My Cold Calling Experience

As we have discussed in class, no one likes cold calling, but it is an important task for salespeople to take on. I was given the task of cold calling for two different jobs that I have worked. Much like our class discussion, I started out strongly disliking it and dreading it, but it was something I had to do. Every week I would drag my feet, knowing that I was heading to hours of the dreaded cold calling. At first it was a really awkward and uncomfortable experience, but after getting some experience under my belt I began to somewhat enjoy the experience. Cold calling taught me a variety of lessons.

One of the first lessons I learned was how to be patient during the sales conversation. Every call is different, but in my experience most of them require some patience. Through experience I learned of the various responses I may receive and how to be patient in my response. From complaints to just plain grumpy people to people hard of hearing to people who wanted to talk but had no intent to buy. Each situation required a different level of patience, but it was important none the less, and through experience cold calling, I was able to gain patience and recognize when I needed it most.

Another lesson I learned was how to create a relationship with the prospects. I learned how to get people to start talking about themselves, their lives, and their experiences. I learned how to find a common thread where possible and use that to create a connection. Building a relationship with the prospects increased the likelihood of me getting them to give me money by the end of the call. The more we connected the easier it was to ask for money and the less awkward the ask became.

Through my cold calling experience, I also learned how to separate rejection from myself and accept it as part of the process. I learned that it was nothing personal and could simply move on to the next call without hard feelings. That being said, there still were times that it was hard to not feel bad personally, but overall, I learned to not take the rejections personally.

I would recommend cold calling to anyone who plans to sell in some aspect of their job. I did not want to originally, but after experiencing it for awhile I realized how valuable the experience had been and how many skills I had earned. If you start cold calling, don’t let the rejection lead you to quit. Stick with it and you will one day look back and realize all that you learned.