Everybody Hates Cold-Calling!

Hey Simon,

Good post, and I totally agree with the rejection thing. I was in IT sales for 3 years and even for the most upbeat of folks, the constant “NO” can be demoralizing.

I like your suggestion at the end about assuming the worst, then learning from the call. That mindset also makes a positive call a very pleasant surprise.

The company I worked at was big on the Sandler system and regularly sent us to training. From a cold call perspective, I really like a couple aspects of their process:

1) First – they HAD a process. If you’re just cold calling with no script or objectives, you’ll be mumbling or rambling and probably deserve your NO.
2) Give control to the prospect. ASK THEM for 30 seconds of their time to introduce themselves and if they don’t want to talk further you will hang up. Of course, now the burden is on you to get them to want to talk further.
3) Introduce your company, but focus on how you can solve your prospect’s issues. Remember they probably are getting a ton of cold calls every day, so simply saying you “offer strategic value” or you are “results-oriented” isn’t going to cut it. Ask them what their three top issues are and tell them how you can help.

A big breakthrough that helped me with the rejection is simply remembering that, just like dating, not everyone is a good match. In fact, very few people are a good match. So, don’t think of it as rejection, so much as simply not being a fit.

Finally – stop trying so hard. Continuing the dating metaphor, if you’re on a date and you’re constantly trying to impress her, you’re going to come off as fake or shallow and not get a second date. Be yourself, relax and have fun and odds are she’ll want to see you again.

I hope this adds a little value to the conversation.

@Dave – a very sagely reply Dave and your advice obviously comes from the wisdom of experience. I like ‘stop trying so hard’ as that’s what we all do when we try something new like cold-calling. The very act of trying so much puts so much pressure on us that we bomb out.
Heck – it’s all about practice. I say, make some cold-calls to people who you think you’ll never get business from, be yourself, be relaxed, and learn from it. And guess what – you might just surprise yourself. Cheers Dave!

I hate cold-calling with a passion, and come to think about it, probably for the reason you gave Simon.
You are probably right – must practice. Did you practice, and how?

@Asif – let us know how you get on in breaking through the fear and loathing of cold-calling! I’m sure we would all like to hear it