Most of us have experienced the phenomenon that is call reluctance. We've covered the topic before on the VSL blog, and mentioned how some people would rather make tea or even clean toilets than pick up the telephone to a stranger. If you suffer from call reluctance, here's a tried and tested idea that may well help you to combat that feeling you get in your stomach when you really feel like doing anything but calling, especially cold-calling: Take the "cold" out of the cold-calling equation and give yourself a warm-up.

1. You're probably reading this because you need to improve your results from cold calling and telemarketing.

2.You hate doing the calling. If so, you're in the majority, if not you're probably a freak.

That said, those calls still need to be done, right? You still hate cold calling, right? If you've ever felt negative emotion toward any person or task, you have two basic responses:

“Fail to prepare – prepare to fail”

Before you start, ask yourself the following;

• Why are you making this call? Are you clear about your call objectives?
• Have you got enough information to make the call?
• Prospect name and position? Are these details correct? (check with the receptionist before being put through)
• Type of company – what’s their industry sector?
• Company size, turnover, number of employees?
• Do you have the relevant email information if asked?
• Have as much information as possible, search their website, their industry newspapers / magazines

To be successful in telemarketing, the sales person has to be disciplined, but overall cold-calling is more scary than it is difficult. But once fear has been recognised and replaced by confidence of the product or service you are offering, then there are just 5 easy tips to follow to be a successful telemarketer.

1. Before making your calls, make sure you know your product inside-out, as this will not only make you come across more confident over the phone, but will also make it easier and quicker to close a sale.

It has often been said that you cannot accurately predict results therefore it is better to predict activity. With that borne in mind, what will you commit to doing, both differently and better than you have done in the past?

If you're a business owner or a senior buyer/purchaser, then this post is written with you in mind. When someone you've never heard of before calls your organisation, what is your typical reaction?

- You regard the call as an intrusion into your ivory tower?
- You form a mental image of someone looking to extract hard-earned cash from your pockets?
- You firmly believe there is no way that the person calling you can be of any help to you or your company?   

These are just three negative viewpoints on what has long been referred to as the cold call. If, by contrast you hold a different perspective, you could be thinking:

- I'll have a couple of ready questions for the caller based on my business values and priorities rather than "Is this a sales call / cold call?" or similar fob-off question before hanging up.

- A good cold caller deals in issues that face businesses BEFORE selling products or services. I respect the fact they must make a living, just as our company representatives do.

- I could access someone influential or helpful in their network. We can exchange value and points of interest even if it's clear there's no business to be done directly between us.  

- I can learn something about their company and the way their people operate which can help me make decisions later.

- If they've caught me at a bad time, I can elect to schedule 2 - 5 minutes with the caller later, to see if it's worth pursuing. If they fail to articulate any value, then we stop talking.

When you think about it logically, conversations with some structure and purpose to them, are the lifeblood of business. Unless you're buying cheap, no-brainer commodities, then conversing with another person in business is where meaningful business relationships start. How can it be otherwise? 

Now, respecting the fact we're too busy to answer every call that comes our way, the people that really believe they have something of value to share with you will persist and leave messages and send emails. Those that do not, will not. It's as simple as that. Let's face it, someone that cares enough to call on you ten times or more is rarely a pest: That sort of persistence and belief of purpose is in short supply. It shows some guts and character on the part of the caller. If you're unsure about this, read Alan Sugar's book "What You See Is What You Get". It's hard to argue with someone with a track record of achievement such as his when dealing with qualities like pro-activity and persistence. He has it in spades.

For the cold caller, pandering to paranoia will get you nowhere fast. If you consistently hit the proverbial "brick wall" where none of your calls are being taken by anyone that you want to speak with then you either have to try alternative approaches, or stop pandering to other people's paranoia. Paranoia in this sense meaning fear of the cold caller and his/her intentions. This manifests itself in a number of ways, the most common of which is getting the caller to send information in response to their request that hasn't even been qualified and that is solely a means of fobbing you off. If you sense paranoia, bring the subject up: "I sense you're a little uncomfortable with me calling you, is that true?" "What do you think is the worst thing that can happen on this call?" Get real. The fact is, it's a phone call, not an atomic bomb!

By asking questions like "what do you hope to get from the information?" and "in which areas of the business do you expect it to be most helpful?" you do what the vast majority of cold callers never dare to do: Effectively question the person you're speaking with and who is making the request. This is important because any business person that values their time will only spend that time in endeavours that will help them to achieve their business objectives. Armed with this knowledge you're perfectly within your rights to ask why the information is being requested. In short, deal only in specifics or get the hell out of there. Whatever you do, never pander to paranoia.

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 photo credit: Vicchi