For many of us there is nothing more stressful than cold calling. If you really break it down, no one likes being rejected. Everyone we call should love hearing from us, right?
No matter how you slice it, having been at this for as long as I have, there is never an easy day of cold calling. Most of us know that a typical day of dialing means a lot more NO's than YES's. On average we see about 5% conversion rate across every project we dial on. So out of every 100 conversations, we have only five people end up giving us the answer we're looking for. Some days it can feel like an "up at a dawn, pride-swallowing siege" as Jerry Maguire puts it. That's simply how it is in the cold calling game.
What matters is having the appropriate perspective and how resilient you can be bouncing back from every "N-O".
Our team was having a particularly difficult time a few weeks ago and my manager reminded me of quote he often thinks of when he is going through a particularly stressful time.
The quote is from the one and only Steve Jobs....
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
- Steve Jobs
Pretty powerful stuff if you ask me. Alright, alright...sure on the surface the quote may seem a bit morbid but I think it fits any challenging situation we’re faced with in life. My manager often kept the quote in mind when he was feeling stressed about hitting his goals. I suppose that was why he was one of our top producers before he ascended the ranks to his manager role.
When it comes to the stress we all associate with work, it can be easy to keep things in perspective when you think of this quote. There have probably been many times in your life that you've experienced a great deal of stress dealing with a work related issue. After time passes, and you have a little perspective, you look back and realize how insignificant it was in the grand scheme of things. I'm not saying blow off the problem you're faced with, instead dedicate a small fraction of the emotional energy normally dedicated to an existing issue. I like to call it a "healthy amount of stress".
While I certainly would say that I'm far from mastering Steve Jobs' sage words, I try my best to smile through the tough stuff everyday and condition myself to be positive…there is no point in being anything but when you cold call.
Craig Ferrara is the Vice President of Client Operations for AG Salesworks. He has extensive experience in the sales and teleprospecting process. Craig joined AG Salesworks in 2003 and has successfully managed several teams of high-performing Business Development Representatives. To read more of his articles, click here.
