Top 10 Tips for Terminating Telephone Terror (guest blogger – Wendy Weiss)
This week’s guest blogger is Wendy Weiss - “The Queen of Cold Calling™.” She is the expert on making cold calls and will be our Subject Matter Expert on next week’s Career Mastermind call. Wendy will cover why you must cold call, how to overcome the fear of doing it, how to prepare and what to say. Today, she shares the Top 10 Tips for Terminating Telephone Terror:
1. Make telephone calls.
Few things are more terrifying than the unknown. The fear you create for yourself is far worse than the reality of cold calling. Once you start making telephone calls and continue making telephone calls it gets easier. You overcome fear by doing.
2. Make a lot of telephone calls.
If you have only one prospect to pursue, that prospect becomes overwhelmingly important. If you have hundreds of leads, no one prospect can make or break you. The more calls you make, the more success you will have.
3. Prepare.
Prepare for cold calling the way you would for any major presentation. Know what you want to say, how you want to say it and how you want to represent yourself, your company, your product or service. And know the goal of your telephone call.
4. Practice.
If you are new to cold calling or uncomfortable with cold calling practice your pitch out loud. Role-play with friends or colleagues. Practice various sales scenarios. This way you will not have to worry about what you are going to say, you will be prepared and you can focus in on your prospect.
5. Start with less important leads.
It will be good practice and less stressful. Once you feel more comfortable, start working on the more important leads.
6. Stay calm.
You will for the most part be talking to people who will appreciate your call. If a prospect is rude, remember: This is not personal. They may just be having a bad day. Move on.
7. Realize your priorities and your prospect’s priorities are different.
You want an immediate “yes,” your prospect may want to finish a report, finish a conversation, start their vacation.… Be very careful not to read negative or extra meaning into early conversations with your prospect or prospect’s secretary. If, for example, your prospect’s secretary says that your prospect is “on the phone,” “in a meeting,” or “out of the office,” that does not translate to “My prospect knows that I am calling and is avoiding me.”
8. Accept some things are out of your control.
If a prospect does say “no” ultimately that is out of your control—but what is within your control is continuing to prospect and continuing to make calls. It is also within your control to improve your cold calling skills, take seminars, read books or hire a coach-then fewer prospects will say “no.”
9. Play Arlene’s game.
The object of Arlene’s game is to focus on rejection. The goal is to reach 100 points. You get 1 point for every rejection. Give yourself 1 point for every “no” answer. If your prospect says “yes,” that’s a bonus! Focus on acquiring points. The more calls you make, the more points you acquire. When you reach 100—You Win! Give yourself a prize!
10. Have fun!
This is not life or death—it’s only a cold call. The fate of the world does not rest on you and your telephone. You will not destroy your company or ruin your life if a prospect says “no.” Loosen up, be creative, have some fun!
Wendy’s SME call on November 19th is ONLY for Career Mastermind Group members. Not a member yet? Join now to access this call (as well as the archived calls and training materials) with Kevin’s special FREE 1 month Membership trial.
Wendy Weiss – “The Queen of Cold Calling ™” – has been training some of the largest sales organizations (Avon, ADP and Sprint to name a few) on how to create more effective cold calls and generate more results. This accomplished author, speaker, trainer and coach is taking those techniques and aiming them at the job search – just for my Mastermind members. Her goal: to show you how to get in the door, differentiate and get the interview. Wendy has been featured in The New York Times, Business Week and Entrepreneur Magazine.
2009 © Kevin Kermes Inc.
