My Thoughts On Cold Calling !

After uni I ended up taking a job at a call centre, making 250 automated calls per day. For more or less minimum wage. So I’ve always had and will have a soft spot for cold callers and sales folks.

There seems to be a snobbery within the sales community for the cold caller. As if it is the lowest form of sales.

Firstly I want to dispel this. Cold calling is hard work and not for the faint hearted. Getting back up after someone puts the phone down on you or tells you to eff off, over and over again requires a particular grit, resilience and thick skin. Most people have only been in the receiving end of cold calls, and probably put the phone down on sales people. I have, and I know you have too.

Having seen and worked on the other side of this, I can tell you a week or a month as a cold caller is like going to the gym for the mind. You start to toughen up.

I’ve seen people in tears after a particularly harsh rejection, also people who quit on the spot after a bad call. Ask any sales person these things happen. I’ve also seen the most unlikely folks absolutely smash their targets. Outsold any and everyone under the table.

In a obscure way cold callers and sales people are being paid to be rejected, ask any business development person. How many times someone said no vs yes to them at any given week. You will find the no’s out weigh the yeses more often than than not, even for and especially the most successful or skilful sales rep. They know rejection is part of the game.

I am not going to conclude this post by making a calls to arms or mention sales people are heroic individuals who deserve a better rep. What I am going to say is. Sales in particular cold calling is tough and I can hand in heart say, being honest I didn’t enjoy the job, but it trained me to become mentally stronger and focus on the goal, be less emotional and has had a major part in shaping me to be the person I am today.

Luckily for the 21 year old me who was sat in dingy call centres, selling in this order; home broadband, mobile phones, then credit cards. Times did get better. I applied myself like I had never done, outsold almost everyone to the point I was making more on commission than on my hourly wages. I gradually stepped up and kept on going and never looked back.

At the time I knew, times would get better. After having spent decades learning how to ride a bike by reading a book. The healthy dosage of reality was needed in order for me to learn and grow not just personally but professionally too!