Your WORST Cold Calling Experience

10 years ago

The worst that can happen is that the person who answers the phone screams at you "WHY DID YOU CALL ME?", adds various descriptive names, threatens you and then slams the phone down in your ear.

Well, this is not rejection. That person doesn't know you at all.

And it hardly ever happens. I did answer a call once from a guy who watched my free stuff, made one dial and had a negative experience. I calmed him down and told him it was unlikely something like that would happen again in the next two years.

People who are nasty instantly qualify themselves out. GREAT! I would so much rather find out that they're not a fit NOW. I laugh at this behavior.

Nothing bad can happen to you on a prospecting call. You cannot be hurt. You can, however, allow yourself to get emotionally beaten up, or beat yourself up. Don't allow it. Imagine the circumstances that have made this person so nasty--they above anyone are likely to most need your help, and it's too bad that they are closed off to it. Laugh at their childish behavior, feel sorry for them for a moment, and then move on. There are awesome prospects out there to have meaningful conversations with.

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Rearden

10 years ago

After my introduction and request for an appointment, the c*cksucker on the end of the line said,

"You mean to tell me you can't call on me in person -- that's pathetic..,"

Of which I answered,

"No problem, sir, I can come on down right now to see you!" (Staying positive).

Naturally, he squirmed and said no after I stood up to his posturing, and I slammed the phone down on that moron before he hung up.

I can't remember any other cold calls that went bad. Most business owners are polite and straightforward, and understand you're in business just like they are, so as long as you're not a goober, you won't get chewed out.

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Claude Whitacre 10 years ago

I think the thread is silly. What's the absolute worst thing that can happen when you call a stranger? Maybe they yell at you. Maybe they don't want to talk to you. Nothing bad can really happen over the phone.

It's like "What's the worst thing that can happen when you play checkers?"

Oh, it's an unfair comparison...because you could actually choke on a checker, I suppose.

You are afraid to pick up the phone and call someone who doesn't know who you are?
.....Someone who couldn't hurt you if they wanted to?

Wow.
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- TheCG 10 years ago
  
  The worst?
  
  Had a guy start railing on me about the "No Call List" and how I faced all these fines, jail, etc.
  
  I asked him if he was familiar with the difference between B2C & B2B?
  
  "Besides," I said. "You can't scare me. I have been divorced."
  
  He hung up.
  
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  1 reply
  
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  Yes, by the way, I AM in the Witness Protection Program. I could tell you who I am but then I would have to kill you.
  
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  RichBeck 10 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by TheCG
  
  "Besides," I said. "You can't scare me. I have been divorced."
  
  I love it!
  
  Thanks
  
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Rearden

10 years ago

The worst that can happen is robocalling B2C and getting fined.

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eClicker

10 years ago

Real life for the most part when I have tried cold calling in the past has never been as bad as I imagined. The worse I have gotten is "...not interested..."

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shane_k

10 years ago

The worst thing that can happen is all the time that you waste making no money at all because of feeling fear and worrying about what you think might happen.

In that situation you will be broke and feeling that fear.

And since you are going to probably feel that fear and worry anyway, you might as well take action and possibly make some sales.

Cause then you will be better off cause you will have some money and some fear. Instead of no money and fear.

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PanteraIM

10 years ago

Why do you want to hear bad things? Won't that make your anxiety worse?

As most people have said, there's a bout a 0.1% chance of someone being truly abusive towards you over the phone. Some people are rude yes, but the vast majority are polite.

You really have nothing to worry about.

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Eddie Spangler

10 years ago

Dont listen to the advice in this thread because THIS is what could
happen to you from someone on the other end of the line!

Killed by a telephone (subtitles) - YouTube

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TheCG

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler

Dont listen to the advice in this thread because THIS is what could
happen to you from someone on the other end of the line!

Killed by a telephone (subtitles) - YouTube

Yeah...that would be bad.

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Paul Moss

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler

Dont listen to the advice in this thread because THIS is what could
happen to you from someone on the other end of the line!

Killed by a telephone (subtitles) - YouTube

OMG, so funny.

My worse experience was talking to someone for about 10 minutes, they were raving about how they wanted to buy my product for all the stores and were very enthusiastic. But when it came down to closing them, they said "Oh you will need to talk to my Manager he handles all the buying".

Always make sure you speaking to the decision maker in sales lol.

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CPAInter

10 years ago

To be honest, receiving cold calls is an absolute nuisance and extremely irritating, so you can hardly blame them if they give you a bad reaction.

However, if you are adamant to do this, remember that you'll get insulted, but nothing more. That's the worst thing that can happen.

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ADRD

10 years ago

Just gotta' deal with these people (note: by swiftly terminating the call), and move on.

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CreekChub 10 years ago

You may have asked the wrong question, but I think I understand what you meant. Here's the thing:

Cold calling is easy - IN COMPARISON TO - doing the same thing in person. There is only so much a prick can say before you hang up. Tough to get off so easy in person. Here's my experience:

Once I was old enough to have a "real" job (i.e. not picking up rocks in farmers fields and the like) I started waiting tables. Went to college and worked part time in call centers and the like. In the summers I sold "steak" door to door out of the back of a small pickup truck. It was a racket, but I made good money for a kid. After college I joined the Peace Corps to go save the world, and came back a 23 YO man with a young wife in tow. I needed money, and didn't have a lot of time to play around at it. So... I figured I would go with what I knew. I got a job selling cars.

I did that for about 3 months, and was reasonably successful. I left for a better opportunity, which brings me to your thread:

The "opportunity" was becoming a mortgage loan officer. You know what sold me on it, aside from the money? EVERYTHING was over the phone. I had sold meat door to door, and most recently had been selling cars to people face to face who most often only wanted to go for a joy-ride, if that. Much of the rest of the time, they wanted nothing to do with the sales process I was trying to force down their throat, and had no problem letting me know it. One or two a day actually bought a car, which I thought was pretty OK.

When the HR guy at the "opportunity" told me I would be making phone calls to drum up leads, all I could think of was: the phone, really? I get to sit behind a desk and make PHONE calls all day, and you'll pay me?

You see, it's all about perspective. I suppose that making phone calls to prospective clients could be considered difficult if you're hiding under a blanket in your mothers basement all day, but as work (even sales work) goes, it could be a whole lot worse. I'm not a cold call guy, and never will be. I don't like it for a number of reasons, and don't think it's the best solution FOR ME at this point.

That said, it's the fastest and easiest way to make $$$ if you have something to sell. Period. It's also a hell of a lot "easier" than doing the same thing face to face. If you're ever sitting there staring at your phone, filled with anxiety, I would highly suggest that you go get a job - even if just for a week - selling cars or doing something door to door. You'll be ready to attack the phone when you're done, and you may even have picked up a couple of skills to make you better at it.
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DaniMc

10 years ago

The worst experience has only been in my mind.

Honestly... It has never been that bad.

Stop thinking. Start calling.

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isosales

10 years ago

The worst cold calling experience is the call you didn't make because you were afraid of rejection/opposition.. Stay strong, friend.

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AndrewCavanagh

10 years ago

Is it just me or does anyone else think focusing on all the "bad" things
that might happen to you is really not good for your psyche?

Honestly just get into action and do it and invest more time in thinking
of ways to get more sales, get better sales and to bring in more qualiified
prospects you can get in touch with.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

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arkina

10 years ago

The worst thing that happens is the person yells at you and they are in the middle of a crisis like a death in the family, that makes you feel awful.

Almost all cold calling experiences are bad. You fail to get a sale MOST of the time. However, when it DOES work it feels SOOO GOOD!! You get to have that "Yes!" moment and all the hang ups, aggravations, and awkward moments are now worth it.

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DaniMc

10 years ago

Originally Posted by arkina

The worst thing that happens is the person yells at you and they are in the middle of a crisis like a death in the family, that makes you feel awful.

Almost all cold calling experiences are bad. You fail to get a sale MOST of the time. However, when it DOES work it feels SOOO GOOD!! You get to have that "Yes!" moment and all the hang ups, aggravations, and awkward moments are now worth it.

Wow - I have never, ever had experiences that intensely negative. In fact, almost every single one of my calls are pleasant.

If you are angering and offending a lot of people...maybe there is a problem in your approach.

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kenmichaels

10 years ago

I think threads like this are pointless so i wasnt going to respond.

Then I saw this ....

Originally Posted by arkina

Almost all cold calling experiences are bad. You fail to get a sale MOST of the time. However, when it DOES work it feels SOOO GOOD!! You get to have that "Yes!" moment and all the hang ups, aggravations, and awkward moments are now worth it.

You need training. Back to the basics. Learn the craft properly
and the next time you read what you wrote, you will cringe
from embarrassment.

Those three lines tell me, you need to forget just about everything you have "learned"

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CurtisSWN

10 years ago

This thread is irrelevant, it's like asking what was the worst thing that happened one day when you got out of bed? Stuff happens, deal with it.

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Rbtmarshall

10 years ago

Cold calling is something I would never do, its shameful. So I;'ll give you my most recent cold call from the receivers end

a week or so ago, I answer the phone since the number was local, I've seen this number on missed calls many times in the past month or two with no messages left.. You know how you can tell immediately it's from a hot tank call center once you hear the background chatter,etc.

they started their pitch, I tried to cut in, but he kept on going. I despise these kind of people, he addressed himself as the energy company. said he has my current bill on his screen to make it seem like it was 'official'. then he said " I see your current bill is around $200 for the month. I laughed and said " I wish it was" he said " maybe I have the wrong account pulled up, how much is it a month?" I said about 5 times that, he went on to say "Ok now I have it up". I asked if he could give me the account number. he started fast talking avoiding that question trying to sell me solar panels in conjunction with "the energy company".

at this point I wanted to basically tell him to **** off, but I wanted to do this politely and I asked "could you please remove me from your call list". he told me "how about I add you to the list to call 100 times a day instead". then I said " how about I report your company to the FTC". he hung up. but I still got calls, instead of once per day, it went to 2 or 3 times per day.

then i started searching for call blockers. I realized the phone system I have has this feature. Now I see that caller blocked about 5 times per day, it rings about a half ring then immediately hangs up on them.. Wow what a fun feature. just since last week, I've added 3 more cold callers to that list.

I did report the caller to the FTC @ https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.go...d.aspx?Lang=en , and have been on the do not call list for years.

so yeah, F cold callers

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DaniMc 10 years ago

Originally Posted by Rbtmarshall

Cold calling is something I would never do, its shameful.

LOL. :rolleyes:
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laurencewins

10 years ago

The WORST call I ever made... I rang and a female answered the phone. I asked for Mr. Smith (or whatever his name was) and she said I can't talk to him.
I asked if there was a better time to call back.
She said no... because he has just died.

I was speechless, apologetic and hung up the phone.

That single call had more impact on me than any other 50 bad calls all lumped in together.

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rafsco

10 years ago

I never had bad experiences. As a matter of fact people are often open to talk to me. Just be friendly and don't read from a script. Be friendly and sincere, they will appreciate that. And don't hide the fact that you want to sell them something, go straight to the point "can I send you a price?".
Good luck

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Kreator517

10 years ago

I doubt anything could possibly top this:

BT Telemarketer Encounters Consumer At His Last...

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bsummers

10 years ago

The worst thing that can happen is being shout and cursed at but that is common. You are calling someone who does not know you of course this is expected. Expect it, take it and move on.