First, realize that you are a person that is calling on another person. What is the worst that can happen? You need to relax and try to enjoy the phone call. If you say to yourself that you hate making calls, you are going to have a miserable day and that will be made manifest to the people you are talking to and your sales will suffer.



Your first challenge on the phone is to get to the decision maker or to get through the ‘gatekeepers'. This may be the secretary, children or the answering machine. You need to find the right response to get through. When they ask who is calling, return with a question like “would you tell them it is John Smith form Sales LLC.” The question is softer and gives them the power instead of trying to tell them to go and bother the boss or parent.

Once you have found the decision maker, you have a very short and limited amount of time to make the right impression. Do not try to make small talk. You are interrupting something so you need to be to the point quickly. The person will want to know who is calling and why. Hence, when they answer, ask if you have the right person. When they say yes, then you need to make your introduction quickly and to the point.

“Mr. Johnson my name is John Smith and I am calling from Sales LLC to see if our services as a sales company will be relevant in helping your company achieve their financial goals.”

With the above introduction, you have answered their questions who and why immediately. You have to grab their attention immediately or you won't have a long conversation. Mr. Johnson may still say no and let you go, but you have given them the opportunity to say no to the business instead of no to an interruption in their time.

Assuming that Mr. Johnson shows some interest by allowing the conversation to continue, you will want to determine his needs to see if your product or services will be a fit for his company. One way to get this information while building reports is to ask if you can ask some questions. By you making the call and interrupting his day, you have power in the call. By asking if you can ask a question, you are giving power back to him. “Do you mind if I ask…..” He now feels like he is in more control or at least equal to you.

Next you want to give as much reassurance as possible. On the phone, it may be difficult to give these reassurances, so if you have a money back guarantee or warranties make sure you let Mr. Johnson know. Also, this gives you an opportunity to build rapport. Remember the old adage “people buy people.” If they don't trust you, they will never buy.

In summary, you must have a good attitude when making cold calls. When you make the calls respect the person's time and get to the point quickly by identifying yourself and the reason you are calling. You want to then have the customer feel like they are on equal footing with you and build rapport when possible.