6 Tips for Cold Calling as an Introvert

Veronica Ballester is one of our incredible SDRs here at Alleyoop. She is one of the very few introverts who have come through our doors. Veronica has always been determined to succeed despite her introverted nature.

In the video below you’ll see Veronica sharing her 6 top tips for tackling your introverted-ness and/or anxiety in order to crush it on the phones as an SDR.

When you’re an anxious person, the worst piece of advice anyone ever gives you is “Just don’t worry”. Veronica’s top tip is to do exactly the opposite. Don’t try to get rid of that anxiety, don’t try to ignore it – acknowledge it. By acknowledging the anxiety you are giving yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling without any guilt. That alone will make going forward with the task at hand that much easier.

If you’re ignoring your anxiety or trying to pretend it doesn’t exist, you could end up so nervous that when prospects pick up the phone, you end up having to hang up right away. Veronica encourages everyone to practice mindfulness and ensure that they are meeting their needs – get enough hydration, eat something nutritious for lunch, etc.

A big reason introverts feel anxious when making cold calls is that they don’t know what is going to happen. Ever put off calling to make a doctor’s appointment because you weren’t sure if you would get the nice receptionist or the mean one?!

To combat this feeling of the unknown, get your thoughts in order before you pick up the phone. You have practiced your script many times, you know your product or service, and you know your goal. While you might know these things in your head, it can be helpful to write them down and keep them in your line of sight while on the call.

As an introvert, you probably have a deeply ingrained sense of “stranger danger”. This, of course, is great for your overall safety, however, it can pose a pretty big problem for picking up the phone and calling prospects you don’t know. Veronica’s best tip for tackling this is to imagine the prospect is one of your friends.

This obviously doesn’t mean speaking to them in an unprofessional way. It just means when you are preparing for the call, tell yourself you already know the prospect. They are familiar to you and they are going to speak with you kindly because they are your friend. Practicing this will help to calm your nerves and will make you more confident on the call.

No matter how calm and confident you are, no matter how well you know your script and your product, you are going to face rejection as an SDR. Stop being afraid of it and start being ready for it.

You know how to handle objections but if you’re not prepared to do so, there’s a good chance you will let the call end without trying to overcome them. So, as Veronica says, practice active listening! Doing so will allow you to hear the true objection and will allow you to respond in a helpful and empathetic way.

Everyone who has ever worked in customer service, retail, or food service is familiar with the “customer service voice”. This is an incredibly common practice in the industry and for many, it works well enough to not impact their daily activities.

However, for introverts and those who suffer from anxiety, putting on a voice other than their own can end up being one more task to add to the list of things that are overwhelming them on a call. So stop doing it! Be yourself and know that your voice is perfectly fine.

When you’re on the phone with friends or family members, do you ever catch yourself aimlessly walking around the house then, next thing you know a few hours have gone by?! It’s incredible how engaged in a conversation our brains can be when our body is in motion.

Now, you should never be on a call with a prospect for several hours but, getting up and moving around can be a great way to get your mind refocused on what you’re doing. So next time you’re feeling stuck in an anxiety loop, try to do your next call while walking around your house.

The world of Sales Development is generally dominated by extroverts. So making the choice to become an SDR as an introvert or someone who suffers from anxiety is a big deal! So if you’ve made it that far, congratulations! And if you’ve made it to the end of this blog, you’re taking steps to learn how to overcome your natural inclinations in order to become an amazing SDR.

When you sit down to start a call blog remember Veronica’s 6 tips: acknowledge your anxiety, know your goal, picture the prospect as a friend, anticipate objections, speak normally (be yourself), and stand up! You’ve got this!

Post Written By:

Becca Fields-Poniskaitis
Director of Marketing

Video Script Written & Recorded By:

Veronica Ballester
Business Development Representative