Learning effective cold calling techniques will help you generate sales for your business. Keep this in mind if you're feeling shy about calling someone out of the blue and asking for an appointment or for their business. Here are 5 tips to overcome shyness and get more business today:
1. Do Your Research
The more information you have about the person you're calling, the more confident you'll be (and sound) on the call. If you don't do any research, you'll lack confidence on the call and it will show. You goal should be to research the needs of the company or individual so that you can generate their interest in meeting with you or getting more information about your business. You should also try to learn about any personal interests (if you can) about the person you're calling, and look for opportunities to make a connection in that area.
2. Cold Call Your Spouse
If you have the opportunity to practice cold calling, it will help you to overcome your shyness and you may get important feedback that will help you do well on real calls. Ask your spouse to pretend to be the person that you're trying to call. Give them the information you've researched and ask them to "become" that person on the call. When you make the call to your spouse, pretend it's a real call from the beginning to the end of the call. After the call is finished, take the time to reflect on the call yourself, and make notes of the areas you need to improve. Also, listen carefully to the feedback from your spouse and make any corrections. If necessary, make another pretend call.
3. Write a Script
You never want to sound like you're reading on a call. However, a script or outline may be what you need to help you overcome the fear of not knowing what to say on the call. You should presonalize a standard script for every call so that you keep the other person interested enough to stay on the line with you. Rehearsing the script ahead of time will help you sound more natural and more comfortable with approaching the call. You can also get help writing your script or outline, which will help you move from being shy to being confident.
4. Post Your Cash Flow Statement Near the Phone
The financial reality of your situation may be the motivation you need to overcome shyness. If you're just starting out, the financial bottom line for your business is most likely in the red because of the start-up costs you've incurred. Seeing that in front of you will help you remember why you're cold calling in the first place: to make money.
5. Be Accountable
Ask your spouse, mastermind members, support group or anyone else you see fit to hold you accountable for making your calls. Generate a list of people you want to call, and set a time frame for completing those calls. Tell your accountability person(s) the date of completion and ask them to ask you whether you've made the calls one day after your scheduled completion date. This may push you towards making the calls, and you'll have the encouragement and support from people who want to see you succeed along the way.
Cold calling doesn't have to be your worst nightmare. If you prepare and practice in advance, you'll do just fine on the call. Even if the response from your caller is "no," you'll gain the experience necessary to get a "yes" in the near future.
