Fear of cold calling..solution?

Hey guys,

I've never been one that was particularly good at selling things. As you may have read before, I have a dentist site in a particularly wealthy suburb in California.

I've been thinking of posting on Craigslist and hiring someone in the area to do the dirty work; call all the dentists until we find a potential buyer. I plan to pay them on a commission only basis.

Good idea? Bad?

Face your fear. Just call

I've hired a cold caller before.. Search around on craigslist resumes, odesk, etc.

It's probably a better idea to hire an expert than give it a feeble 'try' at something you don't like doing anyway.

I personally wouldn't trust someone else to sell my business. Ask a friend to rehearse the calls with you if you like, write a script. I'm shy as feck but I know that when I'm calling someone I don't have to tell them my name or anything, not at first anyway, so I can just put the phone down and never have to talk to them again if I feel uncomfortable.

Also pick people to phone that are likely to respond positively to what you have to offer, contact dentists that are already using adwords or websites to promote themselves, they obviously already understand the benefits of an online presence and are more likely to listen to you.

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

I have fear at cold calling myself, and It's something that I don't have to do very often. But last summer I had an idea to sell to the hotels in my country (very popular destination in my country)

So I went with a little folder in my hand (and nothing besides blank paper inside) and visited 4 or 5 hotels. At the end, didn't make a sell, but at least tried that wasn't so difficult.

Bottom line: Face you fear as @meaculpa say. Isn't that terrible, and for sure there are worst thing to do.

thedon23 said:

Hey guys,

I've never been one that was particularly good at selling things. As you may have read before, I have a dentist site in a particularly wealthy suburb in California.

I've been thinking of posting on Craigslist and hiring someone in the area to do the dirty work; call all the dentists until we find a potential buyer. I plan to pay them on a commission only basis.

Good idea? Bad?

Click to expand...

Part of the fear of cold calling can be reduced by creating a good sales plan. What I mean is, creating scripts, creating schedules for calling times, follow up strategies, etc. What exactly are you going to do when they say "yes, I want an appointment"? Fall back and be surprised that they said yes? A lot of sales people are surprised when they get a good response, because they dread the worst.

Seriously, create a flow chart of your sales plan. It takes the fear of the unkown out of the equation (at least those parts that you can control.....and let's face it, you can't control the end result as much as you can the input). Focus on the input, and stop worrying about the end result....the end result will come if you follow an effective sales plan. As it has been said, plan the work and work the plan. As I like say, just "deliver the milk, and sometimes they'll drink it".

I've always been of the opinion that you cannot hire someone else to cold call for you and teach them what you want, unless you've done it yourself and been at least somewhat effective.

Arm yourself with the tools then factor in effort/energy. (These things you can control). It doesn't matter if you're a top notch sales person or cold caller. IMO, even the best sales person w/o a good sales plan is ineffective.

Sounds cheesy, but have you thought about a form of role playing? Not anything kinky, mind you, but basically creating a persona of "the" sales guy who can get this done.

Remember, if you're on the phone:

- They can't see you
- You only want their money
- You'll never talk to them again if they say "no"

So just create an act of sorts. You can be Tad McGrellham, Executive Sales Manager for [Your Business], with a background that includes years of time spent with such high profile companies as Xerox, Microsoft, and an obscure Japanese company called Rakutan.

Then it's more of a game than anything else.

That, or take a shot of Vodka 15 minutes before making a call.

Its annoying to call people when they live on the other side of the world. Maybe I will try craigslist =D

Go for it. Even if you find it impossible, just do it. Just like with anything, some people are really scared of roller coasters, but if they just went on one, they would be totally fine. This is a little different, because you might not be good at it. But just go for it, and keep trying it, and eventually you will become a pro

You've got nothing to lose, so just give it a go

You can always email them. I can provide you with that info...
Check my PM

There's only one way to handle fear:
youtube.com/watch?v=jH4pV67yjFQ

This explains it all. Just do it.. If they say no, say thanks, hang up and move on to the next. Success is in numbers and there is no reason you should be scared of someone you don't know who cant see you and probably will never remember you unless they say yes..

mate73 said:

There's only one way to handle fear:
youtube.com/watch?v=jH4pV67yjFQ

Click to expand...

This reminds me when I was start cold calling myself. Anyway I suck in english, so people can instantly see/hear it I'm suck in it, but that didn't stop me to call them. Anyway my first call was some guy from Canada with the same last name as me, we didn't related at any way I just find it randomly, so I call him and we talked for like 5minutes and then I saw I'm able to speak with everyone I want. After that I write down my script and start cold calling businesses!

Hope it helps!!

write a script and stick to it when calling in the beggining

what is the worst that can happen....they say no. Go for it.

you could always try cold calling out of state and hone your skills on them.

Just get comfortable talking with anyone. My friend and I use to dare each other to do crazy, random things to people. Then we got a little more clever and tried to sell items that were so absurd and didn't exist just to see who could do it. Have fun then start working

catpro said:

write a script and stick to it when calling in the beggining

Click to expand...

You'll never be able to stick to a script.

I've cold called in the past and have some very healthy scripts that may be of help, but they're based around IT Recruitment (B2B) and probably won't serve you any purpose other than confuse you.

I'm going to presume your "fear" is based around not knowing. When I say not knowing, I mean not knowing what the person is going to say, or not knowing how to respond to a question or something - and as we all know, there is two ways you can overcome such.. either the long route; experience and practice, or preparation.

Preparation is absolutely vital when wanting to cold call. Try to be prepared for as many potential questions and responses that may be thrown your way. Write up scripts that work the same way your mind does; covering every single aspect of your niche and every single question possible.

One piece of advice I can give you is that always be professional and always inject some sense of humour. Don't try to be the next "jack the lad" and never sound "over confident" ... you'll just sound cocky.

Another great way to have the person at least stuck on the phone, is to speak at their level - match their speed and their tone - try to match your same level of breathing, pause times and enthusiasm ... that has proven to always be a winner in my experience.

The hardest part I found about cold calling, apart from the first week of ever doing it, was beating the "gate-keeper" ... they put up a fight!

One more thing; never never never never never sound too salesy. Sometimes, you don't have to be a sales person to sell. Speaking professional and sounding as though you know what you're talking about is always going to be the best way to bank. You can always tell a sales person, because they try to ram as much information as possible at the very beginning of the call, and hope you stay on the line. Speak slowly, inject positivity and professionalism in the reason why you're calling, and act based on their response.

There will never be a single way of how to master cold calling. But, if you find it tedious and start hating it - that's when you should consider outsourcing.

Really do hope that helps!

Wish you all the best and all the luck in the world!
Lynn.

whats with all the cold calling threads lately? Is there some new crazy clickbank or CPA scheme to cold call?

wallofiron said:

whats with all the cold calling threads lately? Is there some new crazy clickbank or CPA scheme to cold call?

Click to expand...

I guess more people have realized its potential? I'd put it down to inspiration...