Are you nervous, concerned, or anxious about cold calling or approaching?

14 years ago

This is very true. If you think that these business owners are bigger than you, automatically you will feel inferior and think that you are not capable of delivering.

Just imagine or even pretend that you are already a successful businessman selling your services to them. (even if you are a newbie)

This is important to gain the confidence you need to deal with these people. Because the moment you are not confident of yourself because of being new or maybe its your first potential customer, you will trigger a signal to them that you are not a professional person that they can trust on.

If they don't trust you how can they trust what you are selling?

Use your knowledge to gain leverage on them and be confident of yourself.
As long as your intention in contacting them is honest you have nothing to worry.

With practice, you will become better and all these people meeting and conversing with them will be very easy just like conversing to your best friends or family members.

Qamar

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dancorkill 14 years ago

Business owners need good IM people. There are millions more businesses than good IM people. Once you realize/internalize this there is no need to pretend.

They literally do need you much more than you need them.
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Warrior Ben

14 years ago

You are spot on about this. For people who have weak self-esteem and are in constant need of other people's approval, then sales is probably not for them. You are going to get "rejected" more times than "accepted" and that is just part of the game.

I've found that the best way to get over the fear of cold calling is to just bite the bullet and start making calls. It is intimidating and scary when you first start, but once you work out a script that works for you, you'll start setting appointments and getting sales. When you have a full understanding of the sales cycle you'll keep on cold calling to keep your pipeline filled with prospects.

Although I've heard some sales "experts" say that cold calling is not a numbers game, I've found this to be used as a pitch to sell their own sales advice. The reality is that sales is a numbers game. The more businesses you contact the more sales you will make. It's not rocket science, but it does take persistence.

-Ben

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Justin Chaschowy

14 years ago

cold calling and meetings are actually fun for me.

probably the easiest part actually, talking to successful people, learning about various businesses, feeling very important and useful simply for having your talents recognized and knowing you can help these business owners tremendously.

the hard part for me is working my ass off for these people who have instilled trust in me and give me a big monthly paycheck.

GO GET IT!

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Rocket Media

14 years ago

Absolutely. As long as you are honest and offering a REAL service... then it literally is a numbers game.

What if I told you that you are going to make a $15,000 web design and SEO sale on your 483rd cold call? What if I GUARANTEED IT? I bet you'd get right to work.

Well here's something that I can guarantee... if you make 483 cold calls and are providing a legitimate service, you will be VERY, VERY busy.

Maybe your first 20 calls will be pathetic and you had no chance of closing... at least you now have 20 calls of experience under your belt. After each call you will learn something new. Maybe you said something and the person instantly came back with an objection and hung up... well guess what? That's exactly what you don't do next time!

Make 20 calls and now you have learned 20 calls worth of experience.

We are all born to succeed, we just have to focus on the correct goal and not block the path to the goal with anxiety and stress.

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Tuffy22

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Rocket Media

Absolutely. As long as you are honest and offering a REAL service... then it literally is a numbers game.

What if I told you that you are going to make a $15,000 web design and SEO sale on your 483rd cold call? What if I GUARANTEED IT? I bet you'd get right to work.

Well here's something that I can guarantee... if you make 483 cold calls and are providing a legitimate service, you will be VERY, VERY busy.

Maybe your first 20 calls will be pathetic and you had no chance of closing... at least you now have 20 calls of experience under your belt. After each call you will learn something new. Maybe you said something and the person instantly came back with an objection and hung up... well guess what? That's exactly what you don't do next time!

Make 20 calls and now you have learned 20 calls worth of experience.

We are all born to succeed, we just have to focus on the correct goal and not block the path to the goal with anxiety and stress.

Really well said Rocket Media. Cold calling sometimes feels like it's not working, but when you match up the close rate percentages compared to some alternative methods, it really does work. Thick skin is needed, but once you get your pitch down, it really becomes a numbers game. You'll have a good idea that for every 500 calls, you'll make X number of sales. That makes the "no's" much easier to live with. Good luck!

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Jacob Anthony

14 years ago

Very good thread here guys and I totally agree with what's being said here. It is most definitely a numbers game. When you start cold calling you have to remember that YOU are the expert and that by calling them, you are actually doing them a favour.

I found that most people's anxieties are based on the fear of objections. So here's what I do:

Firstly look at my pitch and try to pick out any obections I can see myself and work on those.

I then roleplay with a friend to see what objections they give.

I then start to make calls and take note of any objections tha arise from that.

Also my calls are recorded (which you can do if using skype) so that I can play back my pitch and conversation to see what improvements can be made to my tone and pace of the pitch as thesecan all effect your performance.

Making sure you can pre-empt any objections in this way will make you sound more confident and improve your sales.

Oh and by the way, the more calls you do the easier it gets... trust me!!

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Julie851977

14 years ago

I agree with doing role playing with friends or family that has helped me.

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Rocket Media

14 years ago

All sales jobs I've had they've made me do role playing.

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link82

14 years ago

Absolutely nervous because I want to start cold calling on Tuesday or Wednesday. I need to practice. I plan on writing down any questions the business owners might have and preparing myself for the answers.

I'm sure it'll be brutal. Starting off, how many calls did you make on a daily basis? And how many customers did you score in your first month?

Very nervous but excited as well. Great post, Rocket Media.

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Rocket Media

14 years ago

Originally Posted by link82

Absolutely nervous because I want to start cold calling on Tuesday or Wednesday. I need to practice. I plan on writing down any questions the business owners might have and preparing myself for the answers.

I'm sure it'll be brutal. Starting off, how many calls did you make on a daily basis? And how many customers did you score in your first month?

Very nervous but excited as well. Great post, Rocket Media.

When I started I landed my first client when I did a direct mail campaign to 30 businesses. It had awful copy but I got one call and closed the sale for a $750 website.

My first month I got 4 clients but no recurring income because they were all web design only. Ive come a long way in legitimitizing my business and offering a variety of services.

My plan is to create a REAL business with proper invoicing, merchant account, quickbooks, and recurring income coming in. Then I want to either sell the business for a 6-figure payday or sell my client acquisition and other techniques as a coaching plan.

That's how you get rich with consulting. It's simply too difficult and time consuming for me to turn this into a million dollar business. But all you need is viable proof that you can teach someone how to replicate your methods and that along with public speaking ability and will make you a millionaire. Oh and read psycho cybernetics. That book has the ability to turn anybody into a millionaire.

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bradmarcus1

14 years ago

Well said Rocket Media. As one of my mentors told when it comes to cold calling and contacting people- "There's fear but no anger!" The worst that can happen is you get yelled at or hung up on. So what, that's nothing. Life is short, think about the potential money you can make!

To Your Success,
Brad Marcus

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IMWinner

14 years ago

Setting an appointment to business owners and talking to them and offer deals with them is the part where nervousness and anxiety comes in. Based on my personal experience, I was with a friend of mine who owns a store and that he was approached by an agent who offered my friend that he will provide him a website for his products.
It is not that easy to really convince a person to really invest some money to a person whom you just met and gave him your trust. Although we all know that the agent just wanted to earn some money by providing services to my friend, but it is not that easy. Both parties should come up with an agreement and both sides should be satisfied with the offerings on both sides.

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Wendy Jacobson 14 years ago

Ah yes, cold calling. A necessary evil, but a worthwhile experience. Actually, I am taking a break from the calls now and thought I would throw in my two cents.

I used to work for a sales training company, and working for them taught me how to sell. But really, don't think of it as selling. You want to educate your prospect and uncover NEEDS that s/he has that you can provide a solution for. The best way to do this is to quickly build rapport and ask a lot of questions.

But before you do that, before you contact someone for the first time, you need to figure out your COMMITMENT OBJECTIVE. In other words, what are you 'selling' in that first conversation? Are you calling to request a meeting, their attendance to a webinar, or an actual sale? Whatever it is you want your prospect to commit to is your commitment objective. Each stage in the sales cycle will require you to determine a commitment objective. Each time you speak with your contact as you moves the sales cycle forward, you need to know what you want them to commit to at the end of the conversation. This will keep you and the sales process on track.

After you have that down, take a deep breath, pick up the phone, SMILE and have fun! And realize the more calls you make, the easier it gets.
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- PleaseHelpMe 14 years ago
  
  When I worked daily with sales calls I differentiated the steps in the process. with my product it usually took a process of several points of contact before the sale arrived.
  
  Lets take, for example, a software product that helps network engineers.
  
  First contact: To offer them something of value for free; demo cd; white paper, etc... My goal is not to close a sale. example: Hi John, this is Joe from XXX, Hey just giving you a quick ring, this is not a sales call, we wanted to to send out a latest white paper to you, etc... Is this the correct address?.... okay great....Would you like us to send out any other specific info related to issue you may be interested in...bandwidth issues, crc errors, new routers...[pause-don't say a word]? (at this point, sometimes, they might reveal a pain, or they say no)....
  the point of the is call,however, is to offer them something of value, and if possible, to tailor it to their problem/pain.
  
  Second contact: They receive the item... Sometimes they might contact you.
  
  Third contact: Hi John, this is Joe from XXX, wanted to make sure you got the XXX that we sent out to you...
  
  Etc. I think the main point of all of this is the following: your time is valuable and so is their time. I always tried to have something of value to offer them. I some sense the offer of something to them is simply the excuse I needed to call and cultivate the relationship (and to follow up with them).
  Of course in the online world, a free e-book would be a similar example.
  
  If they ask a hard question to which I do not know the answer, then I say I don't know but I know an expert who does (push hold), transfer in the expert to answer the question.
  
  It is truly is a numbers game. Set minimum goals (i.e. minimum of 50 calls per day or 5 qualified leads with a sufficient rating).
  Minimum of x number of referrals.
  At times I had fun "disqualifying" folks from my list. In other words I wanted to sift out the non prospects. Sometimes how you look at it changes the attitude.
  
  At times we must battle fear or laziness.
  Part of the battle is having a good game plan, being able to execute it well on the phone in the few seconds you have. Another part picking up the phone consistently.
  
  There have been several times when due to the fact that I happened to call the prospect at the right time, a sale quickly ensued. They had a crisis and I called just at the right time. If we never make calls this can never happen.
  
  Thanks
  
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Rocket Media

14 years ago

It's definitely the easiest to just try and set an appointment with the first call.

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Deidra Renee

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Rocket Media

It's definitely the easiest to just try and set an appointment with the first call.

Ok, now I've NEVER done face to face meetings. So let's say I set an appointment with a client to discuss building him a website. What exactly am I doing in the meeting (or bringing?) I mean can't I explain all this over the phone? Basically, what is the meeting for (other than getting the check lol) I was thinking of showing them an example of a website via my smartphone, but what else would you do in this type of meeting?

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Rocket Media

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Deidra Renee

Ok, now I've NEVER done face to face meetings. So let's say I set an appointment with a client to discuss building him a website. What exactly am I doing in the meeting (or bringing?) I mean can't I explain all this over the phone? Basically, what is the meeting for (other than getting the check lol) I was thinking of showing them an example of a website via my smartphone, but what else would you do in this type of meeting?

Invest in a laptop or an iPad. If you are just getting started and want to close 80%+ of your in person meetings you should spend a few hours building an ACTUAL site and mobile version of the site for the person you're having the meeting with. It's a potential $1k-5k sale. That way you head into the meeting with something that they can visually see completed. Removes the social proof of them wondering if you'll actually come through or if your portfolio is real!

"So how much is this gonna cost me to get started?" -biz owner
"Well, let me show you everything that I've done for you so far and we can talk about price," you say.
yada yada yada you show him what you've done and he's impressed!
"Okay so NOW how much????"
"A check for $2700 and I can have this transferred right to you and then code your mobile version in the next 24 hours and all you have to do is sign this proposal! Then we can schedule an appointment to fill out this questionnaire that will take 30 minutes or so if you're interested in getting more business with your new website." (that's where you'd sell them SEO, PPC, rep management, social media management)

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Deidra Renee

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Rocket Media

Invest in a laptop or an iPad. If you are just getting started and want to close 80%+ of your in person meetings you should spend a few hours building an ACTUAL site and mobile version of the site for the person you're having the meeting with. It's a potential $1k-5k sale. That way you head into the meeting with something that they can visually see completed. Removes the social proof of them wondering if you'll actually come through or if your portfolio is real!

"So how much is this gonna cost me to get started?" -biz owner
"Well, let me show you everything that I've done for you so far and we can talk about price," you say.
yada yada yada you show him what you've done and he's impressed!
"Okay so NOW how much????"
"A check for $2700 and I can have this transferred right to you and then code your mobile version in the next 24 hours and all you have to do is sign this proposal! Then we can schedule an appointment to fill out this questionnaire that will take 30 minutes or so if you're interested in getting more business with your new website." (that's where you'd sell them SEO, PPC, rep management, social media management)

Thanks, and I actually do have a laptop, didn't know if I should bring it or not..but thanks for the advice!

Thanks

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Justin Chaschowy

14 years ago

Deidra, the client doesn't care about your talents or the website itself, they care about what it can do for their business specifically. Showing them previous design examples or mockups isn't necessary in my opinion. You are trusted to know what you're doing in that aspect and being capable to do all the building without their approval on design issues. You don't need to explain the aesthetics or process of the method, just the end results. You're a saleswoman not an educator, remember that.

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SarahRose

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Justin Chaschowy

Deidra, the client doesn't care about your talents or the website itself, they care about what it can do for their business specifically. Showing them previous design examples or mockups isn't necessary in my opinion. You are trusted to know what you're doing in that aspect and being capable to do all the building without their approval on design issues. You don't need to explain the aesthetics or process of the method, just the end results. You're a saleswoman not an educator, remember that.

I think you have a point. In my experience, I showed samples but prospect wasn't going to go ga ga over that. They kept asking "How can this help bring in new customers for me?"

Thanks
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Joshua Morris

14 years ago

Originally Posted by SarahRose

I think you have a point. In my experience, I showed samples but prospect wasn't going to go ga ga over that. They kept asking "How can this help bring in new customers for me?"

Yep, thats truly the secret...

SELL THE BENIFITS, NOT THE FEATURES..

The customer wants to know that it will "MAKE THE SALES"

So instead of saying "we have a backlink package from 9000 sources and a network of High pr power links and an article syndication software that will boost you in the rankings"
you say "Our marketing package will massively increase your sales and bring you more customers"

They dont really understand the features anyway, so when you talk about features alot, they tend to ask many questions related to the features..... some might take this as "interest", but in fact its "confusion", and "distrust".

They think that you are filling them with jargon talk because you are actually selling a scam, and they become less trusting.

So sell the benifits, i.e, what they will get out of the features, and if they ask for details you can then give them some details.

If they ask for details, make sure you list a feature, WITH a benifit attached..

So if they ask, "how are you going to boost traffic to my site"

you can say "This marketing package will undercut your competition in a way that will help you climb the search engines which will BOOST SALES DRAMATICALLY"..

Then if they say, "what is the marketing package".... (they are really asking for features now)
you can say something like "It consists of backlinks which is a method of gaining IMPORTANCE to google, and will increase your ranks, which will BOOST SALES)

See how you are listing features in a very broad and easy to understand way, but always topping it off with a benefit so they can see the importance.

Btw, if they ever ask "what are backlinks"... i hate this questions,
then just say "links from other sites to yours, there are many different types, its quite a complicated process, but the aim is to GET YOU MORE SALES"....

Josh

Thanks
1 reply

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Rocket Media

14 years ago

Originally Posted by drummer05

Yep, thats truly the secret...

SELL THE BENIFITS, NOT THE FEATURES..

The customer wants to know that it will "MAKE THE SALES"

So instead of saying "we have a backlink package from 9000 sources and a network of High pr power links and an article syndication software that will boost you in the rankings"
you say "Our marketing package will massively increase your sales and bring you more customers"

They dont really understand the features anyway, so when you talk about features alot, they tend to ask many questions related to the features..... some might take this as "interest", but in fact its "confusion", and "distrust".

They think that you are filling them with jargon talk because you are actually selling a scam, and they become less trusting.

So sell the benifits, i.e, what they will get out of the features, and if they ask for details you can then give them some details.

If they ask for details, make sure you list a feature, WITH a benifit attached..

So if they ask, "how are you going to boost traffic to my site"

you can say "This marketing package will undercut your competition in a way that will help you climb the search engines which will BOOST SALES DRAMATICALLY"..

Then if they say, "what is the marketing package".... (they are really asking for features now)
you can say something like "It consists of backlinks which is a method of gaining IMPORTANCE to google, and will increase your ranks, which will BOOST SALES)

See how you are listing features in a very broad and easy to understand way, but always topping it off with a benefit so they can see the importance.

Btw, if they ever ask "what are backlinks"... i hate this questions,
then just say "links from other sites to yours, there are many different types, its quite a complicated process, but the aim is to GET YOU MORE SALES"....

Josh

Nice post. Attaching benefits to features when selling is KEY. No one cares about the technical side of stuff, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE FOR. These guys just want to hear about and see the benefits

Thanks

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Deidra Renee

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Justin Chaschowy

Deidra, the client doesn't care about your talents or the website itself, they care about what it can do for their business specifically. Showing them previous design examples or mockups isn't necessary in my opinion. You are trusted to know what you're doing in that aspect and being capable to do all the building without their approval on design issues. You don't need to explain the aesthetics or process of the method, just the end results. You're a saleswoman not an educator, remember that.

I was wondering if it was THAT important. I mean it would be nice just for them to see something visual and it is possible since I do have a laptop, but I was also thinking I could get their email address before I go to the meeting and just send some samples over if they wanted them. But I was thinking that basically me explaining how the website (and some upsells

) would benefit their business then that should be enough. I'll probably try both ways..with the laptop and samples and without and see what works best. Thanks!

Thanks

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trevorhickey

14 years ago

I agree with that statement except I don't think you should be cocky. I cold call quite a bit and if you want to have the confidence you will need for longevity, in cold calling, you can't afford to act like you're the best, then get shot down every time.

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carmack

14 years ago

All right, you guys have inspired me. I will start doing cold calls on Monday. I'll just look at it as I have to get through 100 to get a sale, and then it will be much easier mentally.

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Deidra Renee

14 years ago

Originally Posted by carmack

All right, you guys have inspired me. I will start doing cold calls on Monday. I'll just look at it as I have to get through 100 to get a sale, and then it will be much easier mentally.

Keep us updated with your results please. I would recommend you go and read Warrior Ben's thread *The reason you hate cold calling is because you're lousy at it* He talks about setting an appointment instead of selling over the phone. You may want to try that way first (depending on what you're selling) Good Luck!

Thanks

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Are you nervous, concerned, or anxious about cold calling or approaching?

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