Becoming Good at Cold Calling is Just Like Anything Else, Practice Makes Perfect | BoostBC

Becoming Good at Cold Calling is Just Like Anything Else, Practice Makes Perfect | BoostBC

I recently read the book 'Cold Calling Sucks, and That's Why It Works' by Armond Farrokh and Nick Cegelski, and I learned that just like any other skill, cold calling can be learned with practice. You don't have to be born a sales person or have the confidence of a honey badger in order to be good at it.

Now I personally loathe cold calling. I have quit jobs in the past because I just couldn't get past the reluctance of making the calls. I dread bothering the prospect on the other end and the rejection that comes along with it. I think the thing I found most fascinating with this read, is that they lay it out in such a way that it really seems like a learnable skill. And most importantly that pretty much everyone hates making cold calls, but you can get past that call reluctance, and even improve your skills to book more meetings.

Here's the catch, the only real way to get past that call reluctance is to make so many calls, you become numb to the rejection with skin thicker than an armadillo. And during those many calls, hopefully you will book enough meetings to make yourself see that it was worth the abuse.

Once you have learned the proper skills for the cold calls, the most important thing you can do is practice. Practice like it is your full time job, because well, it kind of is. You want to be practicing in the car, the mirror, while walking down the street, even if it makes you look a little crazy. And I am not saying to memorize your script word for word, I am saying become so comfortable with it, you can go with the flow of a call without losing your groove.

Now personally, I still don't think cold calls will ever be my thing, however I can see the benefit they offer to businesses trying to market themselves in a fast and efficient way. Being able to pair these calls with emails, can be even more effective. A cold email is an easy delete, but a cold call combined with a cold email, a little harder to ignore.

So it's time to quit stalling, and give up the excuses. Practice those scripts and do your research and just start calling! The worst that can happen is they say no, and if they do, dial the next number and try again. The only way to improve your cold calling success rate is practice, and only practice will build your confidence for making these calls.