Practice cold calls with peers. One of the best ways to get better at cold calls (and presentations) is to sit around a table and play the "ring ring" game.
The cold call game is very simple - you start by calling someone's name and then say, “ring ring.” This means you are calling that person, and they are going to act as a prospective customer. The point is to make mistakes in front of your peers and your bosses. This cleans up your cold calls for the day and knocks of the rust. I recommend this game every time before a morning cold call block, it's great to warm up and connect before jumping on the phone with people who will buy from you. Make mistakes and do not be afraid to be embarrassed, no one is perfect at cold calls and mistakes happen.
You do this with 7-10 people around the table and make up different scenarios on the fly. You can add in executive assistants, be mean or even throw the person a bone for an easy meeting booking.
The best salespeople cold call to set meetings or information gather. Completing a sale on a cold call in 95% of industries is not the reality. You want to either set the meeting or use this as an opportunity to let them know you are going to stop by in person to shake their hand. You can do business by never meeting people, it is very possible, but the best business is when the person you are talking to knows you. It makes your job easier when you have even the slightest connection with the person. This is also helps when problems arise after the deal is signed, if you have met in person, you are more likely to solve the problem together instead of against each other.
Ask your boss to sit in on your calls and meetings. Make sure to warm up and then show off your pitch or how hard you hit the phones.
Set a 30-60 minute time block with your boss once a month so your boss can see you ripping dials and you setting meetings.
Find your pitch: Keep the pitch simple by being to the point and solving a problem. If you cannot explain to your parents, friends, or people outside of the industry your pitch then it is too complicated. Save the hard details for the meeting, use simplicity, then lean on curiosity and usefulness of your product or service to help you set the meeting.
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