Success Circle Call #9: Do You Have a Fear of Cold Calling?
Do you like cold calling? Most salespeople don't. In fact, many people avoid a sales career because the idea of cold calling is so distasteful. And many salespeople fail in sales or never reach their true potential because they have never mastered cold calling. In order to understand why it's so hard, let's start by looking at the art of cold calling in its simplest form. Cold calling is picking up the phone and calling someone you don't know and who doesn't know you. Most of us don't have any problem picking up and using a phone; in fact, we do it all day long. We're also able to talk to people; we do that all day long, too. So the “stigma” of cold calling has nothing to do with the physical act of picking up, dialing or using the phone. It also doesn't have anything to do with talking to someone.
So there must be something else causing our fears. The first thing to know to overcome our fear of cold calling is to recognize that our fear is self-imposed. It's stemming from us. It's our perception and attitude about cold calling that paralyzes us. Of course that means that we are also the only ones who can break the shackles we've put on ourselves. The second thing to know about overcoming our fear is that many people misunderstand the purpose of cold calling. If you think the purpose is to get appointments and you rarely get them, then you'll be afraid to call because you'll feel rejected all the time. Cold calling has one purpose and one purpose only.
That purpose is to determine if the prospect is interested in pursuing a discussion. If so, set an appointment. If not, hang up. You can't make people be interested in something; if you do you're just being annoying. If they are interested, if what you have is something worth exploring at that time, they will do it willingly. If not, don't waste your time! If you annoy them now you can't call them back later. However, if they like you even though you don't get an appointment you can call back later when the timing is better. Also, if you're afraid of being annoying and you are faced with cold calling and talking people into seeing you, you'll avoid calling so you don't have to feel bad about yourself.
Once you know the purpose of a cold call, you can look deeper at why you avoid cold calling. Your avoidance usually centers on your fear of rejection, fear of failure or fear of the unknown. You're afraid someone is going to be annoyed with you, be mean to you, or won't respond in the way you want. There are two main qualities of fear. First, fear is imaginary. In other words, your fears are your thoughts; they're in your head. Second, your fear of cold calling is always in the future. You're afraid of something that hasn't happened yet. While everyone may have fear to some extent, when you let it imprison or limit you, you have given it too much importance. Keep in mind that FEAR is “False Emotions Appearing Real.”
Changing your attitude and fear about cold calling is easier said than done. Remember, your attitudes are habits of thought so to change your attitudes will take some real effort on your part even if you consciously recognize that your fears are not rational. To conquer your fear of cold calling, remember these three basic facts about fear:
1. Everyone possesses fear to some extent. It's normal. In fact, learning to channel your fear and the rush of adrenaline it causes can be very motivating. Fear is only debilitative when it controls your life to the extent that you limit or alter your activities. When you exercise your control of fear, you are making a conscious effort to choose your own path.
2. The fears that immobilize you are usually unfounded. What's the worst case scenario? In other words, what would happen if your fears actually came true? In the case of cold calling, a prospect may hang up on you or get short with you. While it may not be pleasant, it certainly isn't life-threatening either.
3. Fears are thoughts and you have complete control over them. You have the power and ability to replace your fearful thoughts with positive ideas and realistic expectations. To overcome your fears, you have to change your mind. One easy way to start that process is to use your fear as a learning opportunity. In other words, you need to prepare for failure, rejection or the unknown. Your preparation will help you replace your fear with confidence.
