Is cold calling your biggest fear ?

If I ask you what is the biggest fear of a Salesperson what would you reply?

Cold calling! Yes. Most sales persons’ fear picking up the phone to make cold calls.

And do you know what they fear exactly? Let me tell you, they fear that the prospect is not receptive to their communication and will hang up on them. But as we say if nothing is ventured, nothing is gained. In other words, if you never try you will never know. So, pick up the phone!

There is no point to think in advance what is going to happen. When making calls, deep inside, the sales person is hoping that the prospect does not pick up.

The luckiest one will rely on the telemarketer or business development representative to pass them on leads. Even if they have help from them, it is essential to be active on the phone as well. Above all, you need cold calling to develop your pipeline and increase your chances of selling your products and services.

Here are some tips to minimise and improve your cold calling:   

• Schedule your cold call time: You need to arrange some specific time during the day for cold calling. Per a recent report the best times to call are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6:45 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. The worst times to call are Mondays from 6 a.m. to noon and Fridays in the afternoon.
• Do your homework: Do some researches and try to connect with the prospect on social media like LinkedIn. Learn about their interest on twitter. It will make the conversation easier.
• Be prepared: Make sure you prepare some good probing questions to uncover the prospect pain and an elevator pitch for each product. 
• Bring value: Let’s them do the talk - understand their need and help with their business problems. Once you find the need, it is important you show you can meet it by giving the benefit of your product or service. For that, you should link your offer to the prospect expressed need.
• Give them about specific examples: Some other cases like theirs where you demonstrate value.

What about you? Are you a real sniper when it comes to being active on the phone or do you fear picking up the phone?