One of the most important skills of a sales representative is being able to make cold calls. Cold calling involves associating with prospects, differentiating yourself from the mass, and risking failure. And naturally these things don’t come easy for introverted people.
In spite of these challenges, introverted people have their own secret jam sauce that helps them with cold calling. Introverts can keep their calm in difficult conversations and have the ability to listen and empathize with others. Based on my own experiences, below are 4 tips that can help the introverted personality type excel into major advantages in cold calling.
- Plan ahead
Do your homework. It takes some of the stress related with the cold outreach. Learning more about the person you have to talk to is an added bonus. Research your prospect so you can see how doing business together can benefit with them.
- Don’t be a robot
Using a script doesn’t mean you have to be a drone. Prepare a customizable script and process you can easily interchange between prospects so they understand you empathize with their pain points.
- Expect the “no”
The fear of the unknown is the scarier part of the cold calling process for introverts. You cannot predict for every outcome, but preparing for potential objections ahead of time helps you to think through your responses to these rejections. Check out our tips about overcoming objections.
- Document important information
Now that you’ve made the call, don’t stop there! Document the important dialogue you had with the prospect. Was it successful? Is there a follow-up call scheduled? If not, schedule an email or call on your own. Were there any pain points? Is there another decision-maker? All these little nuggets are important. I had a boss that used to ask, “If you got hit by a bus, will someone be able to pick up where you left off?” Now, probably not the best way to ask that, but I get it. It is blunt, but to the point. I can appreciate it.
The important point is to realize that you are not set for failure because you are an introvert. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses, so you know what to bring to the table. The above tips will help you build your playbook so your cold call skills will increase your sales performance.
We have more resources and tools to help you. Check out Hometown University, Qurious, or more on Cold Calling.
Are you an introverted salesperson? Do you have tricks of the trade to share? If so, join the conversation in our comments.
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