The past couple days have been full of cold calls and emails. I’m building the basic sales skills while connecting with others over a mission I am extremely passionate about.
Before each call or email, I take the time to research the person I am about to speak to. Recent life events, accomplishments, or articles are sure to pop up. These make great conversation starters. And though I have been putting at least 6-10 minutes into each email, I have gotten to know all my prospects better because of the research and the time spent crafting an email directly to each person’s needs. The time has been so worth it!
I’m comfortable on the phone, in both Spanish and English. I have loved connecting to people and solving problems since I could talk. Cold calling people I haven’t talked to in several years? Completely different story.
From family members to camp friends that I haven’t kept contact with, the calls I have made so far have been full of their own fun. I talked to my aunt for a good 20 minutes, our conversation stemming far beyond my project. Several calls went from “Wait how do you have my number?” to “Oh, I remember you!” to “Wow, thanks for thinking of me.”
Sure, I was calling to ask for an email address. But I focused on how I could better each individual’s day simply by being myself. I found that everyone opened up quickly, and many were honored that I took time out of my day to talk to them about a project.
So far, I have had only one rejection. About half of the 50 connections I have made have responded so far. And that number keeps rising. Tomorrow, I’ll be at it again.
You can bet on it.
Photo by Adria Berrocal Forcada on Unsplash