Phone prospecting is something that most of us do not look forward to. But at some point, it has to be done. Here are some quick tips to help you power through that mental resistance.

 

Schedule time for prospecting

Prospecting over the phone is likely just one of the many things that you need to do. As a result, it can be easy for you to find something else to do as an excuse to not make calls. To prevent this, block out time on your calendar when you will do nothing else but phone prospecting.

This will also help you to prepare mentally and improve your mindset so that you are ready to take on the task at hand when it is time.

 

Shut down distractions

A very small change that can have a big impact on your ability to get and stay more productive is to shut down all distractions. This could be your email, social media accounts, cell phone, or any non-prospecting internet pages.

If you are able to only have open and active the key tools that you need for prospecting, like your CRM, desk phone, spreadsheets, etc., you will be much more focused, and this will establish momentum.

 

Have a routine

Have some sort of routine when you do phone prospecting. This could be when you schedule the block of time but also what you do during that time. This will help you to be more comfortable and focused when it is time to make the calls.

 

Be organized

Making prospecting calls has the potential to get chaotic. This can result from not only the fact that you never know what direction the actual call is going to go, but also because you likely have a long list of prospects that you can call, making it easy to get lost or out of focus.

Decrease this chaos by simply being more organized with who you are going to call, the notes you gather during the call, and how you schedule and track your callbacks.

 

Make some warm-up calls

When it is time to make your first call, there can sometimes be a feeling of strong resistance, and this may be accompanied by the internal thought of “I really don’t feel like doing this today.”

To power through this resistance, make some warm-up calls. These are phone prospecting calls that are less difficult or intimidating. Call contacts you have an existing relationship with. Call areas of an organization that might be more accessible or friendly.

 

Roll with the momentum

Once you start making calls, that level of mental resistance will decrease with each call, and you will start gathering some momentum. Roll with this momentum and get as many calls in as you can at this particular time.

Think about how hard it can sometimes be to “get going on a roll” when prospecting. Take advantage of it once you get it going.

 

Track your activity numbers

It can sometimes help to have a visual aid that tells you how productive you are and how much momentum you really have going. A simple tool that can help with this is a tally box on a piece of paper that has a check or a slash for each call attempt that you have made.

Simply looking at this type of visual aid can help you to feel good and keep the momentum going when phone prospecting.