Cold calling anxiety can end your sales call before you get started. Discover five ways to overcome your fear and make the sale.

Eddie Van Halen is undoubtedly one of the most famous guitarists in the history of the instrument. According to Guitar World, he is the best guitarist of all time. He holds the number one spot. He has circumnavigated the world on several occasions with his band Van Halen, and he has participated in some of the most financially successful rock tours in history. In addition to this, he has nervousness, more often known as stage fright.

In a general sense, anxiety is characterized by worrying about something that has the potential to occur. Or, to put it another way, anxiety is “fear about fear,” as Seth Godin puts it. To be more explicit, and for the sake of this discussion, cold calling anxiety may be defined as the dread of making sales calls that you are aware you need to make. Additionally, this is quite typical.

Anxiety can strike anybody, regardless of how great or experienced they are, as one of the most famous musicians in rock and roll history demonstrates. This is a universal truth that applies to all industries, including sales. In some people, worry might cause them to put off important tasks and perform poorly on the job. It is easy for this to snowball into a never-ending cycle of anxiety that stifles your progress. That is not good information for a salesman. But what can you do to change the situation?

How to keep cold calling anxiety out of your work life

On the surface, anxiety associated with cold calling and stage fright seem to be quite different. You are not putting on a show for thousands of people; rather, you are speaking to each individual listener individually. Terror, on the other hand, is comparable. What are you going to do if you mess up, say the incorrect thing, or if your audience (whether it be one person or 10,000) doesn’t like you?

You have to learn how to get over your fears if you want to be successful in your career. It’s a prerequisite for doing well. Here are five different approaches to achieving that goal.

1. Prepare

Anxiety caused by making cold calls is exacerbated by a lack of preparation. To our relief, this is a problem that can be fixed with a minimum of effort. You may get yourself ready to make sales calls in a variety of different ways. Be very knowledgeable about the product or service you provide. Become familiar with the correct pronunciation of the prospective customer’s name. It is important to learn your sales script, hence it is important to practice reading it. This provides you flexibility to seem genuine, while also allowing you to easily go back to the script for guidance. Find out what it is you want to accomplish. Perform your call with the help of your friends or coworkers. The more you can be ready for whatever comes your way, the more control you’ll have over the circumstance.

2. Practice

There is a theory in psychology called as desensitization, which basically asserts that the more we are exposed to something that we are frightened of, the less fear we have of it. In the instance of anxiety caused by making cold calls, you are gradually retraining your brain to comprehend that making a cold call is in no way comparable to confronting a ravenous grizzly bear.

The University of Toronto’s Dr. Greg Dubord presents a method of desensitization that consists of the following five steps:

1. Define the ultimate “level-10 scary” thing
2. Define the “level-1 scary” (e.g., saying hello to a stranger)
3. Brainstorm and rank all points in between
4. Assign yourself “level-1 scaries” as homework for the week
5. Move on to level 2 in the second week and so on, until your cold calling anxiety is but a memory

3. Breathe

Your breathing becomes more shallow and rapid when you are nervous or agitated, which decreases the quantity of oxygen that is circulating through your body. The diaphragm is not responsible for the movement of air into and out of the lungs; rather, it is the shoulder muscles that perform this function. As a direct consequence of this, the bodily manifestations of stress, as well as feelings of worry, become more prominent.

On the other hand, practicing deep, controlled breathing may slow down your heart rate, decrease the levels of stress hormones in your body, restore a healthy balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your circulation, and enhance both your physical vitality and your sense of calm. Additionally, in contrast to the majority of the body’s autonomic activities, you have complete command over your breathing. The following is a list of recommendations made by the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria, which is located in Australia:

• Try to find a relaxed environment where you can breathe undisturbed for 10 to 20 minutes (although even a few minutes is helpful if you can’t find much time)
• “Sit comfortably and raise your ribcage to expand your chest. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen”
• Concentrating on your breath, try to breathe in and out slowly and deeply through your nose. Let your diaphragm do the work
• “With each breath, allow any tension in your body to slip away. Once you are breathing slowly and with your abdomen, sit quietly and enjoy the sensation of physical relaxation”

4. Set goals

Having objectives to work toward and achieving those goals helps increase confidence, which in turn helps alleviate anxiety. Start small so you can feel accomplished. It may be as easy as making just one phone call per hour. Have you already completed the task? Proceed to the next objective, which is to make two calls in an hour. After you’ve accomplished that, the next step is to make it a goal to have a meaningful and fruitful discussion during a cold call. You will find the motivation to continue climbing the ladder of success with each successively more manageable goal that you achieve.

And if you feel like you still need more motivation, try rewarding yourself after you complete each of your goals. That may include going for a stroll around the neighborhood, spending five minutes looking for your ideal trip on the internet, or doing something as significant as purchasing an expensive bar of chocolate that you generally save for exceptional events.

5. Fake it ’til ya’ make it

Although it’s true that you’re “only on the phone” with people, there’s a lot you can do to appear professional and successful, and it will make a big difference. And whether you want to accept it or not, that energy is sent via the phone. What does this look like on your end?

Even if you won’t be leaving the workplace, you should always make an effort to look your best. When you are on the phone, maintain an upright posture. When you speak, maintain a pleasant expression. Take long, deliberate breaths, and see yourself doing what you set out to do. You may laugh at the idea, but you’d be astonished at how well “tricking” oneself into a winning character can work in practice.

Keep in mind that nervousness caused by making cold calls is not a rare occurrence. There is a significant probability that one of your other coworkers has been through the same experience as you. Utilize these five techniques to your advantage, but don’t forget that talking to a member of your team that you look up to may also assist you in overcoming your nervousness and closing more business.