Having the confidence to pick up the phone and ring anyone isn’t a “skill” we’re all born with. I am speaking from experience. Fortunately though, it is a skill that can be learned and developed. Again, I am speaking from experience.
I’m not a complete introvert, I don’t get anxiety about social situations etc. However, before I started my business I didn’t have much experience of “cold” calling or “sales” calls. As a result I used to get so anxious about making phone calls or worse, my phone ringing! It was stupid. This anxiety got to the point where I even initially didn’t put my phone number on my email footer so that people couldn’t ring me out of the blue.
This anxiety started to make me question whether I was cut out to be an “entrepreneur”. I thought maybe I just don’t have the personality trait required. Determined to not let something so stupid as a phone call crush my business, I worked to overcome it. I am no longer anxious about making a phone call nor do I get a sinking feeling of dread when my phone rings. I pick up the phone with confidence.
In this blog I will outline the different steps I took to increase my confidence when picking up the phone and squash my anxiety!
Let’s go.
I’m really not joking when I say I would dread making phone calls! To make matters worse, this really wasn’t good news for my business as one of our primary sales channels was through sales calls. Initially, I shadowed my business partner making the first few sales calls to get a better idea of the “direction” of the conversation. From taking notes on the calls I shadowed I created a script. This script was my phone call on paper, word for word that I could follow.
I was ready for my first call.
Less than 30 seconds into my first call I quickly realised it is impossible to predict what the other person on the end of the phone is going to say. Unless you also give them a copy of your script (turning your sales call into some kind of shakespeare play) a script actually doesn’t work very well. It just throws you off when the person you’re speaking with (unknowingly to them) goes off script…
Although my script was very quickly made redundant, it did give me the initial confidence required to pick up the phone. Realising the weakness of my script, I quickly modified it into a prompt sheet for my next call.
A prompt sheet is a sheet that has bullet points of how you want to structure your conversation. You can use it to remind yourself to cover everything you want to talk about. It might look something like this:
Start
- Introduce yourself.
- Explain the purpose of your call.
- Ask whether now is a good time to talk.
Middle
- Point 1.
- Point 2.
- Point 3.
- etc.
End
- Specify the next steps: will you be following up or do they need to do something?
- Ask if they have any questions.
- Thank them for their time.
This is an example of how I would create a prompt sheet for my different calls. To make it easy to follow and check I had covered everything, I would write it out in big text and with space around each section. You can even include a notes section on it to write any notes down during your call.
Creating a prompt sheet gave me the initial confidence to start picking up the phone!
I would find that the more I thought about making a phone call the worse my anxiety got. To stop winding myself up about making a phone call I started using a “life-hack” I have and use whenever I don’t want to do something. This life hack is my 5 second rule. To put it simply, if I haven’t taken action within 5 seconds of saying I will do something, it isn’t going to happen. It puts a virtual deadline on the task. It is a bit of a strange one but it works so well for me.
This is how to do it:
- Key in the phone number.
- Start counting down from 5.
- Press call within the 5 seconds.
Using this approach, I HAD to press call within that 5 seconds. Not only did this force me to make the phone calls I was dreading, but I also found that as soon as I pressed the big green button and the phone started calling, my anxiety would ease. In fact, more often than not by the end of the call I would be completely fine.
I still use this rule for anything that I am hesitant about doing. I know if I don’t take action within my 5 second count down time window I never will.
This might be a strange “tip” on how to get over phone call anxiety. After all, on the surface it doesn’t appear to directly help but it is working its magic in the background…
I can’t tell you when I “cured” my phone call anxiety. It isn’t something that happened overnight. Instead it happened gradually without me even realising it. Unknown to me at the time, as I made more and more phone calls I started to use my prompt sheet less and less. I also relied less on my 5 second rule until I reached the point where I would make calls without my sheet and without my 5 second rule.
Keep picking up the phone. Make calls and answer calls. Just like anything, the more you do something the better you get at it!
Stop putting any pressure on your phone calls. This one tip transformed the “flow” and “success” of my phone calls. They became so much more natural and as a result I felt better about them.
You know how the moment a camera comes out and you try to capture whatever it is you’re doing on video you usually mess it up, but before the camera was out you were nailing it time and time again. It is because the camera has suddenly put you under pressure. Remove the pressure and you’ll nail it again. The same is true for your phone calls. The less pressure you put on them often the better they go!
Most of the time this approach is absolutely fine for your day-to-day phone calls. After all, if you mess it up it is only one phone call. Potentially one missed sale. It is unlikely to be the end of the world. Learn from your mistakes and move onto the next one.
First of all, you shouldn’t feel bad for feeling nervous. It is a sign that whatever you’re nervous about is important to you and you want to do a good job. The question is, how can you do a good job? The answer is preparation.
Before your call, try and identify what it is exactly you’re nervous about. Once you’ve put your finger on the route of your nerves you can then prepare to minimise the event from happening.
Here are some examples:
If it is a sales call and you’re nervous about remembering exactly what it is you’re offering. Go back to tip one and create a prompt sheet of the offering so you don’t forget it.
If you’re nervous about being asked a difficult question, brainstorm all the possible questions you could be asked and think of a response to them. If you ever get asked a question you hadn’t considered, make a note of it (and your response) and add it to the list.
These are my 5 tips on how I got over my phone call anxiety and started picking up the phone with confidence. I am a walking, talking, living case study that these 5 tips work! Don’t get me wrong, there are some phone calls I do still get nervous about but these aren’t your everyday phone calls, they’re ones that carry lots of weight and are important to my business. When I have these calls I go back to my process: I create a prompt sheet, I prepare and ask myself, what is the worst that can happen?
If you have any questions about the tips in this blog, please reach out to me at lawrence@thesmallbusinesstoolbox.co.uk. I am always happy to talk!
Why is a business plan important and what to include in a business plan? Here are 5 reasons why you should be writing a business plan and what you should be including in yours!
Is your business right for you? Owning a business is an exciting and rewarding venture, but it requires careful consideration and planning. Using a new business I am starting as a case study, I will step you through the 4 step checklist I use when deciding whether a business idea is right for me. This checklist includes…
What are the benefits of automating business processes for small business owners? In this blog, we will explore the numerous benefits that small business owners can reap by implementing automation technology.
Should you quit your job to start a business? Quitting your job would give you more time to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams. However, it also comes with other effects which arguably outweigh the benefit of having more time to work on your business. In this blog we will answer the question of whether you should quit your job to start a business.
Wondering how to automate invoice creation for your small business? Google Workspace’s suite of tools, including Sheets, Docs, and Apps Script, offers a powerful way to automate the invoice creation process. In this post, we will explore how to set up an automation workflow using these tools, enabling you to streamline your invoicing process, reduce errors, and save valuable time.
How to start a side hustle? If you’re looking to make more money, a side hustle is a great option. However, not any side hustle. Your own side hustle. Here is how you can start your own side hustle. BONUS: Tips for success!
