Home Business Frontiers

“Hi, um, I’m um, um, calling to, um, well … um.”

Click.

Are you afraid of how your first cold call for your home business will go? Join the club. Just about everyone finds cold calling nerve racking. Let’s face it, most of us don’t like being cold-called, so who wants to be the one actually doing it? The good news is that there are a few things you can do to make it less stressful and much more successful.

First, take a breath. You’re definitely going to bomb if you don’t relax a little. Before you pick up the phone, take a few deep inhales and exhales and think about what you’re going to say about your product.

Remember your goal. You don’t have to make the sale with the first call. You only have to get an appointment so that you can make your pitch.

Do your homework. You’ll need to target your call to the right audience so find out as much about the company or person you’ll be calling as you can. Knowledge will improve your confidence.

Have your opening sentence down cold. This will help you organize your thoughts before picking up the phone. It well also help you avoid mistakes like giving the person you’re calling a chance to terminate the conversation.

Prepare a rough script for the rest of your call. You don’t want to leave any details of your home based business so briefly lay out the benefits of your product or service. Think about possible objections, too, and write out your answers to them.

Be specific! Remember, your goal is to make an appointment so suggest a day and time that you can meet face-to-face.

Be nice. Well, duh. But seriously, a cold call is your chance to make a good first impression. If you’re pushy or rude to a receptionist, there’s a good chance you’ll never talk to her boss. Another idea is to smile while you’re speaking on the phone. People can hear it in your voice and will become more responsive to what you’re saying, just like when you’re speaking face to face.

Send a memorable promotional item ahead of the call. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just something that’ll trigger their memory of your product or service. It can help break the ice and help your business stand out from the crowd.

Time your call. You’re tired late in the day, right? Well, so is the person you’re calling. Make your calls early in the day, preferably morning, when the decision maker can be reached directly and you’re both energized.

Don’t give up. Chances are you’re a go-getter if you’ve decided to work from home. Put your spirit to work and be persistent. Remember, every no means you’re one step closer to a yes.

Above all, practice, practice, practice. Cold calling may always be your least favorite thing, but if you keep trying you’ll get better at it. Try your spiel out on your spouse, your parents, your friends – anyone who will listen. It will help eliminate the jitters while cementing the ideas you’re trying to relay. You’ll build a quiver of points you can shoot into a conversation with impressive accuracy. The people you want to do business with are out there – you just have to let them know about you.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 at 3:11 pm and is filed under Network Marketing/MLM, Sales Tools, Home Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.