Why do cold calls based on the old-school traditional mindset break down so quickly? Because we usually start with a predictable introduction and a mini-sales pitch. Right away the other person puts up “The Wall” and we’re trying to scramble around it.

None of us intentionally want to create uncomfortable situations with other people. It’s against our nature as human beings. But that’s the core reason why many of us who make cold calls get that knot in our stomach, even if it’s just for a fleeting moment.

We naturally want to avoid making the person we’re calling feel uncomfortable — and also to avoid doing anything that will cause that person to reject us. However, our attempts to cope with the internal stress we’re feeling can actually cause us to tense up when we make our cold calls. So we find ourselves talking more loudly, more enthusiastically, and with a lot of “forward energy momentum.”

But most cold calls break down the moment our prospects feel that forward momentum. Why? Because they don’t know us. The momentum we’re trying to impose triggers suspicion and puts them into a defensive place as they try to protect themselves from a potential “intruder” whom they suspect has a self-serving agenda.

The people we call reject us when they feel sales pressure from us…it’s that simple. Telling us “no” or even hanging up are simply self-defense mechanisms that people use to protect themselves from what they perceive as an invasion or an attack.

So how do we eliminate or diffuse rejection? In keeping with the new cold calling mindset, we do this by not creating any sense of pressure. By our never being focused on our own needs, goals, or agenda. And by communicating to the other person that we’re calling with 100 percent of our thoughts and energy focused on his or her needs.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

This new cold calling mindset is about having a true conversation, not a one-way script. It means genuinely anticipating cordial conversations with a new acquaintances. This has to come from you naturally. It has to be a natural conversation. ou have to believe yourself that you’re calling to see if you can help someone with your product or service.

Once you begin to enjoy the idea of conversing with people and building trust with them, your whole being shifts into this new frame of reference. And you begin to be in a place where the sale itself will not affect your behavior. When this happens, your fear of rejection goes way down and your enjoyment of the human connection goes way up.

This is where you become free of the old rules around cold calling because you’re not worried about the selling anymore. You’re only concerned with helping the client, regardless whether you make a sale or not. And that’s freedom. It’s freedom to be professional and authentic.

When you think of upcoming cold calls in terms of dialogue rather than monologue, then you aren’t focused solely on what you might get from the conversation. You’re operating out of an honest desire to assist, and this always means having a two-way conversation.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

It’s ironic to think that potential clients might be afraid that you’ll reject them. They’re afraid you might not like them personally. Or that you’ll be upset with them if they tell you, for example, that they’re going with your competition.

Most people are terrified of conflict and will do almost anything to avoid it. So the more they understand that your primary commitment is to the truth, not to the sale, the safer they’ll feel to trust you with the truth. The key phrase here is, “Not a problem.” The more you use this phrase, the less frightened people will be. But you really do have to believe it yourself, and reflect this in everything you say and do.

Keep in mind that in these 4 scenarios, you’re caring about what’s going on with the other person. Because of this, trust is built and relationships are deepened. That’s a very good place to be during every phase of your cold calling process.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

There’s an inner conflict with integrity when we find ourselves using our connections with others for self-gain. So we can bring ourselves back into honesty and truthfulness by shedding ulterior motives entirely. We do this by focusing on whether we can provide something that will benefit another person during our cold calls.

We find out if they have a problem we may be able to solve. And if it turns out we can’t help with our product or service, we graciously accept the outcome. By being honest and not playing a role, we find ourselves really liking what we do. And when our “ulterior motives” are simply non-existent, people are more open to trusting us.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

So it’s time to re-think the way you approach cold calls. When your strategy is to make a sale, then you’re someone who has to be “watched.” You’re not weighing what’s important to the other person. And so to them, you can’t be trusted.

It’s much better to build trusting relationship into your cold calling process. When the other person feels that you’re relating to them from this place, there’s no need to be suspicious and defensive. There can be a pleasant, productive, truthful dialogue about whether what you’re offering makes sense for them.

So, really, it’s about trust and relationship. Why? Because when given the choice, people always prefer to do business with someone they can trust.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

In the old traditional sales training, you usually start cold calls by talking about yourself and what you have to offer. But that’s an approach that quickly introduces sales pressure into the conversation. Why? Because whenever someone hears your mini-pitch, it’s clear that you want to make a sale. And now they have to respond to that expectation, which means there’s a push-pull feel to the interaction.

So instead, try starting your conversation by focusing on a need or issue you know the other person is likely facing. Step into their world and invite them to share whether they’re open to exploring possible solutions with you.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

Would you feel comfortable asking the receptionist for your prospect’s cell phone number? Or does the idea of cold calling to a cell phone put knots in your stomach? Well, it’s a fear that only comes along if your primary goal is to sell something. In other words, if you’re still using the traditional sales mindset.

But once you master the new cold calling perspective, you’ll feel comfortable calling anyone, any time, using any mode. You’re trying to help someone solve a problem, and you’re okay with any outcome.

So now you can feel comfortable asking for a prospect’s cell phone number. You might ask the receptionist, for example, “Would you happen to have a paging system or his cell phone number by any chance?” If the receptionist replies, “Sorry, we don’t have those,” then at that point you can say, “Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help.” And then hang up, and call back another time.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

It’s always a little scary to try something new when an old formula (even if it doesn’t work very well) is familiar to us. But remember that the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results.

This new approach I’m presenting around cold calling is one of focusing on relationship rather than salesmanship. This may or may not be new to you. And you may feel a bit hesitant to make your first cold call in which you apply this new mindset.

This is only natural, because you’ve gotten used to anticipating rejection from many of the people you call. You may feel internal resistance to the idea of starting out a cold call by asking someone for help, for example.

But when you begin using the phrase, “Maybe you can you help me out for a moment?” you’ll get some surprisingly positive responses. And you’ll find that your frame of reference changes. You’ll stop anticipating the rejection that is causing you so much anxiety.

Making this leap is the first step to breaking the frustrating cold calling cycle. Very soon, if you shift into using this new cold calling mindset, you’ll automatically transform the impression that you make on the people you call. And good things will begin to happen. You’ll find that you feel more relaxed because you don’t feel stressed and disappointed if you don’t create an immediate new lead from a cold call.

For more information on this new mind set visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com/coldcalling

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

It’s so easy to get hooked on “hopeium” in our cold calling. We’re hoping it will work out with each new prospect. We’re hoping they’ll buy. Even if you’re operating out of this new mindset, you may still find yourself hoping for positive responses, because you want there to be one.

Remember that when you let go of your own agenda, the other person feels more comfortable having a real conversation with you. They realize you’re concerned about their needs, issues, and problems, and not about making the sale. When they realize and appreciate that you’re not going to try to pressure them with a solution that they don’t need, then they start to trust you.

And when they trust you, they’ll share their truth with you. If it turns out that the match isn’t there, you both know where you stand. You know the truth and won’t try to chase them down a road that will lead nowhere.

Ending Your Call:

Once you realize that you don’t have a fit, here are a couple of ways you can end the conversation graciously:

“Thank you. That’s not a problem at all – my only goal was to identify whether I could help you or not. It sounds as if in this situation that I can’t. Thank you for your time, and have a good day.”

“Not a problem — I just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t something here that I could help you with.”

Then sit back and observe what happens. I’m sure you’ll be genuinely surprised to find that your cold calling efforts in general will have much better results.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

Yesterday we discussed making conversations relevant in two main industries. Our examples were Staffing and Software. Today we are discussing two more major industries and how to make your cold calling relevant in advertising and collections.

Example: Advertising

Advertising is a very good example. Typically, what most advertising sales folks start with is an introduction. They talk about their advertising product or services that they offer. But with our problem solving approach, the question becomes, “What does advertising solve for people?” The first thought usually is that it gets people leads. It gets more branding.

Let’s go deeper than that. What do leads do for companies? Leads provide sales, right? So if I sell advertising, I might call and say, “Maybe you can help me out for a second. I’m just calling to see if your company is open to new ideas of generating leads for your business.” From this place, the discussion unfolds around their world, and not your advertising. That’s the real shift in making cold calling relevant to their world.

Example: Collections

Another example is the collections industry. Typically, collection agencies call companies to see if they can be hired to collect invoices that are unpaid. They usually talk about their services as opposed to making their cold calling focus on the problem.

The client is looking to bring in more revenue from invoices that aren’t paid. So an approach might be, “Maybe you can help me out for a second?” The reply is once again, “Sure, how can I help you?” “I’m just calling to see if your company is still having issues with unpaid invoices.” And the response probably will be, “Well, yeah, we are. Who’s this?” You can then respond in a very relaxed tone, “This is John. I’m with XYZ Collection Agency. I’m just calling to see if you’d be open to some new ideas on how to better solve that problem.”

These are some examples of how to make your cold calling relevant to the other person and his or her needs. Practice this, and you’ll find that your cold calling conversations become more relaxed. You’ll no longer have to shift into an artificial “salesperson” role.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.UnlockTheGame.com