If you are calling people on a daily basis, then you'd need more than just "surviving" through these phone conversations to succeed in this role.
Continuing Part 1 of Overcoming Cold Call Anxiety, here I'll spill the beans on how to get your call performance from good to better.
In this blog:
Part 2:
2. How to get over your fear of sales calls (continued)
- Speak from curiosity, not from an agenda
- Create the right environment for phone call conversations
- Practice, practice, practice
3. Cold calling: From "survive" to thrive mode ✨
How to get over your fear of sales calls
#4. Speak from curiosity, not from an agenda
Rather than just focusing on your own performance and your paranoia, shift your attention towards the other person might help reduce your anxiety and stress. This tip has been suggested by XXX.
Every call is a learning opportunity and each conversation is your chance to get to know your prospects better.
👉 My tip: Ask yourself "What did I learn from this prospect" after every call will help your focus on new information.
#5. Create the right environment for phone call conversations
Do you know why superheroes wear a cape? Or for that matter why so many professions have uniforms? Many salespeople swear by this trick – creating their safe corner to get over their cold calling anxiety. Think about this dedicated space/desk like an empowering superhero costume or uniform –- this will help you train your mind.
So, when you are in your “dedicated-corner” it will make you feel like an astronaut, pilot, or race car driver who is “suited-up”, “buckled-in” and ready to launch. When you step into your own “command centre” you’ll also be ready to conquer.
#6. Practice, as they all say, makes you perfect
The ultimate remedy to your phone fear and cold calling anxiety comes down to one thing: get comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s quite possible that cold calling may never become your favourite thing to do, but top sales professionals agree – every time you pick up the phone, you narrow the gap between where you are and where you want to be!
Tired of practising in front of the mirror? Take the game a notch further up and role-play with your colleagues to get the nuances of a two-way communication right. Ask them to throw all the possible curve-ball questions at you. If you survive this rapid-fire round, you’ll know you are ready for the real showdown.
Cold calling: From "survive" to "thrive" mode
When you finally start making the calls, don’t forget the time-tested saying, “What gets measured gets improved!”
Take notes of your conversation
Record yourself speaking, listen to the recording and learn from your mistakes as well as victories. Tweak the portions of your sales pitch that aren’t working and see how you can highlight the portions that get you the wins. Doing this exercise over and over will land the Oscar-winning script, we guarantee! 😉
Also, when you record your conversations, you can not only perfect what you speak but how you speak – such as your tone of voice, how fast you speak or the volume of your speech, etc. These non-verbal aspects play an equally important role in sealing the deals.
Find the right time to call
It might not be you; it might be your timing! Did you know two out of three calls are likely to go unanswered if you are not making the calls during the right time? Every industry has its own right-o-clock. Start tracking your connection rate regularly and you’ll find your sweet spot in no time.
Nail in on the right call durations
You know that the thumb rule is the longer you progress in a conversation the better. That said, you shouldn’t be wasting your leads precious time. So, how do you know how long is too long? With accurate data on the call duration, you'll know in a jiffy what time in the conversation your leads start to die down.
Learn from your idols
Why reinvent the wheel? Knowledge sharing and learning from the people on the ground is the fastest way up. Based on your organisation’s preferred practices, share your call analytics with your boss and/or colleagues, brainstorm with them and get insider tips from the masters of the game.
Remember, you won’t be able to flip your game overnight. However, with each passing day and every call made, you’ll learn something new and get closer to your goal. Keep an eye on the finishing line and just keep calling – you’ll get there eventually.
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