We recently published a blog post about Gabe’s return to cold-calling (along with the recorded call), and we wanted to give you some tips on how to conquer your fears around the dreaded “cold call”.

 
The Truth: Cold Calling. Everyone has to do it.
Show me a person in the world that is afraid of nothing.

Even the people that don't appear to be afraid of anything have fears. They have just learned to suppress or ignore them.

The sooner you can master your fears, the more successful you will be. Nothing will hold you back from accomplishing your goals. Take cold calling. For some people, calling strangers on the phone and asking them for business is not a big deal. But for others, it is terrifying. In this post, we are going to focus on conquering your fears of cold calling, but these strategies can be used to master and overcome any of your fears.

First and foremost, it is important to realize why we fear certain things.

Imagine yourself back in prehistoric times as an early homo sapien. You have to navigate the dangers of the world--true dangers--each and every day. You are living in the jungle, you come across a 20 foot snake, you are truly fearless, you don’t run away, you continue along, and, bam, you are killed. A snake that size would (rightfully) scare most people. Because you aren’t afraid of anything and don’t run away, you meet your death. Not so good.

Fear is actually a good thing. It is your biological "fight or flight" response to dangerous stimuli. It protects you from things that could harm or kill you.

In today's world, there are new threats that we perceive. Our brains have developed, and in a way, fear has gone too far. We are now afraid of things that don't pose a real danger to us.

For example, there are people out there that don't post on social media because they "fear" they won't get x # of likes. To them, they fear a loss of reputation and social rejection. It’s not wrong to fear this, but is this a true threat? Your personal brand has never been more important than it is right now. [We even covered this in two recent posts about creating your own personal brand (part 1 and part 2).]

But is a loss of reputation or social rejection going to have long-term consequences to you as a person? No. Walking past a 20 foot-long anaconda might, but only getting 87 likes on your Instagram post will not.

Now back to cold calling. 

Question: Is cold calling a stranger more like walking past an anaconda and potentially getting killed, or is it more like posting on Instagram and potentially only getting 87 likes?

Answer: I think you know...

When understanding our fears, we have to decide how rational and realistic they are. Here are some steps you can take to see if your fear is rational. Ask yourself:

 	
Will this action cause harm to my body or mind?
 	
Will this action cause me long-term consequences?
 	
Will the consequences be irreversible?

If you're thinking "if it were that easy, then I wouldn't be afraid of anything," you're right. It's not that easy. When we are afraid, we often cannot think rationally. Fear is an emotional response, and emotions cloud our judgment.

But, the more you think about what causes your fear, the more likely you are to realize that it's not a big deal.

Your fear of cold-calling.

Question: What is driving the fear?

Possible Answers:

 	
Loss of reputation
 	
Fear of failure
 	
Fear of rejection
 	
(Any others you can think of?)

Now that we've analyzed what is exactly driving the fear, let's brainstorm some solutions.

 	
Think about if the fear is rational or irrational (Hint: ask yourself the first set of questions above)
 	
Think about what is driving the fear
 	
Think about if others have this fear (ask them/research how they conquered the fear)
 	
Approach your fear and your challenge fully prepared (more preparation = lower chance of failure, rejection, loss of reputation)
 	
JUST DO IT

Fear is really just a construct of our imagination. For the most part, it's our brain playing out the worst outcomes. The real way to get over your fear is by doing what you are afraid of. Once you do it, you realize that the worst outcomes almost never happen. Each time you do something, it becomes more normalized in your brain. So by cold call #20, it won't seem as intimidating anymore. And by #200, fear won't even be associated with the task anymore. This is truly how you master your fears. Action.

It's important to realize that even though we focus on cold calling in the example above, you can use the principles to master your fears of anything--well almost anything...you do want to fear some things: bears, lions, snakes, etc. True fearlessness can get you in trouble!

If you’re looking for sales talent that has mastered the art of the cold call, we have SDRs ready to take on your industry and fill your sales roles. Schedule a call with us today.



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