Changing Your Cold Calling Perspective

Most salespeople have cold calling jitters all the time. A usual cold calling day would start with taking deep breaths, warm up rituals and other preparation to speak with a total stranger. No wonder most phone sales representatives feel gloomy each time they cold call.

It does not necessarily have to be like this. Cold calling can be an adventure full of fun, intrigue and fascination. There are things that will help you gain a completely new perspective on cold calling. These recommendations, when applied, can make cold calling a welcome activity. It can help you find fulfillment in the job as well as reward you financially.

Concentrate on helping the prospect. Telemarketing tends to create an awkward situation with another individual, and this is the main reason why the job brings that uneasy feeling when placing a cold call. But, this feeling gets worse when making a sale becomes our primary objective. Being sales driven is not bad, it is the reason for doing the task. But it shouldn't be the only force driving us to make calls, instead we should change our frame of mind and concentrate on being able to help than being able to earn. When we prioritize the needs of the people we call, the sales aspect of the job will be fulfilled eventually. People will open up to our efforts rather than shut their doors on us. If we have that sincere feeling of wanting to really help, it reflects in our voice. People feel it and their response will be more favorable.

Be sincere and forthright. You place yourself in a very favorable situation when you are undisguised and direct in your calls. If you are not attempting to deceive or manipulate people, you fell good about making calls. You know that you are honest and credible. People are more receptive to you and your efforts. When you converse with prospects with honesty and levelheadedness, you feel confident and exude friendliness. These traits provide you an opportunity to interact positively and enjoy your conversations than being phony or deceptive. When people feel that you are trustworthy, you find it easier to give your value proposition and convert prospects into buyers.

Be yourself. Converse with people in a natural way. Don't try to be somebody else or portray someone who is not you to avoid making yourself and the other person uncomfortable. Do not read from a script. When you read a script, you sound robotic and people can tell. You lose the human element when you constantly rely on scripts for your conversations. Sounding rehearsed makes you a typical salesman, which puts off most people. There's nothing human about this and it makes you feel edgy about cold calling. Allow yourself to follow the flow of a natural conversation. Let it be the kind of interaction you would have with an acquaintance or friend.

Place yourself in the other person's situation. Instead of focusing on what you have to offer, devote your attention to the prospect's problem. Many salespeople have been trained to emphasize too much on their services and products, that they forget to put themselves in the prospect's shoe. The customer's issues are completely overlooked. Good salespeople are interested in the prospect's concerns and challenges. A lot of us have a knack for solving problems and fixing things. Use this knack and find out how you can "fix" the prospect's problem, or perhaps help them find out a problem they don't know they have. If you do this, your overcome the fear of cold calling and you help yourself become a better person and salesman.

Do not make assumptions. While it is true that expectations should be set for any kind of task, sometimes it feels really painful when they are not met and failure affects your job considerably. So unless you know you are capable of converting each call into a sale, it is best not to assume anything before your conversation even begins. Cold calling should be something that you can explore and help you discover things about your prospect, not yourself. Find out if your discussion with the other person will bear fruit by listening actively. Remember, you are calling not for selfish reasons, but for the fact that you (by way of your service/product) would like to help. This makes the conversation more relaxed, and the prospect opens up about their situation.

Once you have started applying these tips, your daily cold calling tasks will change dramatically. You will no longer dread it, but will truly enjoy it.