How to overcome the fear of cold calling.

Yes, never were truer words spoken.

Great numbers too, really impressive. Clearly you are a master phone prospector to get that high a rate of conversion from suspected prospect to qualified prospect (that accepted an appointment).

Awesome to hear.

What is it that you say that you beleive makes the difference ... I mean not how you say it but what techniques are you finding that are highly effective? -Gold Calling

Well just now having googled B2B and B2C and figuring out that they mean Business to Business and Business to Consumer (still not completely certain about this last) helps a lot in my revelations.

I sell primarily to business owners worksite products. Cold calling here in Hawaii gives you a limited market area and often you wind up crossing over others from AFLAC and sometimes other worksite marketers as well and sometimes you get pretty rude responses from the owners. That being a fact of life for me, I try to call 20 new businesses a day in geographic areas I'm going to be working in each week.

I learned over time that certain words work better than others when calling. Letting people know I'm calling about a worksite product works more effectively than saying that I'm calling about a voluntary benefit plan for their employees, for example. It also works better in the long run than obfuscation that is promoted by other managers... by obfuscation, I mean asking who handles the "catastrophic" program for the company" or other non specific references to get the appointment.

Asking for the appointment in order to get ones opinion on whether this would have a positive impact on his company or not is more apt to elicit an appointment rather than asking if I can show him how this plan might benefit his workers at no cost to him... and well.... nothing even if free is no cost to a business owner.

I'm pretty direct kinda guy when talking about insurance, and don't apologize for it. Asking an owner or gatekeeper a reality question for me is much more rewarding than hiding my real intentions till I get in front of the business owner and having him asking me "ok... what is this about again?" I and my kids are proud of what we do... unlike a lot of our colleagues who call themselves every manner of name other than insurance agent, and not unlike the rest, we wanna sell these bundles of cash or packets of money as Ben Feldman introduced, to as many folks as we can, and being upfront about it has worked for us.

This approach nets me about a 1-6 to 1-5 ratio of appointments to call, so now I have to figger out how to hone this to 1-2.5 and 1-3... something that happens to me very rarely.. but does happen along the way to an overall 1-5or6.

The FEAR factor we try to convert to For Every Action (a) Reward when dealing with the cold sweats we get prior to every battery of calls because I still get them, and my kids are bathed in them, but we get through it. Someone earlier mentioned the rush.. that is a very apt description. It's like stepping out of an airplane at 12,500 and being afraid of heights....lagh2;

Cold Calling... Love it.... now I guess we gotta work harder....

And Yes.... it really is GOLD CALLING....

Aloha.... shds; -rattus58

Gold...I prefer face to face cold calls and that is what I do more of and my appointment ratio is better face to face than on the phone but this is my script:

My name is Martha Prince and I am with WXYZ TV. I have done some research on your business and I have some ideas that I would like to discuss with you that could help to increase your business 10 to 15%. Is increasing your business something you may be interested in? (of course he is going ot say yes, so then I say)I have a 10 am on Tues or a 2pm on Thur which would be better for you ? -MPrince

I agree that face to face cold calls are best, but given the geography of my island it's not as productive for me timewise. I'm curious how when you use the number 10-15% how you come up with that number even given the research you offer that up? To save someone money I can appreciate if you know the products they have and you have your competitive intelligence down, but how do you measure increased sales? Just curious... :)

Aloha... shds; -rattus58

There are a number of reasons why - regardless of what we prefer - that both walking in and dialing them up both need to be mastered. Geography is the issue Rattus brought up ... simply being in the office waiting for a meeting, with time to kill is another reason for mastering picking up the phone.

I believe strongly in mastering all aspects of sales. -Gold Calling

If I sat around and waited on a call or a meeting I would go hungry...I work on commission and I raised four children and put them through college doing what i do now. That meant a lot of phone and F2F cold calls that turned into appointments.

So...

I totally agree in mastering all aspects of sales...I work in the Chattanooga, TN market so F2F cold calls are easier for me. My goal is 10 phone cold calls and 10 F2F cold calls daily. Of course, with my work load I am not always able to do that many and some days I am able to do more and some days I am not able to do any at all but that is the number that I am always trying to shoot for. What I am saying is that I agree that you must master the phone but I enjoy face to face much more and I am more comfortable there.

MP -MPrince

Well the bottom line is that every phone call to a prospect is expected to culminate in a face to face isn't it. If you can coldcall a face to face, you've cut out a step getting there, and one which the fortunes of the call could go either way, so a cold call face to face to me is a win win and if you are fortunate enough to be in an area that you can access economically, you are fortunate indeed.

I agree with both of you that good phone prospecting is crucial activity that should result in face to face, and that the face to face the goal of any prospecting so basically would one be wanting to get the basics down in order to do the advanced?

Aloha....shds; -rattus58

rattus, here is my reasoning and remember this has been after I have done research on the business and I know all that I can about that business such as, where he is advertising, how much he is spending, etc.

Now keeping with the rules of this forum this is my opinion. Keep in mind advertising is an investment. It should not be a cost to you and if it is done properly you WILL see a return on your investment. Statistically from my experience if you increase your advertising budget 10 % your overall sales should increase 10%. Of course then I have to make sure I come up with an advertising campaign that will increase his business. So far it has worked for me for many years.

rattus, I'm afraid I didn't have the luxury of the training that some of the wonderful sales people have had on this forum. In the beginning I couldn't afford to pay for it so I learned any way that I could. By reading books,videos, etc. That is why I love this forum so very much. I truly appreciate Ace, Gold Calling and many others on this forum for sharing their amazing knowledge so new sales people starting out can gain knowledge without having to pay for it. I am especially appreciative of Jeff for having a HEART for training.

MP -MPrince

If you keep up those numbers for a while, you will have so many meetings and f/ups that you simply can't keep them up. Good to hear - no great to hear. These are awesome numbers ...

Now, one thing that can be done is; when you reach a peak of prospects you are dealing with, you outsource the prospecting. Not saying we are interested but a firm like ours can keep you face-to-face (if they are good) and eliminate what normally happens, which is "peaks and valleys" or "feast and famine".

When a rep gets really busy, they can't keep prospecting. That leads to ups and downs in your numbers adn is very common. Outsourcing the prospecting at a stage when the money is flying in due to results from massive effort, this keeps the number of meetings up and pays for itself.

Good luck and keep battling, it is clear why you are a success. -Gold Calling

HI MPrince.... :)

That's interesting statistic you have... 10% for 10%. Does that work pretty much always.. Are you finding that our current economy is still providing that same increase or is the 10% keeping your clients business from losing 10 or 20%?

Aloha... Tom :cool: -rattus58

So far so good! The clients and I may have to get "more" creative but so far it is holding true. My biggest challenge is to convince the clients that in an economic downturn is not the time to cut back. It is the time to capture the market because so many of his competitors are cutting back now is the time to spend more.

Martha -MPrince

Hi... :)

"So far so good! The clients and I may have to get "more" creative but so far it is holding true. My biggest challenge is to convince the clients that in an economic downturn is not the time to cut back. It is the time to capture the market because so many of his competitors are cutting back now is the time to spend more. "

I find a similar situation in insurance, as times get harder the first thing to go is the insurance, and this is sometimes the worst thing to quit.. especially disability... life insurance... well you'll never know the darkness you'll leave behind....

Aloha... :cool: -rattus58

My comment is - not all products or services can be advertised. So, no, that cannot work in every company.

The obvious example is the company that does not have a local market or not much of one. If you make canoes you will sell them through retailers ... this kind of thing.

I don't know the advertising game in retail, I was in direct marketing for 9 years through my company networkmarketingnews.com. Loved it.

Anyway, I am not qualified to speak to advertising but calling prospects on the phone, that is a different matter. -Gold Calling

I know you are the best when it comes to the phone and that is where I struggle. I can do it but I don't like it. I guess we can't be good at everything.

It is very true that not all products or services need to be advertised and you have to know the difference or you will waste a lot of time going after the wrong people. The world of advertising can be a very complicated industry but all in all it has been very good to me and I have enjoyed my time in the business.

MP -MPrince

We can improve your skills. And it would mean a difference to your income - send me a PM if you are interested. Seriously! -Gold Calling

If you have heard about the biggest bushfires in Australia's history that have been raging in Victoria, 175 Dead, nearly 1000 homes destroyed, entire towns razed............

Australians that are "on the bones of their fanny's" are giving from their hearts, not their heads..........

One of my training associates highlights "educate your clients".

Everybody loves bad news, however, everyone loves to hear a David and Goliath story as well. -PiJiL

Notice when you are in fear -- who you are focused on? Um hum. .. yes, most likely you! It's okay. Just notice. Recommend you take the spotlight off of you and put it on your prospect or on the value of your product or service. You will be more present and powerful. Power is in the present.

Who is the hardest person to sell? Yes, it's you! Are you sold on you and your product or service? Notice the pros are so convinced of their value that they don't get caught up in the fear. Their value is far greater. They also have learned to detach from the outcome. When salespeople attach to the outcome, they identify with the negative.

I love what GOLD CALLING offered up on this one! (Not sure how to put his trademark in there). However, his post is a keeper!

Do a google search on Sales Call Reluctance. There are several resources for identifying and addressing this fear -- which is the fear of self-promotion. There are 12 types of Sales Call Reluctance. -Connie Kadansky

I've not looked into this, but whether one or 12, does it really matter? In MY OPINION the prescription is probably the same.

Physical therapy for muscles that have atrophied due to sickness or inactivity is pretty much the same, and the muscles rehabilitate. In my OPINION, making calls is like physical therapy... mind therapy maybe... :) If you just do it, and I agree with you about the focus on me versus the focus on the call is probably the worst thing you can do for overcoming call reluctance.



Aloha.... :cool: -rattus58

Nice thing to say Connie, thanks.

My experience from having coached a lot of prospectors is fear of rejection, fear of failure & (commonly) fear of the unknown are part of this is various people - each person being slightly unique.

Training and immediate application of this training eliminates the level of rejection. The fear of failure diminishes and the unknown becomes known.

Training is the key. As long as it is applied right away so that it sticks. Practice what you learn, then apply it everyday ... your retention rate will increase. Your skills will improve and everything will get better.

Then you can master prospecting, the most misunderstood sales practice. -Gold Calling