Cold calling, which is the first telephone contact with a new client, is a stressful activity for many salespeople. They usually fear rejections or customers' negative reactions. So salespeople do anything to avoid this activity. If you are one of these salespeople, you should change your attitude. Cold calling is still an important way to gain new clients. How to reduce of your stress level is described in Sales.about.com.
1) Detach yourself
Clarify why you fear cold calling so much. It is probably because it can lead to an unpleasant experience. Learn to recognize the symptoms of your fear and when they appear, use the advice of psychologists who deal with phobias. Imagine that you are watching yourself in a movie, this will help you to detach yourself from negative thoughts and emotions.
2) Add a physical activity
You have to get rid of these feelings and thoughts before they overwhelm you with fear. A good way is to do physical activity. Walk briskly around the office, do ten jumping jacks or play your favourite song and sing along to it.
3) Create positive emotions
Once you have removed the negative emotions, it is time to full this space with positive feelings. You can strengthen your self-confidence by remembering your successes. When you make a successful call, note the details. Focus on your feelings before and after the call. When you find yourself stressing before the next call, you can pull out your notes and review your successes.
4) Change your view
The last step is to change the cold call into a positive experience. The only problem is your emotions which are out of control. After you finish the call, give yourself a little reward. By this time your approach towards cold calls will change and negative emotions will vanish.
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