Regardless of your skills, knowledge, and years of experience, it is likely that you sometimes dread making cold calls. If effective cold calling is fairly easy from an energy investment level: pick up phone, dial a number, and run through a script, why is it that we can dread doing it so much? The answer to that question can be traced back to a concept called approach anxiety.
Approach anxiety is the feeling that people experience when they are considering approaching somebody that they do not know. This could occur in a number of different scenarios, but the most common would be for a man who is interested in talking to woman that he does not know.
In this scenario, this man may feel fear and a pit in his stomach before he approaches the woman. In many cases, this feeling can be so intense that it prevents him from approaching the person he is interested in. The interesting thing about approach anxiety is that the anxiety can be very intense, yet the worst outcome that can occur is rejection from a complete stranger that will never be seen again.
Just as approach anxiety can affect and prevent a man from approaching a woman, it can affect and prevent effective cold calling. Even though the worst thing that can happen is for someone to say they aren’t interested, we hate rejection and can sometimes generate anxiety thinking about the potential for that happening. This anxiety creates resistance and dread when it comes time to start cold calling.
If you can relate to this feeling and you can see the potential connection with approach anxiety, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that there are simple things you can do to deal with and overcome it. The bad news is that, regardless of your years of experience and number of calls made, it is likely that you will still feel this anxiety from time to time.
Below are simple things to do to deal with approach anxiety and drive effective cold:
Preparation
The first step in dealing with anxiety is preparation. Think about when you were in school and you took a test where you were not prepared as much as you wanted to be and one where you knew the information inside and out. It is likely that you had anxiety when you were unprepared and you probably had a high level of confidence and comfort when you were prepared. Preparing for cold calls can give you that same comfort and confidence. This would include having a script, knowing your product, knowing your customer, knowing your competition, and preparing for the objections you are likely to receive.
Affirmations
Believing in yourself, believing in the company you work for, and believing in the product you are selling can not only decrease anxiety, but it can also drive effective cold calling. Make a list of affirmations that help you have a high level of confidence and read these before you cold call.
Routine
Getting into a routine can help decrease anxiety and drive effective cold calling. An example of how a routine can help is if you consider a sales person starting their day and they do not want to make cold calls. A routine that may decrease the anxiety is to go over some affirmations, review some product and customer information, then outline some notes on what you are going to discuss, then make some warm calls to low levels or people that are more approachable. This process can help the person to warm up and defuse anxiety.
Track Activity
Track your activity for calls made, people connected with, leads created, etc. Tracking activity is important for many reasons, but when it comes to approach anxiety and effective cold calling, it can help to give you a feeling of productiveness and that can help to create momentum and defuse any resistance to making cold calls.anxiety coach