I will let you in on a little secret. Do you know what everybody needs to know about cold calling? It’s that CONFIDENCE is a key component of successful Cold Calling!
What everybody needs to know about cold calling
I have mentioned before that you can’t bluster your way through a sales call. Prospects can smell the BS a mile away (through a phone, email or text) and that will prematurely end your chances of ever making a real sale. But they can also detect CONFIDENCE and that leads to TRUST, appointments and sales.
According to Close.com, “93% of the potential success of your cold call is attributed to the tone of your voice during the conversation.” (1) This makes sense – on a cold call, all a prospect has to go by is your voice and delivery.
In an Inc article on ‘How Customers Decide to Buy’ they stated, “In a cold call, the customer makes the first decision based upon the tone and confidence in the caller’s voice.” (2) I would venture to say that subsequent decisions won’t be needed if that first decision isn’t positive!
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But wait, I don’t FEEL confident
Many salespeople do NOT feel confident when Cold Calling. Especially if they have had some negative experiences or worse yet, they have never been trained.
Can I just ‘Fake it Till I Make it’?
No, this is not a good plan.
OK, so how do I become more confident?
There are many facets to confidence but we find that being properly prepared instills a level of confidence in our people that you can hear in their tone and delivery.
Get the proper training
Too many salespeople are handed a phone and a list of numbers and let loose to make calls. Most of them fail miserably and then blame the tactic (Cold Calling) when in fact it was their lack of training which caused the poor results.
Click here to read more about our proprietary sales prospecting training programs that prepare YOU to succeed in sales!
Get a tune-up
If you have been a salesperson for any length of time, you know that some skills are timeless (how to engage someone in conversation) and others expire (how to send a fax). Ongoing sales training is a vital part of keeping you on the top of your game. Our sales prospecting program Call Center in a Box, provides training as well as mentoring and modeling to not only show you how to do it correctly but to help you internalize the skills, so you exude confidence on YOUR calls. Our Close the Deal program gives you the tools you need to engage confidently with prospects and, as the title says, Close the Deal!
Check out this post for more on the importance of ongoing sales training.
Practice, practice, practice
As is true in almost any area of life, practice will drive improvement.
Get feedback
Find someone who will monitor your calls and give you honest feedback. In our programs we review calls, discuss what worked and didn’t work and then provide them with skill training they need. We also do role playing exercises, allowing them to practice and polish their skills, before they need to engage with actual prospects.
Mindset plays a big role
In addition to being properly prepared, you need to stay optimistic. This can be a challenge in our industry but it really does improve outcomes.
Click here to read more about how optimism increases sales.
Be prepared
And yes, it takes more than just speaking skills to carry you through a call. Click here for more on how to prepare yourself for Cold Calling success.
Pick up that phone
So, make a plan and execute it daily. Prepare yourself and practice. Then pick up that phone and start dialing.
If you need help with the plan, the skills or the practice, give us a call at 908.879.2911 – we can help YOU build the confidence YOU need to succeed in the new year!
Good luck and best wishes for a prosperous new year!