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How to Genuinely Enjoy Cold Calling

Written by: Ari Galper

Article Overview: Five perspectives that will (honestly!) create enjoyment in your cold calling

How to Genuinely Enjoy Cold Calling

Five perspectives that will (honestly!) create enjoyment in your cold calling

Most of us dread our days of making cold calls. We take a deep breath, pump ourselves up, and prepare to talk with a perfect stranger. Is there any wonder a gray cloud sometimes hangs over our desk?

It really doesn't have to be this way. Cold calling can be an interesting, intriguing, fulfilling adventure.

Here are five perspectives that will give you an entirely new outlook on cold calling. When you apply these new perspectives, cold calling can actually be enjoyable. It can become personally fulfilling as well as financially rewarding.

1. Focus on Helping the Other Person

It’s against our nature as human beings to create an uncomfortable situation with another person. That’s the core reason many of us get that knot in our stomach when we start dialing a cold call.

When we’re only focused on making the sale, this is not a natural meeting place for both people. We want the sale, but the other person usually wants us to go away. Being intrusive is not the finest of character traits, and on some level we know it.

So how can we feel good about cold calling? We change our mindset from getting the sale into being helpful. We look at cold calling as an opportunity to assist.

How can we possibly feel uncomfortable doing that? Helping people is one of the best character traits we possess.

When cold calling is aligned with our very best way of being, it becomes an adventure. We truly want to help people. We feel very good about this, and it shows in our voice. People hear it. And their response will surprise you.

2. Be Honest and Truthful

You’re in a very good place when you choose to be truthful in your cold calling. If you’re not trying to fool anyone, you naturally feel better about making the call. You know that you’re trustworthy. And people respond to you in a positive way.

When you approach a potential client with integrity and common sense, you’re more personable and less tense. Being fully honest is one of your better attributes. And it gives you an opportunity to enjoy the interaction rather than being artificial or manipulative.

People do seem to have a sixth sense about integrity. When they feel you can be trusted, you can truly shine as a person as well as a potential supplier.

3. Be Yourself

Engage people in natural conversation. The more natural you are, the more comfortable you will feel. This makes the other person feel more comfortable as well.

Avoid playing a role, especially reading from a script. Most people can tell when you’re using a script. There’s nothing personal about it, and they pick up on that.

Being artificial puts you in the “typical salesperson” category, which is exactly the role most of us detest. It doesn’t feel authentic. And unless you’re a born actor, it makes you feel skittish about cold calling.

Give yourself permission to follow the rhythm of natural interaction. Allow the conversation to “breathe.” Let it be the kind of conversation you would have with a friend.

Practice this and it can turn your cold calls into pleasant conversations. And you may actually look forward to meeting that new person the next time you pick up the phone.

4. Get into the Other Person’s World

Shift your mindset away from what you have to offer and focus instead on what their problem is.

So many of us have been trained think about our services and products, that we don’t think about the client’s point of view. We aren’t really interested in their issues and how we can help solve them.

Be interested in their world and their challenges. You’ll find this intriguing. Most of us have a natural flair for problem solving. We enjoy “fixing things.” So find out what’s going on with the person you’re talking to.

Make sure the solution you have really does “fix it.” Get rid of any hidden agendas and truly listen. Let them know you’re interested in them and their world.

Move outside your own sales agenda to focus on the needs of others. This makes you a better human being and helps you leap past the fear of cold calling.

5. Let Go of Expectations

Never assume anything beforehand. Allow the conversation to be one of exploration and discovery. Stay focused on the dialogue instead of any private agenda.

Determine whether it makes sense to continue the conversation by truly listening. Never presume your prospect should buy what you have to offer, even when it seems they’re a perfect fit.

You are not calling to create a situation that is focused on your personal gain, but on helping the other person. Simply have a conversation to explore whether you can help them in some way. This takes pressure off both of you. You’ll be more relaxed and they’ll be more honest about where they stand.

Believe me, once you start applying these perspectives it will transform your day-to-day worklife. Instead of dreading cold calling, you’ll anticipate the adventure of creating a situation where everybody wins.

Related Articles
  Make Cold Calls More Successful- Stop Focusing on the Sale
  What approach should I take when cold calling?
  Stop By All That Business Your Are Driving By If You Want to Increase Sales
  How to End Your Fear of Cold Calling
  Buy-in before you Sell-in

Article Tags: character traits, cold call, cold calls, common sense, core reason, deep breath, desk, dread, gray cloud, human beings, integrity, knot, meeting place, mindset, new outlook, new perspectives, perfect stranger, stomach, uncomfortable situation



Related Forum Posts
Re: How to develop sales contacts? - Everyone has the right idea here. Depending on your business, there are different techniques that you could use. For consultants and sales heavy businesses, there are three tactics that I have found especially useful in my business: 1. Attend Networking Events 2. Cold Calling 3. Referral Program 4. Affiliate Program (most successful) The affiliate program was successful for me, as I hooked up with a franchise consultant, and he gave multiple unit businesses that needed my credit card processing services. I highly suggest you hook up with a sales partner, and give him a cut of the monthly revenue.
Re: Direct Mail Postcards - Post cards would be really expensive to send from Japan...but one way to advertise that is not expensive from overseas is by Cold Calling using cheap VoIP equipment. I know Japan has a really good internet connection, so as long as you are willing to stay up late, it might be an option. I cold call from Thailand far, far away from any city using a CDMA wireless internet connection and have had pretty good results. I find tho, that cold calling works best for business 2 business (b2b), rather than b2c products. --matt
Re: Cold Calling - As long as people are out of jobs, you'll probably have a lot of people who say they want to work for straight commission, but if they don't get paid fairly quickly, they usually move on. We've run into that and went through about 500 people (whose resumes looked really good) until we found about 3 good resellers. People just don't want to work for anything. Or they do a good job getting the business but don't do the follow up necessary to make the sale......so they move on thinking they need money NOW. Our business requires all cold calling as well. It's really tough for people to perfect that but there are a lot of good books out there. On is Cold Calling Techniques, by Stephan Schiffman
Re: Cold Calling - Cold calling is an extremely difficult job to do and unless one learns that being told no by people is not a direct refusal aimed at the cold caller but at whatever is being sold, it can be very soul destroying work to do. One needs to have absolute confidence in themselves and a pretty thick skin. MichelleJ
Re: Just Joined Today! - Welcome to the forums! Enjoy your stay.


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