Get Rid Of Your Cold Calling Anxiety Through These Five Sales Techniques

Does picking up that small plastic telephone and calling somebody irritate you? Why's it that we're so scared of making a "cold call"? Is it really true that the telephone has power over us, when really it is just a tool for connecting with others?

Why do a lot of people have such a feeling of anxiety and stress over picking up the telephone and just offering a service over the phone? Well it is simply because they understand in their mind that calling just "to close" a customer and having a concealed agendas is what upsets the customer on the other line. It's this uncomfortable feeling that rejection might happen and that we are invading other people's lives that makes us paranoid to pick up the phone. This fear of rejection happens because some part of us knows that going straight for an appointment or for an order over the phone without any trust is unnatural. Would you approach someone in a bar and say "Hi my name is....... Give me your number?" or "Hi my name is............. And what I do is............... Would It Be Okay If I I sign you up for a great service I offer?" The answer is certainly "NO" because you understand that even in face to face meetings you will not be welcomed by anyone until you have made that trust and feeling of comfort that would make someone want to listen. And this is where conventional sales sense fails us.

Thus naturally we have a feeling of anxiousness if we dump information and call on an unwary receiver and then 'hope' that they'll continue listening to us. Even though we know that it is creating something that's unnecessary for the listener we still continue to do it this way. We should ask ourselves why that is. Well perhaps we are just not truly looking at it from the receivers point of view and approaching it in a way that we can truly enter the receivers mind and be respectful enough so that we may open the dialogue and see how we can 'help' them as against 'selling' to them. So if you honestly seek to get rid of your anxiety prior to picking up the telephone, you should be able to remove their anxiety about talking to you. These are five important principals that will let you to do this:

1. BE A SELECTIVE VOLUNTEER: You must consciously choose to come from a position of being a "Selective Volunteer"- Why are you talking to this prospect? Simply to 'close' someone or to build a connection and bond that's very strong that they'll feel comfortable buying from you. Furthermore, it is you, the salesperson who is choosing to talk to them. So it is as much your option to work with them as it is theirs to work with you. Thus if you call and feel that this prospect is a fit for your organization and you act accordingly, that's absolutely fine, but if they are not a fit, that is ok too. The truth of the type of bond you might be able to create is far more important than closing someone. This would once again be the same for talking to somebody face to face. If you feel the connection isn't there, why would you ask for another appointment or time to chat? If you cannot assist them then you ought to feel okay with leaving. That is what a critical volunteer's frame of mind should be.

2. BREATH: We often find in our calls that in an attempt to make your way into the prospect's space and out as fast as possible we will often convey our words as fast as possible. Nonetheless we all know that as soon as you speak faster, the stress on the listener builds up and they start to feel cornered. So any dialogue that is created must be ordinary and void of voice tonality or minor pressure that may signal the listener that YOU feel uncomfortable or nervous about what you might be saying. And the best way to be confident is to deliver in a steady and slow manner. Yet when we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to execute how can one achieve this level of comfort? The answer is BREATH. Breathe easily while making the call and take slow breaths prior to the call that will slow you down and take the pressure out of your heart and your mind.

3. IMPERFECTION IS OK: If you're are overly consciously of how you come across and too conscious of yourself to the point that your involvement about your execution is affecting your performance, well perhaps you have to cut yourself some slack. It's the illusion that we must all be flawless initiates creates more anxiety and pressure on both us and the client. By showing that we are comfortable and humble with making errors and being truly human, we make our way as far more caring and somebody who is simply there to assist. Go comfortable with errors, because it is those that show your true meekness and your desire to try- Attributes that are looked upon and admired fittingly by all.

4. PRACTICE PURPOSEFUL TOLERANCE: When you last bought something did you buy it when you were prepared or when you were asked to? We all understand in our minds and hearts that no one wants to be 'sold' on something. We want to make the conscious decision that what we are going to do is the best thing for us at that time. Nonetheless we fail to remember this when we are selling and have very unrealistic expectations of the timing of when a customer might seal a transaction. We offer, we follow up, then we get irritated when we don't hear from them for 2 or 3 weeks, and it takes perhaps even months for them to decide. We somehow feel if they have heard about the product or service they ought to naturally desire to purchase instantly! Certainly they would! Nevertheless we never ask ourselves and step back, "Is this the something that they truly want to look at right now?" if it isn't then if and when they buy should be totally up to them and we should be happy to purposefully show our willingness to be patient and show them that we know they will come to US when they're ready, not before.

5. USE A LANGUAGE DIARY: Those who know the Unlock The Game's selling approach by Ari Galper will be very much aware of the importance of language over the telephone and how the selection of certain words and phrases can have an effect on a call's success. Anything creates tension or seems manipulative or controlling will ruin that relation that you have with a customer who doesn't want to be lead by someone. Thus you should keep a notebook or diary of key expressions or phrases that take out that pressure on the phone call and present comfort for the receiver. Making calls and asking asking whether others would be ready to listen to you though a phrase such as "would you be willing to ...." Would get you so much further than just dumping a speech on an unwary person. For further powerful phases and ways to take the pressure from your language take the time to read through take a look at Ari Galper's material and see how it could work for you.

Cold Calling is simply one way to link with others and with this frame of mind your tension will disappear because you understand in your own that you're coming from a position of humility and assisting others. You don't know if you are a fit until you have truly created that feeling of strong trust, so at all times focus on THEM, not forcing the SALE.