5 Sales Techniques To Reduce Your Cold Calling Anxiety

Does picking up that telephone and talking someone scare you? Why's it that we are so afraid of making a "cold call"? Is it really true that the telephone has the power over us, when really it is only simply a tool to connect with others?

Why do a lot of people have a feeling of anxiousness and stress over picking up the telephone and just presenting a product or service over the phone? Well it's simply because they know in their mind that making calls simply "to close" a customer and having a hidden sales agenda is what upsets the person on the other line. It's this uncomfortable feeling that rejection might happen and that we are invading other people's lives that makes us paranoid to pick up the phone. This fear of rejection happens because some part of us knows that going straight for a meeting or for an order over the phone without any trust is unnatural. Would you go up to someone in a bar and say "Hi my name is……. Give me your number?" or "Hi my name is…………. And what I do is…………… Would It Be Okay If I I sign you up for a wonderful service I offer?" The answer is obviously "NO" because you understand that even in these kinds of meetings you won't be welcomed by anyone until you've made that trust and sense of comfort that would make someone want to listen. And this is where traditional sales wisdom fails us.

Thus naturally we have a feeling of anxiousness if we dump information and call on an unwary receiver and then ‘hope' that they will continue listening to us. Even though we know that it is creating unnecessary pressure and discomfort for the listener we still continue to do it this way. We should ask ourselves why this occurs. Well maybe we are just not truly looking at it from the receivers point of view and approaching it in a way that we can truly enter the receivers mind and be polite enough so that we may start the conversation and see how we can ‘assist' them as oppose to ‘sell' to them.
So if you honestly seek to get rid of your anxiety prior to picking up the phone, you must be able to remove their anxiety about talking to you. These are five important principles that will let you to do this:

1. BEING A CRITICAL VOLUNTEER:
You have to be consciously decide to come from a place of being a "Critical Volunteer"- Why are you calling this prospect? Simply to ‘close' somebody or to build a bond and connection that is very strong that they would feel comfortable purchasing from you. Furthermore, it is you, the salesperson who is choosing to talk to them. So it is as much your option to work with them as it's theirs to labor with you. Hence if you make a call and feel that this customer is a perfect fit for your organization and you act appropriately, that's absolutely okay, but if they are not a fit, that is ok too. The truth of the type of bond you may be able to create is more important than closing someone. This would be the same for approaching someone face to face. If you feel the connection isn't there, why would you want another appointment or time to chat? If you cannot help them then you should feel perfectly Okay with walking away. That is what a critical volunteer's mindset must be.

2. BREATH:
We frequently find in our calls that in an attempt to make your way into the prospect's space and out as fast as possible we will often deliver our speech as fast as possible. Nonetheless we all know that as soon as you talk more rapidly, the pressure on the listener builds up and they feel cornered. So any dialogue that's made must be natural and void of voice tonality or minor pressure that might let the listener know that YOU"RE uneasy or nervous about what you might be saying. And the greatest way to be confident is to deliver in a slow and steady way. Nevertheless when we put a lot of tension on ourselves to perform how can one achieve such a level of comfort? The answer is to TAKE A DEEP BREATH. Breathe easily during the call and take slow breaths prior to the call that will calm you down and take that pressure out of your mind and your heart.

3. IMPERFECTION IS OK:
If you are too conscious of how you make your way and too conscious of yourself to the point that your involvement regarding your execution is affecting your performance, well perhaps you have to cut yourself a bit of slack. It is the illusion that we should all be flawless initiates creates further anxiety and pressure on both the client and us. By showing that we're humble and comfortable with making mistakes and being genuinely human, we make our way as far more responsibility and someone who's simply there to help. Go easy with mistakes, as it is those that show your true humility and your desire to attempt- Attributes that are admired and looked upon fittingly by all.

4. PRACTICE PURPOSEFUL TOLERANCE:
When you previously bought a product did you purchase it when you were ready or when you were told you to? We all understand in our minds and hearts that nobody likes being ‘sold' on something. We want to make the conscious decision that what we're going to do is the best thing for us at that time. Nonetheless we forget this when we are selling and have very unrealistic expectations of the timing of when a client might buy. We present, we follow up, then we get frustrated when we don't hear from them for 2 or 3 weeks, and it takes perhaps even months for them to make a decision. We frequently feel if they've heard about the service or product they ought to naturally desire to purchase immediately! Certainly they would! Yet we never ask ourselves and step back, "Is this the something that they truly want to look at now?" if it isn't then when and if they buy should be totally up to them and we should all be proud to enthusiastically show our willingness to be patient and show them that we know that they will come to US when they feel ready, not before.

5. KEEP A LANGUAGING DIARY:
Those familiar with Unlock The Game's selling approach by Ari Galper will be very aware of the importance of language over the telephone and how the simple selection of key words and phrases can have on a phone call's success. Any word that creates pressure or seems manipulative or controlling will break that connection that you've got with a customer who doesn't want to be lead by someone. Thus you must keep a notebook or diary of key phrases or expressions that take out that pressure on the phone call and present comfort for the receiver. Calling and asking asking whether people would be ready to heed your advice though a phrase such as "would you be open to …." Would get you so much further than simply dumping a speech on an unwary stranger. For further potent phases and means to take the pressure from your language take the time to read through take a look at Ari Galper's material and see how it might work for you.

Cold Calling is simply one way to link with others and with this frame of mind your stress will be gone because you know in your own mind that you're coming from a place of modesty and helping others. You wouldn't know if you're fit until you have truly created that feeling of strong trust, so at all times concentrate on THEM, not pushing a SALE.

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don't know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit www.UnlockTheGame.com