This week I spoke to a successful speaker who said she generates all of her paid opportunities via free speaking engagements. She is busy, and she found a way that works for her. We talked about cold calling, and she said she tried it and hates it. Hate? That’s a strong word to describe a simple activity of picking up the phone and making connections. The reason is that cold calling is an emotional and psychological endeavor as much as it is a tactical one. I often remind people that cold calling and what you are currently doing need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, the beauty of cold calling on the phone is that it does not take a great deal of time compared to other activities such as personal networking. It’s not too difficult to fit in a half-hour each day to make your calls.
Our cold calling expert, Carl Harvey, gives us some great insight regarding the psychology of cold calling. Enjoy!
The Quiet Mind is the psychological state of the salesperson, who, in the moment, when on the phone with or in front of a prospect, doesn’t care whether she secures the appointment or wins the sale. And because she doesn’t care, she has no expectations, no self-doubt, no need for approval and no fear of failure, and free of those anchors can now act as her best self and in her best interest.
What stops most salespeople from reaching that state, and thus executing effective selling technique, are their negative self-talk: “I can’t call at the top”; “I might be interrupting someone.” “I can’t ask tough questions.” To the extent that our negative self-talk predominates our thinking, either consciously or subconsciously, it will be two against one, our negative self-talk and our prospect’s skepticism against us. And in sales, like sports, two to one usually means we lose. The corrective to negative self-talk is Mind Management: the practice of identifying and challenging our negative self-talk and replacing it with more positive, truthful assessments. For example, instead of viewing cold calling as an occasion of fear and dread, replace that negative thought with a more positive and truthful assessment, such as “cold calling is exciting because I’m in control, opportunity is uncovered and money is to be made.” These statements are all true and positive and more accurately reflect the opportunities offered by picking up that phone or knocking on a door. To the extent that we can quiet our mind, we will be able to act more consistently and effectively. As we do, our success and self-esteem will grow.
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