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Eliminating Call Reluctance
Almost every new SDR comes in nervous to cold call. We call it “call reluctance.” Cold calling opens you up to more rejection than you are used to, and your instincts want you to avoid discomfort. But if you take a step back, the actual practical downside to cold calling compared to the upside is ridiculously low. SDRs usually know this intellectually, but still avoid doing it.
Your brain is extremely good at tricking you into an irrational fear as long as you don’t actually call! When you actually call, it becomes clear that your fear was overhyped.
As a manager, I would illustrate this to brand new SDRs on their first day with the “Agoge Pizza Challenge.” All new SDRs were given a list of prospects to call, and a script where they would use our cold calling framework to sell pizzas to random strangers.
It was a memorable first activity as an SDR :)
By giving them exposure to the most awkward cold calling experience they will ever have on the first day, SDRs can see first hand that..
It’s actually not that bad!
Even in the most awkward case.
Whether you come to this realization through a pizza challenge or simply making yourself make cold calls. I’ve never met an SDR who couldn’t get over their fear of cold calling by simply making the calls.
While easier said than done, the most efficient antidote to call reluctance is “just do it.”
A few insights/tips I’ve found that make to it easier to “just do it.”
Know that no one cares if they hear you mess up.
Sometimes when SDRs are in the office, and sitting next to others, they wonder what the other SDRs next to them might be thinking about their cold call. Maybe they are harshly judging you! In reality, people don’t really care.
Sounding like a newbie can actually cause prospects to be more nice to you.
If you listen to a top SDR cold call, you will often notice that they intentionally often gravitate to an “aw shucks” type of tone because of the positive reaction it gets from prospects. Embrace it. having this type of tone naturally is an advantage.
Develop conviction.
You can’t convince prospects beyond your own conviction. Being genuinely excited about the product or service you are promoting is extremely important to your effectiveness on the phone, but also to your mindset. When you are genuinely excited about what you are calling about, it’s easier to feel that the prospect is rejecting the product and not you.
Awkward rejections are the goal!
If you are genuine and kind on a cold call, getting hung up on will be more awkward. And that’s ok! Excellent cold callers make it awkward to hang up on them. Don’t be embarrassed when you fall flat on your face.
Use a script
Not using a script makes your cold calls more complicated and requires you to spend unnecessary energy and focus on having to figure out what to say next. It is much better to allocate that energy to listening.
As a bonus, having a script reduces the friction to getting started considerably. It also does a good job at eliminating the odds that you lose your place on the call.
But all of that being said, the most important thing is simply doing it. Anything you can do to trick yourself into simply making the first call will do.
Just do it :)
-Sam