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In my last role I focused on new business development which meant a lot of cold calling. I’d been a Sales Director for most of my career, and as a result I’d not spent a lot of time having to make these calls. To start with I was daunted by the thought of picking up the phone to talk to people I didn’t know. Heck you could say I was ‘reluctant’ most days to get started but here are three tips that made the whole process a whole lot easier for me.

Tip 1 – Give Before You Get!

The most effective tool I ever implemented was so successful that it made cold calling a dream and eventually something I looked forward to. I looked at my product from the eyes of my customer to understand what their key problems were and how my product could solve them. I also asked myself how my product was different to what they were currently using. In other words, what’s in it for them? When I looked at it like that, it became a gift for the customer rather than a request. Instead of being hung up on (which is something we all fear in cold calling) the typical response would be thank you so much for thinking of us and why don’t you call back in a month or come and see me.

Tip 2 – It’s All In The Energy You Put Out!

It’s obvious. People are attracted to happy, energetic and authentic people. When cold calling, you have to strike a balance between being over the top friendly and being real. The best way to achieve this is to listen more than you speak and when I say listen I mean really listen. Don’t be thinking about you and what you’re trying to get – be listening for cues from the other person and respond accordingly. Where possible, don’t use a script because the worst thing is to receive a call from someone who sounds like they’re auditioning for the school play. Be yourself and be positive but temper that with great listening skills.

Tip 3 – It’s Not Personal!

If you come from a place of integrity then whatever happens at the receiver’s end is not about you, it’s about them. So if you get knocked back/hung up on/abused, there is no need to be upset or hurt because you can hang up the phone and make another call and start again but they’re going to stay angry – who would you rather be?

Fiona Pascoe is the director of 120 per cent, a leading sales training company. Fiona has been a leader in the industry at a senior sales and marketing level in hotels, tourism and events for over 15 years.  She has been the driver behind enormous sales success both at corporate level , for small business and for global companies.

Fiona is  a Premium member of Business Chicks, request her online business card and connect with her here.