To many salesmen, cold calling is the worst part of any sales call. But, it is actually something that we all do everyday. When each of us first came to Grove City College, we had to cold call to strangers everyday, selling ourselves, until we found solid friends. As a YoungLife leader,
I get to do cold calls almost everyday to find kids who I connect with. For instance, when I walk into the school in the morning, I walk up to a random table and try to start a conversation with the kids who are sitting there. Sometimes, those interactions result in the kid getting up and walking away. Sometimes, it results in a good, meaningful conversation. The risk of embarrassment is worth it in this situation, but to many salesmen, it does not seem worth it.
If the awkwardness of walking up to random middle schoolers at 7:30 in the morning seems too daunting, then cold calls will definitely seem terrifying. Cold calling allows you to see the success in failure. It allows you to see your successes as much greater accomplishments than just merely succeeding first try. The awkwardness of a cold call is half of its value. Here’s some advice to the new cold caller: Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid of the awkwardness. Be prepared to find topics out of thin air. Figure out which role you should play at that specific time. Don’t be afraid to move towards an extroverted personality or towards an introverted personality, depending on the client. Above all: Don’t be afraid, it will all work out.
BoweryJE22
Hey, this is such a cool example! it sounds like you had a great yet interesting experience. It’s so interesting to hear your side of the prosses of cold calling sales. Thanks
You gave a lot of great examples of how selling is used in everyday life, not just in business. Its also interesting to hear how important selling yourself is when it comes to Young Life.
I have never really thought of contact work as cold calling. When I hear the term “cold calling” I instantly think of physically calling someone, not walking up to someone. That was a great example to show what calling is, and a way that you relate to it. 🙂
The points you made in closing resonated with me. I think it is essential to be bold and not be afraid of failure. In any interaction it is important to have confidence that failure is okay and to look at failure as a learning experience. Great Post!
I have always hated cold calling and purposefully avoided it in job searches. This is a great post on how it is useful and a necessary thing to learn how to do effectively.