Bridging the fear of Cold Calling
To Technopreneurs and Technology geeks, Calling up a stranger and attempting to pursuit them over the phone to be interested with your product or to schedule a meeting is just not what you do. It doesn’t runs in your vein, doesn’t run in mine tooo~~~.
I have delegate most of the responsibility of sales call and meeting schedule with clients to my marketing partner, kc. However, I decide to take up the challenge to learn something which I don’t always do - A cold call to a potential clients. Yes, is my first Cold Call, which I think is a skill that needed to mastered in the path of becoming an entrepreneur.
So, I listed down a list of potential customers and their contacts in a piece of paper. I put the phone in front of me. then…. oppps , of all the sudden, I felt thirsty, so I go make myself a cup of tea. Ok, the tea is ready, I suppose if I talk too much I still get to clear my throats with the tea. Hmmm, I think not enough contacts in my list, so I when google for more contacts, in between, facebook for a while, and listed down extra 10 contacts to my list. Ok, now I should be ready~! I pickup the phone, suddenly, I felt shit right at my ass, and I head to the toilet and make it big~! Ok, I think almost everything should be ready, the list of contact, the tea, my throats are clear, there is no shit in my ass. Oh ya, I forgotten to write a script for my call. So, I spent some time to write the script. Ok, now everything is prepared. Set to go. What the Hell, I am still freaking nervous when the phone is on my hand. And, 2 hours gone~! I have been shouting at myself - Make the Call ~!!! you Fucking Idiot~!
What happen to me, why am I so nervous. I am able to faced the 10 panels from MDeC and now I am so chicken~! So, I told myself, If I don’t make the call now, I will be eating bread for life!!! Hence, I get myself calm within minutes, pick up the phone, and dial the first number on my list. A lady pick up the phone, hence, I read my script.. “Hi, I am Chee Hoong. Calling from Joove Enterprise Sdn Bhd”, then the lady answered~ “WHAT IS THIS REGARDING~!”, oh gosh, the sound on the other sides seems having a period, I felt very uninvited, my brain just got a shock, stunned for a second. And I repeated the script again “Hi, My name is Chee Hoong, calling from Joove Enterprise Sdn Bhd. We are doing bla bla bla. and blablabla. Are you able to spare me some time for a meet up?”. Wow, I read that script in one breath~! and I hope she gets my message. She replied. “SORRY, WE ARE NOT INTERESTED!” slammed the phone. There goes my first call. Oh, is sounds so hurt, is like being dump by your girlfriend. OK, get on with the second call with the better feeling, still tense up, half recovering from the previous rejection. Second call, heart brokening. Third call, Failed. Something is not right some where.
So, I call up my partner, get him to call some clients on my list, and I observe his conversation. The next day, I make my second attempt, imitating the way my partner did, these time without scripts, no tea, and with shit in the ass. I converse in a way like how you talk to a friend, gentle, nice and honest. Finally, One appointment made, YES~! That moment, I felt so over joy. I am happy that I am able to overcome the fear, and successfully getting an appointment via the phone. Then the second call, third call, forth call, is so exciting, and I got it all through and appointments are set. I believe, there are still much to learn from cold calling skills. A lot of practice needed on me. Hence, Geeks, all you need is to overcome the fear. Start calling now or you will be eating bread for life.
Small tips for cold calling. 1st, Prepare a Script but Never read from the Script. 2nd, Identify your objective. 3rd, focus on your objective. 4th, converse in a smooth way. 5th, Just enough information will do. 6th, Ask for appointment. 7th. PICK UP THE PHONE AND DIAL AND KEEP A SMILING FACE~!
Links to share:
- http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/coldcall.htm
- http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-10-Tips-For-Cold-Calling-Success&id=80590
- http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/marketing/articles/cold-calling-guide.shtml
- http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/customer-service-acquisition/7-tips-for-turning-cold-calls-into-hot-leads.aspx#tipsforturningcoldcallsintohotleads
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Life is interesting, its all about experimenting, trial and errors and self improvments. This blog is all about my personal experience. I am full with ideas, and i will achieve every one of them step by step.
Good one bro. Cold calls are truly one of the harder challenges to overcome