The first time I made a cold call, my heart was racing and my palms were sweaty. After picking up the phone to make a business call, I was terrified. How would I start? What would I say?
Could anyone help me out when they heard how nervous I sounded? Fortunately for me, I’ve since learned that anyone can learn how to make successful cold calls with just a few simple tips–and now that’s all that keeps me calm.
In fact, if you follow these steps for your next sales call, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is than you thought!
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| – Successfully cracked the code to effective cold calling. |
| – Achieved significant income from side hustle through insights. |
| – Replaced side hustle income using improved cold calling skills. |
| – Gained a better understanding of successful cold calling. |
| – Transformed cold calling results and business growth. |
Cold Calling Can Be Tough
Cold calling is tough. It’s a skill that needs to be learned and practiced, just like any other. You’ll have to learn how to handle rejection, silence, and even your own emotions.
You also need to be able to handle the prospect’s emotions as well you never know what they’re feeling or what might be going on in their life at the moment of your call.
It can be nerve-wracking and extremely stressful at times, but if you take it one step at a time, you’ll get through it!
Learning how to talk to anyone can open doors to new opportunities and connections. Discover 16 simple steps to improve your communication skills and build meaningful relationships.
Learn The Cold Calling Lingo
Cold calling is a sales technique that involves reaching out to potential clients through phone calls. Cold calling can seem daunting, but with the right approach, anyone can do it and get results!
This section will teach you everything you need to know about cold calling including:
- What cold calling is and why people do it;
- The best way to approach cold calls; and
- How you can become a master at making them.
- Master the art of listening to your prospects.
In order to master the art of listening, you need to know that there are many different ways your prospects communicate with you. It’s not just what they say, but how they say it. The goal is to be able to listen for all of these signals at once so that you can respond appropriately.
Listen For Tone Of Voice
- Listen for body language
- Listen for words and phrases used by the prospect
- Listen for silence on the phone (hint: this means they aren’t ready yet)
Listen for pauses in conversation as they gather their thoughts (hint: this means you should keep quiet during these times)
Want to master cold calling and boost your business growth? Our comprehensive guide provides insights into crafting an effective cold calling marketing strategy that can lead to success.
Let Your Prospect Do The Talking
This is the most important skill of all when it comes to cold calling, and it’s also the most difficult for so many people.
They want to jump in with their elevator pitch and tell the prospect about their product or service, but that’s not how this works. The best way I know how to teach you this lesson is by showing you an example from my own life:
I had just started working at a new job, so one day I decided it would be fun if we went out for drinks after work (at least I thought it was fun). But when our group arrived at the bar, we found that there was already an event going on inside a live band performance!
Our group went in anyway because why not? We grabbed some seats by the stage area where everyone could see us easily enough.
Then we ordered drinks and waited patiently until they began playing some music so we could finally enjoy ourselves like normal people do when they go out drinking after work!
Turn The Tables On Fears By Bringing Them Up First
Fear of rejection: “I know it can be tough to get started with cold calling, but I’ll tell you what’s even tougher than cold calling being rejected.”
Fear of failure: “You know what’s scarier than standing in front of a prospect and hearing them say ‘no’? It’s not getting started at all.”
Fear of success: “When I used to work as an employee, I was pretty good at my job but when I started my side hustle selling dog treats online, I quickly discovered that there were so many ways for me to fail at sales too.”
Fear of being a bad salesperson: “It might seem like everyone has mastered this skill already because they’ve been doing it since they were kids…
But do you know how many people are good at sales? Not many! If everyone could do it, no one would need training courses or books.”
If you’re looking to cold call and win customers, understanding the right approach is essential. Explore techniques to engage prospects, overcome objections, and convert leads into loyal customers.
Create A Sense Of Urgency Before They Hang Up
To create a sense of urgency, you have to get into the mindset of your prospect.
You’re likely thinking: “This guy is crazy! He’s asking me to call him back!”
But I’m not crazy. Or am I? Who knows? Maybe I’m just trying hard to make this article more interesting than it is so that you’ll read my blog and go away from here forever. That would be great for me. But anyway, let’s move on…
Now let’s say the person on the other end hangs up on you before you finish your pitch or ask for their email address you can always write down their name and number in a spreadsheet later if they give them (I didn’t say it was easy).
However, if they’re still willing to talk after hanging up, try saying something like: “Hey! Thanks for calling back! Before we hang up again…” Then say whatever it was that made them want to speak with you again (i.e., another question).
If they don’t want any more information right now but would like an email follow-up later, tell them how much time they’ll need until then so they don’t forget about calling back when the time comes around again.
Maybe even offer an incentive such as an hour discount code or free shipping code depending on what type product/service being offered online store owner selling through Shopify website platform (or some other digital sales platform)
Keep Them Engaged By Keeping It Short And Sweet
To keep your calls short and sweet, you need to think of them as interviews. As in, the person on the other end is interviewing you for a job. If they hang up before the interview is over, it’s like walking out of an interview before it’s finished and that’s never a good idea.
When I first started cold-calling, I would ramble on about my product or service until the person had no choice but to hang up (or worse: tell me that they weren’t interested).
This was an epic fail because it took up valuable time for both parties and neither of us got what we wanted out of the call.
Instead, try keeping your call under three minutes if possible (but don’t worry if you go over). The average length of a cold call should be 60 seconds or less so don’t ramble! In fact…
Use Affirmations To Keep Yourself Calm And Focused
One of the best ways to keep yourself calm and focused during a cold call is by using affirmations.
An affirmation is, in essence, a positive statement that you repeat to yourself over and over again. It’s a way to put pressure on your brain to manifest the things you want into reality.
For instance, if you’re struggling with this cold calling thing, try telling yourself “I am awesome at cold calling” or “I always land my first client.”
This will help keep your mind in the right place so that when it comes time to make that call, there won’t be any hesitation on your part.
Uncover the secret to cold calling that has garnered attention in the marketing world. Learn how to make your cold calls more effective and engaging with strategies that get results.
Research Helps You In Cold Calling Conversations
Cold calling is a very difficult skill to master. It’s important to understand the goal behind cold calling, which is to convert prospects into paying customers.
The prospect’s main goal with any sales conversation is to figure out how they can get rid of you as quickly as possible. You need to convince them otherwise by providing value and helping them solve their problems in ways that are better than your competition’s solutions.
Research helps you understand what value proposition resonates with your prospects and the best way for you to communicate it (so they don’t hang up).
It also shows you where there are gaps in their process, so that when they ask questions about pricing or timing or other issues related directly back into their business model/processes/systems – YOU CAN ANSWER THEM!
You won’t be talking abstractly about product features anymore; instead, every question becomes an opportunity for further education on why we’re better than everyone else out there doing this same thing (or trying!).
Catapult Your Confidence With Role Play Beforehand
Get your confidence up before you start by role-playing. This can be very helpful in preparing for the pitch and overcoming fear of the unknown. It’s a great way to get comfortable with the process and make sure you have all of your answers ready.
If you want to know more about cold calling, read my book The Cold Calling Code: How To Make Money From Home Without Selling Your Soul (available on Amazon)
Be Comfortable With Silence
The silence is your friend. The moment you feel the urge to fill in a gap, take a breath and wait before speaking. Allow the other person to speak first. Wait for the right moment to respond appropriately and gracefully, without rushing or appearing too eager.
This will help build their trust in your ability to keep up with them over time because they’ll see that you understand what they’re saying and how they feel about it without trying to rush things along or appear impatient.
Which are two of the biggest turn-offs when interacting with other humans!
Don’t Let Your Own Emotions Get The Best Of You!
A few years ago, I was working as a freelance writer. It was a great gig, and I was enjoying the freedom to work from home. But there were some days when it felt like I wasn’t making any progress on my projects and that made me feel powerless and frustrated.
One day, one of those days arrived when my friend Daphne called me up for lunch. She had this idea for how we could make money together by selling our services as “freelance marketing consultants” to small businesses.
We knew nothing about marketing or consulting; but after a quick Google search and a few phone calls with potential clients, we realized that just because something sounded easy didn’t mean it would be easy!
And so began our adventure into cold calling – which eventually led to replacing 50% of my income!
Ask For Referrals From Satisfied Customers So You Never Have To Cold Call Again!
When you do a great job for your customers, they’ll want to refer their friends and family to you. But are you asking all of your clients for referrals?
The key is to ask at the right time. Don’t wait until the last minute you could get into trouble if they don’t have time or don’t feel like dealing with more business (yet). Instead, ask when:
They’re happy with their experience working with you (always ask them if there’s anything else that can be done)
You’ve completed everything on their checklist this shows them that everything has been taken care of and makes it easy for people who weren’t involved in planning how things will go (like spouses who don’t know much about computers)
They’ve got an upcoming event coming up where they’d like an additional hand around the house cleaning or yard maintenance
Facing objections during cold calling? Our guide on handling the most common objections to cold calling provides actionable tips to navigate challenging conversations and turn objections into opportunities.
Anyone Can Make Cold Calls If You Know What You’re Doing
It’s time to stop thinking about cold calling as something that only people with a certain amount of experience or education can do.
Cold calling is an incredibly easy skill to learn, but it’s also one that requires you to get clear on what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to, and why they should buy from you.
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that anyone can make cold calls if they know what they’re doing.
But first things first: Let’s talk about what “knowing what you’re doing” actually means in this context.
Conclusion
It’s time to get started! You don’t have to be an expert at cold calling, but you do need to learn the basics and practice.
If you’re looking for a good opportunity to try out these techniques on someone willing (and maybe even eager).
Then check out our list of people who need help starting their businesses. They’ll appreciate your efforts and might even become loyal customers in the long run!
Further Reading
The 1-Hour Side Hustle Formula Short Description: Discover a formula for launching a side hustle in just an hour, exploring strategies to kick-start your entrepreneurial journey.
5 Things I’ve Learned from Cold Calling Short Description: Gain insights from the author’s experiences with cold calling, learning valuable lessons and tips for successful outreach.
Cold Calling Scripts for Success Short Description: Access a collection of effective cold calling scripts that can help you engage prospects and improve your conversion rates.
FAQs
How can I optimize my side hustle in a limited timeframe?
Optimizing your side hustle with limited time involves prioritizing tasks, automating processes, and focusing on high-impact activities. Consider using tools and strategies that streamline your workflow.
What are some key takeaways from cold calling experiences?
Some key takeaways from cold calling experiences include the importance of persistence, refining your approach based on feedback, and developing empathy for your prospects’ needs.
How can cold calling scripts enhance my outreach efforts?
Cold calling scripts provide a structured framework for your conversations, ensuring you cover essential points and handle objections effectively. They can serve as a foundation for more natural and engaging discussions.
What’s the significance of learning from cold calling failures?
Learning from cold calling failures helps you adapt and improve your approach. Each failure offers insights into what doesn’t work, enabling you to refine your techniques and increase your chances of success.
How can I create an effective side hustle formula?
Creating an effective side hustle formula involves identifying a niche, setting clear goals, utilizing your strengths, and optimizing your time management. Tailor your approach to your skills and interests for the best results.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.