subject: Get Rid Of Your Cold Calling Anxiety Through These 5 Sales Techniques [print this page] Does getting that telephone and calling someone annoy you? Why's it that we are so scared of making a cold call? Is it true that the phone has power over us, when honestly it is only simply a tool to connect with people?
Why do a lot of people have a feeling of anxiety and stress over picking up the telephone and just offering a service over the phone? Well it is merely because they know in their mind that making calls simply to close a customer and having a concealed sales agenda is what upsets the person on the other line. It's this uncomfortable feeling that rejection might happen and that we are invading other people's lives that makes us paranoid to pick up the phone. This fear of rejection happens because some part of us knows that going straight for an appointment or for an order over the phone without any trust is unnatural. Would you approach someone in a restaurant and say Hi my name is. Give me your phone number? or Hi my name is. And what I do is Would It Be Okay If I I sign you up for a wonderful service I offer? The answer is certainly NO because you know yourself that even in these kinds of meetings you will not be welcomed by anyone until you've created that trust and sense of comfort that would make someone want to listen to you. And this is where traditional sales sense fails to work for us.
Thus naturally we feel anxious if we dump information and call on an unwary receiver and then hope that they will continue to listen. Even if we know that it is creating something that's unnecessary for the listener we still continue to do it this way. We must ask ourselves why this occurs. Well maybe we're just not honestly looking at it from the receivers point of view and approaching it in a way that we can genuinely enter the receivers world and be polite enough so that we may start the conversation and see how we can help them as against 'selling' to them.
So if you truly want to remove your own anxiety prior to picking up the phone, you must be able to remove their anxiety about talking to you. These are five key principals that will allow you to do this:
1. BEING A SELECTIVE VOLUNTEER:
You must consciously decide to come from a position of being a Selective Volunteer- Why are you talking to this customer? Simply to close someone or to build a bond and connection that is very strong that they'll feel comfortable purchasing from you. Furthermore, it's you, the salesperson who is deciding to call them. So it is as much your decision to work with them as it's theirs to work with you. Hence if you call and feel that this customer is a fit for your organization and you act appropriately, that is perfectly fine, but if they are not a fit, that is ok too. The truth of the type of connection you might be able to create is far more important than closing somebody. This would once again be the same for approaching someone face to face. If you think the connection isnt there, why would you want another time to talk or appointment? If you cannot help them then you ought to feel okay with leaving. That's what a selective volunteers frame of mind must be.
2. BREATH:
We frequently notice in our calling process that in an effort to make your way into the prospect's space and out as quick as possible we will frequently deliver our speech as fast as possible. Nonetheless we all know that as soon as you talk faster, the stress on the listener builds up and they feel cornered. So any conversation that is created should be ordinary and void of voice tonality or subtle pressure that might let the listener know that YOU"RE uncomfortable or tensed about what you might be saying. And the greatest way to sound confident is to deliver in a slow and steady manner. Nevertheless when we put a lot of tension on ourselves to execute how one can achieve such a level of comfort? The answer is to TAKE A DEEP BREATH. Breathe easily during the call and take slow breaths prior to the call that will calm you down and take the pressure out of your mind and your heart.
3. MISTAKES AREOK:
If you are overly consciously of how you make your way and too self-conscious to the point that your concern regarding your performance is affecting your performance, well perhaps you have to cut yourself some slack. It's the illusion that we must all be perfect initiates creates further anxiety and pressure on both us and the client. By showing to them that we're humble and comfortable with having errors and being genuinely human, we come across as far more caring and somebody who's just there to assist. Go comfortable with errors, as it's those that display your true meekness and your willingness to attempt- Attributes that are admired and looked upon well by all.
4. PRACTICE PURPOSEFUL TOLERANCE:
When you last bought something did you purchase it when you were ready or when you were asked to? We all understand in our hearts that nobody wants to be sold on something. We like to make the decision that what we are going to do is the greatest thing for us at that time. Yet we forget this when were selling and have unrealistic expectations of the timing of when a client might buy. We offer, we follow up, then we get irritated when we dont hear from them for 2 or 3 weeks, and it takes perhaps even months for them to decide. We somehow feel if they have heard about the product or service they ought to naturally want to purchase immediately! Of course they would! Yet we never ask ourselves and step back, Is this a something that they truly want to look at now? if it isnt then if and when they purchase should be completely up to them and we should be proud to purposefully show our desire to be patient and show them that we know theyll come to US when they feel ready, not before.
5. USE A LANGUAGE DIARY:
Those who know the Unlock The Games selling approach by Ari Galper will be very much conscious of the significance of language in a phone call and how the simple selection of certain words and phrases can have an effect on a phone calls success. Any word that creates tension or seems controlling or manipulative will break that connection that you have with a prospect who doesnt like to be lead by someone else. Hence you should keep a notebook or diary of important expressions or phrases that get rid of the pressure on the call and create comfort for the receiver. Making calls and asking asking whether others would be willing to heed your advice though a phrase like would you be open to . Would get you so much further than just dumping a speech on an unsuspecting stranger. For further potent phases and ways to take the pressure out of your language read take a look at Ari Galper's material and see how it could work for you.
Cold Calling is merely one way to connect with other people and with this frame of mind your stress will be gone because you know in your own that you are coming from a position of modesty and helping other people. You dont realize if you are a fit until you have truly created that feeling of strong trust, so at all times focus on THEM, not on pushing the SALE.
