright, it is another to walk someone through your whole script and be denied after the fact. The fear of failure is very real and can sometimes stop a person from making cold calls altogether. Instead of feeling like you’ve failed every time a client turns you down, start thinking of negative outcomes as a chance to gather more information. If you’ve had a decent conversation and a negative outcome, ask the person why they are not interested. You can then write down their answers and use them to improve future cold calls. Changing your mindset in this way will make you feel less like you’ve failed, and more like you’re improving.
Fear is a natural emotion. We face things that scare us everyday, especially in the business world. Cold calling is unpredictable and ever changing. Talking to someone for the first time can make you anxious and having that person turn you down might seem like more than you’re willing to put up with. On the other hand, B2B telemarketing services almost always include this type of interaction because it works. Take a moment and ask yourself what you’re specific aversions are. You might be surprised at how simple the solution may be.