I am too scared to cold call!

Practice by creating a script and talking to yourself in a quiet room and then work on making your script sound more natural.

Don't be afraid to make calls. You can probably do about 300 a day if you really put your mind to it.

Matt: Your expectations are too high. If you cold call a compiled list, and sell 1%? You're doing phenomenally well. And, by the way, your first 50 calls sucked, so they don't count.

Think of it as a gold mine. Even the richest ore is 99% dirt. Your job isn't to sell, your jobs to disqualify the non-buyers as quickly as you can.

The way to make a ton of money with a gold mine? Dump everything that isn't gold, as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Imagine a gold miner saying "I've sifted through 50 buckets of dirt, and not one bucket of gold yet". You would think the man is insane.

You are in the sifting business. You're in the selling business after you get an interested lead.

Something I should bring up. Cold calling to sell a $50 service is going to kill you. Imagine making 10 phone calls. How much do you have to profit to talk to 100 people? If the answer is less than you make on a sale...keep going.

By the way, you aren't calling fast enough. If you have an autodialer like Callfire.com, your calls will be much faster, and you'll be too busy to think about each "no" as anything other than a minute more until the next "Yes".

By the way, if you only make $200 on a sale? sell something else. I don't call unless it's worth the aggrivation.

Man, you are way off with your expectations.

Start with some numbers here and the move on to methods.

I'll bet you didn't get "rejected"; you didn't even have conversations.

READ THIS >>> http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...t-selling.html <<<

It'll fix you up and get you where you want to go.

Thank you for the responses guys! You're right, my expectations are too high. The problem is me: I'm too much of a chicken. I'm just used to studying - you know, just study once or twice and get results. Doesn't translate well to the real world, I guess.

Ripster: Thanks, doing it now.

Aduttonator: You're right. Have to motivate myself.
temlawn: Yeah...ah well, I chose this path.

Eddie: Haha yeah, I sound like dweeb. Thanks, I'm gonna keep trying.

Claude: The service is around $100 a month and $1000 a year. Is it worth it?

Jason: Thank you for the thread, kind sir.

Is you are admittedly super-shy why work against yourself by choosing a field that requires you to interact with people heavily, face rejection etc,.? Why not play to your strengths more?

1. Try to mix in what you enjoy with your cold calling, such as I like music so I have it playing in a low volume in between each call, so low that the prospect can't hear it and I have a headset. The volume automatically goes up when the call ends.

2. The thing that got me to do it consistently was committing to a time frame, like 30 days or 90 days etc. Where you make a commitment to do it consistently every day for that period of time without exception. The trick is once that time period is up it won't bother you anymore. Just like an exercise program that's 60 days by the time its over you can do situps and pushups like a crazy person. Commitment is key.

3. Create a group of nothing but prospects that you would LOVE to have as clients, that was a big thing for me, when I started filtering out and only creating lists of people I would love to do business with, that way you know any sale from that group could change your life. As opposed to just a list of prospects half of which could be broke and be able to afford you. It makes it exciting when you have a list of huge companies that can pay you HUGE amounts as the result of a sale.

4. Hypnosis can also work, I have used it in the past for certain things but its a personal choice, I know that it works well if your have the mindset to let it work. There are plenty of hypnosis tapes you can listen to that will put you in the right mindset to take on a challenge you may fear.

5. Read as many sales books that you can possibly find, then re-read them. Over time you will know what to do in every situation thus you won't be afraid when the situation comes. Knowledge+Practice creates confidence.

The biggest thing is repetition, and the previous post... "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain"

Come up with as many ways as you can to make it not as unpleasant, as many ways as you can think of to make it enjoyable or make it something you can at least stand to do on a daily basis.

I struggled with it at first as well, Hated being told NO, but now I do it every day.

The trick was utilizing all the things I suggested above, I wrote out every single way I could think of:

1. How can I make myself commit to becoming good at this?
2. How can I make my self commit to doing it daily?
3. How can I make myself ENJOY IT.

then immediately implement what you think of into your daily routine.

Then over time it just comes together.

so send a nicely written letter instead??

don't try to fit a circle in a square hole...

What are some of the objections you are getting?

How do you start the call and at what point are you getting rejected?

I get reminder phone calls and postcards from my dentist and I know alot of dentists still spend alot of staff time and money (i.e. postage) reminding people about appts, so there has to be a demand especially if you have a cheaper and easier option.

If you are getting rejected by the receptionist, then that is normal. Its not their money that is going out the window reminding people about appts. and they are accustomed to saying no to any sales call.

Maybe a well-crafted and targeted direct mail piece would be worth a try.

Seems no-one is addressing your inherent fear of talking to people, let alone cold calling.
Cold calling cold turkey is not your solution...

I've worked with tech related guys who would rather "converse" with their PCs than people.

If I were you, I'd rather hire someone to cold call on your behalf or use technology to your advantage.
Alternatively, you can hire someone from fiverr to make video presentations that will presell your offer... send those videos to your target market to start the conversation.

Other methods.. send a "trial version" of your software to your target market with something to the effect:

"Just thought you might be interested in using this software... this is what it can do, if you would like to get hold of the full version which does this... call me etc."

Cold calling is NOT for everyone, and telling an introvert to suck it up and start small on cold calling is definitely NOT the solution.

Use Craigslist or Facebook to search for conversations relating to your solution... then send an email.
Alternitively, get MANY Valpaks.... call valpak and ask for "samples" targeting different zipcodes.
You don't have to tell them you want to sell to them, just claim you want to advertise your business with them etc.

By the way, returns on Valpak are paltry, at best...
Groupon... that's another platform where you can find a TON of your audience seeking help..

These would be what you term your "warm leads" by the way... wink wink, nudge nudge..

Contrary to belief, cold emails, when done right, work.. I send emails all the time, and when a response call ensures, I'm always told the title of the email caught their attention first, and the content was just too unique or too funny... and they thought "I deserved" the courtesy of a phone call to hear more...

It's like applying for a job... when you know you've got competition applying as well as yourself, what does your application have to contain, to make sure the prospective employer calls you, and only you?
It's definitely NOT the contents of your resume, though this could become helpful when all applicants are bland...

Leverage on your strengths and, if TALKING one-on-one is NOT one of them, use the alternative.

Good luck.

dont COLD CALL, Call and ask to talk to the Owner of a business or person in charge of marketing and try to help them! Try to bring value . Selling is improving lives, And helping people grow!

Once you start to build up great clients that are happy to have you then your mindset will change. Basically you will walk away thinking that poor guy just missed a great opportunity :-)
It gets much easier as you go.
Good luck!

If you're too scared to do something that involves your business, you might as well just quit. Cold calling might be your issue today, but there will be a new issue tomorrow and the next day. Fear will destroy you.

Pay someone else to do it for you, a business owner doesn't do everything, or doesn't have to do everything, you should do what you do best and pay others to cover your weak areas . If you don't like cold calling, don't do it , use your time energies and skills wisely.
you can take loads of time practising and getting better (maybe though it seems unlikely if your hypothesis of yourself is true) , how much $$$ will that time cost you plus stress etc and you might still not get a sale V paying someone to deliver the results for you in a fraction of the time, stress free (relatively ) look even someone who is 30% effective is probably 50% more effective than you at present , youre fretting and stressing over the phone instead of standing back and working on your business and growing it.


Spend money to save time every time , you never get that time back, but you can always make more money

Man, it's pretty simple. You are just playing a game, you are taking it all too personally. All you are doing is talking to another human being. Cold calling sucks, but it is a really effective way of talking to people. Don't expect to sell on the first call, set up a call back. On the first call offer something for free. Give them some advice. It's really not that bad.

Take a look at this: http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ospecting.html

I hate cold calling... but it gets results if done right. You have to get past a "Gatekeeper" when you are calling folk in your target market and thay can be hard.

You need to create a script that is targeted to get past the Gatekeeper and on the phone with a decision maker. In a dentist office there is usually an office manager. That's who you need to sell to so you need to get her on the phone. She'll approach the actual doctor. You're never gonna get him on the phone with a cold call.

Make two calls... in day one collect info. Get the gatekeeper on the line and ask who the office manager us. Wait a day and call back and ask for her directly.

When they ask who you are just give your name, not your business name... your real name. The one yer mama gave you.

Be short and terse with the gatekeeper... she's nobody... take control and tell her you need to speak with the office manager about a private matter.

Once you get to a decision maker... then start your pitch.

Don't waste your time on the gatekeeper... you're goal is to push through and talk to someone in a position of authority.

Hope this helps... good luck...

You can alsi hire a pro as mentioned above. Pay them on a commission basis. No sales... no pay.

Most of the time, fear is the unrealistic negative expectation of something that is created in your MIND.

The only way to develop a new, realistic expectation from doing what you fear is to DO IT.

One day, you just need to go for it. I GUARANTEE you, your perspective will change from terrified, to "well, that wasn't so bad. what was I so scared of again?"

It's like going on a scary roller coaster for the first time. being forced by your friends and being surprised that you actually want to get on again rather than run away from it.

I had a fear of public speaking and even FAILED a class because I refused to do a presentation for a final grade. One day, I had a teacher who convinced me to do a presentation and the feeling was amazing and saddening because I had realized what I feared was so simple and stupid, but my FALSE reality created in my mind prevented me from doing what I had to.

There are some that aren't made for cold calling. If that is you, and you've talked yourself out of it, hire someone to do it for you. You depend on people to hire you to do what you're good at, and there are people out there that cold call and are good at it that you can hire. Focus on your strengths and use others for their strengths. It's how we all survive.

Wait until you are on a roll then get a mental break or get stuck. Like me right now. Ughh I am starting to hate working out of my house.

I think cold-calling sucks. Yep, some swear by it... I'd swear at it.

Plus I think it's obtrusive.

If it were me I would create a marketing funnel that avoids it.

Place ads... do direct mail... do something that encourages the prospect to raise their hand and then it becomes a warm-call. And you're viewed more like a welcome guest than an unwelcome pest.

If the people you are calling do not know who you are, how you look like, where you live, anything...then have a little fun! YOU CAN BE ANYONE to them. So don't look at it personally.

When you speak with them do you sound confident? or do you sound fearful and shy? That can play a part in your sales.

Just Go..and Go....

Cold calling sucks. It just does.

Along with my online stuff I own a traditional "brick and mortar" with my family. I went through the same problem you are having now.

No matter how many time I called, how man book I read, how many times I wrote "I love talking to people" on a piece of paper, I just got sick when I had to do cold calls.

I have two suggestions for you

1. While you are dealing with this issue, you may try direct mail to get your sales. There are a few things you can do with direct mail that are very effective (hint-look at the Gary Halbert Letter, just do a google search for it)

2. It turned out I had something called "Generalized anxiety disorder" that caused a lot of anxiety when it came to cold calling and other things in my life. It wouldn't hurt to get checked out. It is very common and very easily and afford-ably fixed. If this isn't the issue you just have to suck your gut in and get use to cold calling the old fasioned way...you just do it.

all the best to you

Get a job in a call center. It doesn't matter what they sell. You will learn how to sell there.

Don't think of it as giving up or joining the rat race. Just think about it as getting paid for going to school.

Peer pressure does wonder for cold calling fear.

Have you watched the Boiler Room lately?


gtownfunk

Have you checked out Outbounders.com for hiring someone to cold call for you?

cold calling is certainly something I don't like to do. For me --to get over cold calling fears I had to understand what I was actually fearing--was it the cold call - talking to someone I didn't know? Or was it the fear of being rejected?

Turns out it was the fear of being rejected. That's the root of your fear obviously as it is for so many others including myself. So what I did-- and forgive me if this is too "self-help weirdo stuff" for you..lol but what I did was understand what was actually happening in my brain whenever I cold called. What I came to understand was that my brain was just naturally reacting in "survivor mode"..so anytime you try something new or different your brain instantly links up that it's dangerous (in order to keep you safe) and makes you feel like not doing it. It's like the flight or fight thing.

Everyone gets that feeling--but once you do it consistently--it will go away.

In the meantime while you're feeling that way--just remind yourself that it's just an automatic response from your brain and work through it.

Watch something motivational before doing your calls to get you fired up. Remind yourself of your brain just trying to hold you back. Then make a goal to do 10 calls..then 15..then 20.

I've posted this video before--but it really made a difference for me--so I'm going to post it again--I hope that you watch it because it will help you understand your brain a bit more & hopefully help you get through your fear. It's called F---You How to Stop Screwing Yourself.

Also--this may be weird for you--but again--it's worked for me..a lot of celebs & musicians use it too to help them with stage fright..it's called Bach Rescue Remedy--makes you feel chill (it's a flower essence) try it before you make a call. (I am not a doctor by the way--so use it at your own risk)..lol

Just do it!

You've received great advice from Claude and Jason already, but a few thoughts came to mind that you may want to consider when trying to sell your services.

1) What offer are you making to these folks? I would think a free trial might be inexpensive enough for you to offer dentists as a local "marketing test" and then once they experience the benefits you're promising them, you hopefully have them for months or years to come.

2) Consider that if you're speaking first to a "gatekeeper" and trying to sell your appointment reminder services - that may be one of their jobs in the office and they're certainly not going to help you sell a service that could impact their job.

3) While cold calling and email can be effective promoting the right service (at the right price as Claude mentioned) I'm always amazed at high percentage of people that want to sell expensive services using the cheapest methods available.

Odd are good that spending $3-4 on a lumpy direct mail piece might get directly to your prospect and increase the chances you'll get a foot in the door, assuming the proposal you're making effectively communicates the benefits of doing business with you.

Good luck!

Steve

Awww, you remind me of myself. I've had severe social phobia and in the past and I was never able to pick up the phone. I became extremely nervous and trembled when I spoke in the phone with someone and I even hung up on occasions because I just couldn't take the nervousness. I'm pretty sure I overcame this already and I realized I was nervous all the time because I was just thinking negative things about myself and I always thought the worse. Here's what I suggest you do, for every negative thought you have about talking on the phone, think about 5 positive things . Show your fears that you are stronger than them and that you have will power and believe you can do it because you can !!! Cheers ! P.S : I know this may not be that helpful and I may not know much about cold calling and all that but I'm sure it helps even if it's just a little

Some good responses here - my 2 cents...

Play to your strength. If you WANT to overcome your fear of cold calling and develop yourself in that area of communication, a number of good resources have already been listed here. Practice at it a little each day and you will get better. BUT...
As has also been pointed out. No scalable business is a one man show. You may already hire out or use the services of others to provide certain parts of your service or business. If not, as you grow you will eventually as there are only so many hours in a day. So...,
concentrate on what you do best and consider outsourcing the parts you are weak at.
Use a professional to provide those parts - no different than hiring a bookkeeper, or an html coder, or a copywriter etc... Let someone who is good at landing appointments have a piece of the action and you concentrate on what you are good at. ~ Good Luck on your growth.

You have read a lot of truth here. Either figure it out, or find another line of work, to put it blunt. You have to do it long enough to get comfortable or hire someone else to do it.

I hire people to do the things I can't do well. Which is most of the stuff I need done. Cold calling sucks for most people. You either get used to it, or hire someone or find another way. I know you can do it, if you put your mind to it and screw them folks who say no, concentrate on the next person who will say yes.

Hi Mattesar

I know how you feel. I felt the exact same way when I started working in telesales quite a few years back and the one thing that someone told me which really helped was " stand up, smile and remember they cant see you"

Now I know its weird but standing up does make you sound more authoritative over the phone. People can sense if you are smiling or not as it DOES come across in your voice over the phone and the last bit about remember they can't see you - they don't know if you are in a suit or in shorts but if you sound professional or authoritative they subconsciously imagine you dressed appropriately.

I now work for myself and still to this day use that when I make calls - and it still WORKS for me

I hope my little motto helps

I use to be scared to call people, then I worked as a telemarketer for about two months making 300 calls a shift. I learned to not give two cents on rejection and just keep chugging along. If I turned around 6 customers out of 300 I was happy.

You said you are very shy so instead of seeing this as hard work, why don't you view this as a way to become a better person? Google "Rejection Therapy". It's a game where the goal is to be rejected so you don't view rejection as a failure anymore. This guy named Jia Jiang was doing this therapy for 100 days and he was surprised by how many people didn't rejected his weird requests. He made a TED Talk, appeared on Huffingtonpost and many others.

I do it for a living as a broker. In the beginning its tough. Keep at it. You will get that one call you make that lands the sale and your confidence will improve.

Take some advice: take a public speaking class. It will help.

Always remember: they dont know you, they dont know where you live and they cant hurt you on the other side of the phone. When you hang uo, its over. You'll never hear or see them again; unless you make a sale :-)

Another idea is to just hire a cold caller. Pay them enough and they'll make 20 calls an hour. Give them a 1-4 hour (or one day) trial and if they bring just one job you're rocketing.

Also, almost all my sales were really friendly on the phone, were thankful I called and were a pleasure to deal with. If a client is difficult to deal with on the phone they'll be difficult to deal with during the job and that's a bad situation to be in.

I'm here reading and doing. There's time for both. I just hope he "did" as well as "read". But even if we never see or hear from the OP ever again - this thread has been useful to many.