Be honest – have you ever (even now) felt reluctant to make sales calls? There are only a few people who join the sales profession who are not anxious about making sales calls. Typically, the thought of cold calls is not something people get excited about!

Over 30 years I have seen people lose their words, sweat, panic and hide from the phone when it rings – starting out, that was me!

If we are honest, we all have this within us to some extent. It’s an anxiousness when it comes to selling on the phone. I remember when I first started in sales being so scared to answer the phone. However, I chose to be in a sales profession that required phones as the key way to sell – strange.

So what are 3 ways to build confidence when it comes to making and taking calls?

1.Recall

I am sure with every one call that did not go well – where panic set in, there were a handful of calls that went well. Recall the good calls, write down what went well. Ask yourself why they went well. How did it make you feel? Recall the ‘wins’. Focus on them – NOT the one or two calls that did not.

The first thing is to build confidence. Content will be honed –but first you must have confidence to deliver content. People will buy into your confidence first.

2. Plan, Prepare and Prosper

Plan to win. If you want to prosper– you must plan and prepare a successful call out session. This will involve planning. You have every right to win if you plan to.  A plan may involve how many appointments, valuations, meetings, cross-selling, etc. you want to achieve. Are you planning to achieve – no planning – no gaining! Plan with expectations – when you plan for a holiday or an occasion –you expect certain things to happen. Plan with that same sense of expectation.

Prepare everything you need – again if you go on holiday, you will take a suitcase! Prepare for your call by having all the information you need – contact details, property details, diary, key files, etc. You don’t want to be looking for these whilst you are on a call. The better prepared you are the less anxious you will be, and thus the more confident you will become.

Have a short list on a card of key areas you want to highlight in your call. Determine why you are making this call, don’t leave it to memory.

3. Routine

If you want to become good at a sport or something else – it requires time – a routine.

Routines developed well become habits of success.

If you want to overcome ‘Telephone FEAR’ it will not happen by occasionally picking up the phone. Picture for a moment with me….the future – you personally taking responsibility to overcome ‘ Telephone FEAR’ and becoming a ‘Master’ at selling on the phone . Where could this lead to for you? What impact could this have for you and your family? Build your confidence and anticipation as you go from ‘Telephone FEAR’ to ‘Telephone MASTERY’. You can do it – I believe you can.

Becoming a ‘Telephone MASTER’ is a learnable skill – it is possible for everyone to grow in this. However, many don’t and therefore don’t enjoy the success they could have. They settle for the ‘norm’ and leave it to others to enjoy great success.

However, if you have taken the time to read this, you have shown yourself that you are a person who believes that you can become a ‘Master’ at selling.