Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Cold Call?

I certainly was, this inanimate object taunted me every time I sat down at my desk. Cold calls are not exactly essential to this business, but if you find yourself task-less in the middle of the day, then you better be able to pick up that receiver and start dialing. Calling random business owners is the name of the game, and you need to be a high roller if you expect to make one appointment out of one hundred calls. (Yes, it may take that long, if not longer!) When I first started picking up the receiver it seemed easy enough,"Piece of cake!" Or so I thought. The phone was weightless, easy enough to hold in my one hand. Yet the longer I made calls, and the more the rejection came, the heavier the phone receiver became. The word "cold" literally made me start to get goosebumps, because that's exactly how it was, people can be just plain cold, and at times very cruel too.

When first starting the cold calling, I felt as if I needed to say as much as I could. I would try to get my foot in the door before it was slammed on my poor toes. My pitch sounded something like this:

"Hello Mr. Business owner, My name is Allyson and I'm with New York Life. How are you?

*pause*

"I'm calling you today, because I work with some of the business owners in the area with their insurance needs, and I'm wondering what you already have in place."


This script was definitely not me, crazy, zany, quirky me. Nonetheless I kept using it, using my net to catch anything that seemed to get snagged on it. Soon these words became heavy in my mouth, as heavy as the receiver. After crying in the bathroom a few times, and making myself feel better by deciding that ALL people sucked, I did feel some weight fall off my chest. I figured sniffles therapy was going to be my remedy for release, since my workouts didn't seem to help.

One particular Monday this month, I asked my co-worker next to me, "What should my script be for today?" He smiled, and said the script that made so much sense to me. "Just ask if they have an insurance agent, and then ask if you can apply for the job." Finally, something I could insert my personality in, and very straight to the point!

Now mind you, I still get rejected, and people still hang up on me, but I will get a chuckle or two before then. I realize that laughter is a better remedy, and my mascara definitely does not need a second applying when doing so.

I still prefer being outside and meeting business owners than calling them, which I do at times. Right now I'm interviewing co-workers I want by my side when doing so, but still haven't found anyone as of yet that I would enjoy being around for 3-4 hours at a time. Until I find my other "walk and talk" half, I'm a little stuck with my my ear and mouth glued to the phone.

At least I feel a little more light-hearted now, and I will say that I've started figuring out how to get prospects snagged on my words. The minute a prospect starts opening up to me, I can connect with them, put them at ease. As I listen to my fellow cold-callers, I realize this is something no one else seems to have been able to accomplish here. I need to keep believing that I'm selling something that could help save lives. I need to remember that I can truly make a difference, it might sound cheesy, but hey I love cheese! Cheddar, Swiss, goat, they just pair well with my eggs!

If I keep this mindset going, then I think I'll be able to make it. I just have to remember to keep climbing this sales mountain, because when it comes to reaching to the top, the sky is the limit...And if I could truly believe in this, then I might as well go beyond the sky, reach for the stars, and then see if I can go even higher than that.

"He that can't endure the bad will not live to see the good."
~Yiddish proverb