Watch CBS News

Get Insanely Motivated to Cold Call

Cold calling can be fun, but you have to go about it the right way. Most of your success will depend not upon your product or even upon the quality of your leads (although both are important). The key success factor when cold calling is attitude.
Here's a sure-fire, seven step process to acquire the exact right attitude to success at cold calling...big time.

Click HERE for STEP #1... »
STEP #1: Adopt a Powerful Physiology
Your body and your mind are connected. If your body is slumped, if you're frowning, if you're feeling down, that physiology will ABSOLUTELY be reflected in your attitude. And even though you'll be on the phone, the prospect will hear your lack of enthusiasm and energy in every word that comes out of your mouth.

Your first job, therefore, is to get your body into the most successful physiology that you can imagine. Here's how:

  1. Smile!
  2. Stand up!
  3. Shake your body out!
  4. Stretch!
  5. Take three deep breaths!
  6. Sit back down!
  7. Sit up straight!
  8. Keep that smile on!
Sound simple? It is. This trick alone can increase double your cold-calling conversion rate.

Note: Please don't cold call with a handset. Use a headset. It is IMPOSSIBLE to have a powerful physiology when you're scrunching your neck to one side or holding on hand in the air.

Click HERE for STEP #2... »
STEP #2: Visualize Total Success
When it comes to attitude, the only thing that's more important than physiology is focus. Your attitude will ALWAYS reflect whatever your mind is focusing upon. If you're focused on losing the sale, your fear of losing your job, or anything else that's not totally confident, the prospect will immediately sense your lack of confidence. It is literally impossible to hide it.

Therefore, you MUST direct your focus in a way that will express confidence and success in everything you say. Here's how:

While still sitting up straight, close your eyes.

Think of a time when you were incredibly happy. It might have been an event, or when you were with a certain person. Imagine what you were feeling, seeing and hearing. Make it as vivid a recollection as you can. Now make in your mind and imagination bigger, louder and more vivid.

Now think of a time when you won a big sale. Imagine what you were feeling, seeing and hearing. Make it as vivid a recollection as you can. Now make in your mind and imagination bigger, louder and more vivid.

How does that feel. Your mind is now telling your body that YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL. And your body (from the physiology shift, is telling your mind that YOUR ARE SUCCESSFUL. If you did both of these steps with enough energy and passion, you're now in an upward feedback loop that will create more success.

BTW, this works for just about anything you want to pursue in business. Not just cold calling.

For cold-calling, though, we need to continue with a few more steps...

Click HERE for STEP #3... »
STEP #3: Rehearse Your Script
Now that you've got the right attitude -- big time -- it's time to start working some mechanics. While staying in your powerful physiology and keeping yourself focused on the good feelings you generated in step 2, rehearse your cold call.

  1. Practice what you'll say if you reach a gatekeeper.
  2. Practice what you'll say if you reach a decision-maker.
  3. If this is the first call of the day, repeat 1 and 2 at least twice. If it's not the first call, just rehearse both scripts once.
Do not skip this step. It's not a matter of having the script memorized. Rehearsing the scripts while you're in your peak physiology and focus -- and in the upward feedback loop -- frees your most creative self. You're programming your voice so that, when you call, you come off confident and in control.

Click HERE for STEP #4... »
STEP #4: Disconnect from Results
If you've been following the steps closely, you're energized, passionate, and convinced you're going to be successful.

Now comes a very important step. You need to pull back just slightly from your goals. Yes, your goals can get in the way if you put them front and center. Put them aside, because it's about the customer, not about you.

It's not about winning. In fact, it would silly if it were, because you've already won.

Look at this way: do you sell because you enjoy owning little green pictures of former presidents or the objects that you can trade them for? NO! You sell because you want the feeling that you get from ownership, or achievement, or a sense of contribution.

In other words, you win when you feel good about what you're doing.

If you followed the above steps, you feel good. So you've already won. So actually making a sale at this point would just be gravy.

This isn't a feel-good philosophy. If you're too focused on making the sale, you won't be able to listen to the customer. You won't be able to react and adapt to the conversation.

But once you realize that you've already won, you can be free to have some fun and enjoy the process. And you'll be more effective because of it.

Click HERE for STEP #5... »
STEP #5: Make Some Calls
Just do it.

Keep calling until you reach a human (gatekeeper or decision-maker).

When the call is done, move to the next step.

Here's a helpful hint: Try using "The Ultimate Cold Calling Tool"

Click HERE for STEP #6... »
STEP #6: Celebrate and Learn
Here's the big payoff.

Either two things just happened. Either you moved the sale forward or you learned something. Either outcome is incredibly valuable -- as long as you know what to do with it. Here's what:

Give yourself credit for even making the call. You've got guts. Most people don't even have the chutzpah to try. You not only tried, you primed yourself up like a champion.

If you moved a sale forward, schedule the follow-up. Don't let your energy and enthusiasm keep you from setting up the forces of momentum that will lead to future sales.

Regardless of what happened, think about your performance during the call and find three things you did really well, and one thing you could do better. You'll use this thought when you run through the system for the next call.

Click HERE for STEP #7... »
STEP #7: Repeat as Necessary
Keep calling. The only difference now is that, when you get to Step #3, add what you learned at Step #6 into your script.

If you find yourself flagging, go back to the beginning and start over, including the rehearsal. Don't skip Steps #1 through #3, even though the people around you might think it's weird that you're always standing up and stretching. The more you set and reset your physiology, the more powerful, effective and confident you'll become.

This stuff really works. I know this personally, because it's a technique that I use just about every day to get myself into a peak state of performance. It's the reason I'm so successful as a writer, why I can outsell any freelance writer on the planet, why I have been able to land book deals, etc. It's even the reason I had the courage to marry the woman of my dreams.

Physiology, focus, practice, centering, execution, celebration, repeat. There's no more powerful formula for success.

Click HERE to start again.... »

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.