Salespeople today are afraid to pick up the phone. Phone anxiety is real.
Telephone Anxiety
Maybe it’s generational. After all, who millennial uses social media to communicate with their friends and family? It all boils down to sales representatives not knowing how to start a conversation that will add value.
Reps are afraid that their prospect won’t answer if they call back. They are afraid that if they receive voicemail, they won’t be able to leave a compelling, concise message. They don’t want to get stuck or sound irrelevant to prospects in such situations. They are afraid of appearing inept or making them uncomfortable.
They’ll justify their lack of calls by saying, “No one answers the telephone anymore…so I’m not going call.” This is a mistake. This post will discuss overcoming phone anxiety and getting better prospecting results.
Is this a sign of missed opportunities in prospecting? Absolutely. Our survey found that 46% of respondents preferred calling the phone to reach new prospects. However, 46% said that phone calls were the best method.
How to get over your phone anxiety?
These tips can help you overcome phone anxiety if your sales rep feels anxious.
Begin by picking up your phone
The phone is an extremely powerful communication tool. Believe it or not, people still answer their phones, even in the age of caller ID. If you can get to know your prospect and communicate in real-time with them, you will stand out and have the opportunity to build trust — if and when you add value. Even if they leave a voicemail, they will hear your voice, and it provides a deeper connection than email or LinkedIn InMail.
You can plan for multiple touches in different ways
The phone is just one way to reach out. Phone calls can be very powerful and should be used as a coordinated approach to reach your prospects. To reach your prospects, you will need to use multiple communication channels over time. It would be best to balance your online connections, such as email, social selling and webinars, with offline touchpoints such as trade shows, networking events, and in-person interactions. It is important to show up and be present at all possible buyers’ locations. Reps can build strong pipelines using a cadence-based approach that uses multiple touchpoints.
Be consistent and dedicate a block of the calendar each day
Research showed that 54% of initial meetings need more than five touchpoints to establish a connection. 10% require at least 11 touchpoints. Consistency is the key to prospecting. That’s what we know. Calendar management and calendar blocking are crucial to your success. You can manage your calendar by scheduling calls and other outreach times. Then, stick to it each day.
Your interruptions should be valuable to prospects
We must realize that prospecting is interrupting people. Although we hope it is a valuable interruption, it is still considered an interruption. Your goal as a sales professional is to get prospects to talk to you and eventually purchase from you. Your goal is to satisfy their needs and add value to their companies and lives.
Provide content that is relevant to your prospects
Sales reps probably send us dozens of emails and phone calls per day. While they may be asking for my attention, I rarely find the messages of interest to me. It is usually “Let me tell you about my company.” Let me tell you what I do. I want to tell you about our cool new program. However, this doesn’t intrigue me, and it doesn’t usually convince me to get in touch with them again.
Make bulleted notes
There will be many opinions on how to format and script sales conversations. While some reps swear by templates, others believe scripts block natural flow and interrupt the flow of conversations.
Accept the hold
Anxiety can make it difficult to talk on the phone. What if they ask you a question that you don’t know how to answer? What if you feel overwhelmed? What if your body isn’t able to catch its breath?
You can ask prospects if they are okay if you give them a short hold if you need to take a break. You can quickly say, “I don’t know the answer, but if you can place me on a brief call, I can get your answer…“. This can help prospects get the information they need and allow you to take a short break.