Imagine researching and preparing a script to call a prospect, only for things not to go as planned. Instead of being confident because you’re well-prepared, you feel anxious when your client picks up your call.
Well, you are not alone in this situation. Many cold callers feel afraid of talking to prospects. However, this doesn’t mean that you should drop the phone and change careers. Instead, you need to learn how to get over the fear of cold calling.
Why Does Cold Calling Make You Feel Anxious?
A study conducted by ValueSelling Associates found that 48% of sales professionals are afraid to make cold calls. If you’re one of those people, you’ve probably experienced not hitting your quota because your fear caused you to drop some of your calls.
But have you ever wondered where this cold-calling anxiety comes from?
These are the reasons why you experience the fear of cold calling:
- Fear of Rejection.
Rejection is common when you’re trying to sell a product or service. However, wanting to be accepted is a common emotion for people. So, rejection can make them feel unwanted, which causes fear and anxiety. - Work Pressure.
Cold callers must reach a certain number of calls every day. When they make calls, they think they must achieve positive results to reach their quota. This can lead to pressure, especially if cold calling is a huge part of your sales strategy. - Fear of Failure or Mistakes.
Unlike messages you can proofread before sending, you can’t edit what you have already said during a cold call. For this reason, some cold callers fear saying the wrong thing and making bad impressions. - Lack of Control.
Cold calling gives you limited control over how the conversation goes. You also cannot control how your prospect will respond to what you’ll say. - Unpredictable Response.
Not all cold call prospects will react positively. Thinking that a particular client may respond negatively can result in fear of cold calling.
How to Get Over the Fear of Cold Calling
While fear is a common thing for cold callers, there are things you can do to overcome it. With the proper steps, you can become one of the most confident cold callers in the sales industry.
Here are some tips to get over the fear of cold calling:
1. Treat Calls as a Learning Opportunity
Every call can provide you with an idea about your customers’ needs. This way, you can present your prospects with a better solution to their problems.
And since you research your customers, market trends, and competitors when conducting cold calls, each call you handle will also help you refine your sales pitch.
Additionally, you can get direct feedback from your prospects during cold calls. Be mindful of your prospect’s interest level when you’re on a call, as you can use this information to adjust your approach to other customers.
2. Don’t Think of the Call’s Outcome
When you’re too focused on turning your prospect into a customer, there’s a chance that you’ll try too hard to impress them. On the contrary, detaching yourself from the call’s outcome can help you reduce your pressure.
Of course, you still want to impress your prospects. But when you’re not pressured, you won’t feel compelled to get a yes from them.
Remember, just because your prospect rejected you doesn’t mean you’re an ineffective cold caller.
3. Practice Speaking
Everyone gets better with enough practice. So, look yourself in the mirror and practice one of your cold call scripts. This will help you master your public speaking skills, allowing you to handle cold calls better.
You can even practice with your colleagues to get used to conversing with people. Ask them how they handle rejections and objections, and use their tips on your next cold call.
4. Learn About Your Product & Prospect
One of the significant reasons why cold calling makes you feel depressed is because you have no idea who you are talking to. In this case, you cannot anticipate the questions they’ll likely ask or how they will receive your offer.
To combat this issue, research your ideal customer profile (ICP). Learn about their interests, pain points, industries, and job information. This information will introduce you to your prospects and give you an idea of how to talk to them.
Moreover, it’s one thing that you know your prospects; knowing what you offer is another. That said, ensure you deeply understand the product or service you’re trying to sell them.
5. Make a Script
You feel more prepared to handle calls when you have a cold calling script. This results in less fear once your prospects are on the other line. So, study your offer and ICP, and create a compelling script using the best cold call opening line.
You also need a good cold call opening line to engage your potential customers. Check out this article for some opening line that you can utilize.
However, a script should only serve as a guide on how you converse with your prospect. Don’t read it word by word, or your cold call will sound too rehearsed and less personable.
It’s also important to customize each script based on the information you have about your prospect. This way, they will feel like you genuinely care about them and that you want to help them solve their problem.
Crafting a script is one of Forbes’ tips on mastering cold calling.
6. Learn How to Handle Rejection
Rejection is an unavoidable part of a sales process. For this reason, you need to learn how to take every prospect’s “no” with no discouragement. Remember that your skills are not defined by the number of clients you get.
Cold callers experience a high rejection rate. By learning how to handle rejections, you’ll maintain your confidence and make your following calls positively.
7. Learn from Your Mistakes
Another good approach to get over your cold call anxiety is to replay your failed calls. This may feel uncomfortable at first, especially if the call gave you so much anxiety. However, it will also help you understand the things you should improve.
By studying your failed calls, you can spot the factors that affect the success rate of your cold calling efforts. Every failed call can serve as feedback, which you can use to refine your script and approach in the future.
LinkedIn has an article discussing the factors that may affect your cold call’s success rate.
8. Be Prepared for the Worst-Case Scenarios
Sometimes, you will encounter a rude prospect, increasing your fear of cold calling. Others may even not let you talk and hang up when they know you’re a cold caller. While this may be discouraging, you must never take such scenarios personally.
Instead, you should remain professional and gracefully accept your prospect’s hostility. Have a good exit line to politely and confidently end the call.
9. Relax Before the Call
Feeling tense when you’re about to make a call is expected. But if you let this tension take over, you can’t handle your calls confidently. For this reason, you should set your mood before you start working.
For instance, take 5 to 10 minutes to do things you enjoy before cold-calling your prospect. You can listen to your favorite song, watch videos, or scroll through social media. Doing this will help you forget your anxiety and overcome your fear of cold calling.
10. Set a Realistic Quota
Not all prospects will buy your product or service. Statistics show that cold callers need to make at least eight calls before a prospect picks up. And even then, there’s no guarantee that this prospect will become a customer.
For this reason, you must set realistic targets. While your company may limit how many calls you should make daily, remember that most of your prospects will not book a meeting.
Of course, you must still put your best foot forward in every cold call you make. Just make sure you’re not pressuring yourself too much so you can make each call easily.
Here are more tips on how to get over the fear of cold calling from Harvard Business Review.
11. Remember that Your Prospects Are Human
Think about how you’ll feel if you receive a call from a stranger out of the blue. You’ll probably feel annoyed, apprehensive, or even anxious, right? Well, this is what your prospects may feel when you call them.
So, remember that they are human, just like you, and they may feel the same way you would if you were in their shoes.
To avoid making your prospects anxious, introduce yourself early on and tell them the purpose of your call. Don’t sound too salesy, as most people don’t appreciate this.
Become a Confident Cold Caller
Cold calling can indeed be an anxiety-inducing job, but you’ll get better through practice. Acknowledge that fear is a normal human feeling, and many professional salespeople have experienced anxiety before they got over their fear of cold calling.
Practice, patience, and preparedness are the three things that will help you overcome your cold calling anxiety.
