Recognize and Defuse Hidden Pressures in Cold Calling

Why? Because sales pressure is the underlying cause of all tension in cold calling. You’re pressuring yourself to make the sale, and you’re also pressuring the other person to buy what you have to offer.

In the old traditional mindset, you’ve been trained to approach cold calling this way. You’ve been encouraged to be proactive, assertive, and maybe even aggressive in your sales efforts. But this creates sales pressure. It throws the entire conversation into a push-pull scenario instead of a relaxed, mutual exploration.

So if you remove pressure from your conversations, then your cold calling can become relaxed and productive instead of stressful and tense. But first it’s important to recognize some of the many hidden ways you can create pressure in your cold calls. Let’s look at three of them:

1. “Get the Sale” Tunnel Vision

If you're like most people who make cold calls, you're hoping to make a sale – or at least an appointment – before you even pick up the phone.  The problem is that this mindset short-circuits the whole process of relaxed conversation. Whenever there’s a goal, there’s also an underlying “win or lose” tension that your prospects experience as sales pressure.

But when you’re focused on building a conversation, there’s no tension. You’re simply exploring whether you can provide a solution to someone’s problem. This provides a stress-free environment for a productive, mutual exploration.

So when your focus shifts from “making the sale” into “building a conversation,” you’re not introducing sales pressure. Tension evaporates. And now you’re free to enjoy the interaction. And as long as you’re sincere, others are more likely to enjoy it too.

2. Self-Oriented Talking

In the old traditional sales training, you usually start cold calls by talking about yourself and what you have to offer. But that’s an approach that quickly introduces sales pressure into the conversation. Why? Because whenever someone hears your mini-pitch, it’s clear that you want to make a sale. And now they have to respond to that expectation, which means there’s a push-pull feel to the interaction.

So instead, try starting your conversation by focusing on a need or issue you know the other person is likely facing.  Step into their world and invite them to share whether they’re open to exploring possible solutions with you. 

3. Orchestrating the Conversation

In the old traditional sales approach, you’ve been told to take charge of your cold calling conversations. But it’s important to recognize that whenever you do this, the other person almost always feels managed or maneuvered. And that’s subtle pressure.

You see, if you’re not letting the other person fully involved in the interaction, then you’re using pressure to try to control the outcome.  This is a subtle but very powerful form of control that creates tension for both of you.

So instead, invite mutual participation and allow the conversation to flow. You’ll be surprised how relaxed and effective this can be.

Completely eliminating all pressure from your cold calling conversations will open up a much more natural and effective way of interacting with your prospects. The less pressure you project, the more successful you’ll likely be.