Telephone Fear: The Mental Preparedness Required When Making Outbound Cold Calls

Outbound cold calling is one of the most difficult, and therefore potentially rewarding, sales skills. Why? Because it requires conquering two major obstacles: fear and rejection. In this blog post, we'll discuss how to mentally prepare yourself for making outbound cold calls so that you can overcome these obstacles and increase your chances of success.

Outbound cold calling is difficult because it requires overcoming two major obstacles: telephone fear and rejection

Outbound cold calling is one of the most effective ways to reach new customers and grow your business, once you get past fear and rejection. No matter how many calls you make, there will always be some people who hang up on you... and that's a GOOD thing because the person you called just self-selected. Time saved. Move on. Remember to maintain a positive attitude, be confident in your ability to sell, and know what you're going to say before you pick up the phone.

In order to overcome these obstacles, you need to mentally prepare yourself before making a call

If you're making outbound cold calls as part of your job, there's no doubt that you'll face some challenges. Perhaps you get nervous when speaking to strangers, or find it difficult to keep a conversation going. Maybe you have a hard time hearing "no" or feel like you're always getting rejected. To overcome these obstacles, you need to mentally prepare yourself before making a call. Know what you want to say and how you want to say it - your tone and vocal inflections can communicate much more than your words during a call. Lastly, be confident and build rapport with the person on the other end of the line. They are a living, breathing human being just like you.

Mental preparation includes things like knowing your script and understanding your product

How do you visualize your call going? Are you expecting the person on the other end to be angry or upset? You shouldn't. Statistics show that a whopping 82% of buyers accept meetings with sellers who cold call.

Start off with knowing your script inside and out, and have a clear understanding of your product. Lastly, practice the call with someone on your team, or even with yourself, before you pick up the phone. If you can do these things, you'll be in a much better position to make a successful connection.

You should also be prepared to handle objections from customers

Objections are a normal part of the sales process, and they can happen for a variety of reasons. Believe it or not, objections are a good thing because they mean the client is paying attention and has a genuine interest in your product or service.

There are a few things you can do to prepare for objections: 

1. First, identify the most common objections you receive from customers. This will help you anticipate them when they come up in conversation. 
   
   
2. Next, develop talking points for each objection. 
   
   
3. Lastly, PDR. That is, Practice, Drill, and Rehearse your objection handling until it becomes second nature.

With a little practice and perseverance, you can overcome your fear of cold calling and start generating new leads in no time.