Confidence is often told as a reason for failure in cold calling but the fact is, it’s not the root cause. It’s necessary, but the reason for feeling less confident happens due to no preparation, superficial knowledge about products or service, no experience, unexpected objections etc.
Remember, confidence is not a feature that every agent is born with but it is the result of competence. So coming to you, it’s not a confidence problem, you just have a predictability problem.
The Real Problem: Lack of Predictability Not Confidence
When agents can not predict what will happen on a cold call, confidence drops automatically. The moment when you feel unsure about how a prospect might respond, hesitation comes out. This is a common struggle for many cold callers.
In this situation, cold calls become stressful not because of fear but unpredictability. This lack of predictability does not happen without reasons. So let’s make those reasons clear in the discussion below.
1. Conversational Unpredictability (The Scripted Trap)
As a cold calling agent, you alway given a script, whether you use it or not but for new or intermediate type cold callers, script becomes pressure. You think about it to implement during a call but it really becomes unpredictable and you mess up things.
Then it results in hesitation and the prospect feels, you are not confident enough. This is how a script can be a trap to drain your confidence.
Example:
Agent: Hello, Juan, I am calling from X. we offer a solution that can help your company save cost and time. Are you interested?
Prospect: Well, maybe in the future.
Agent: Ohh.. okay Thanks for your time.
2. Emotional Unpredictability (Attachment to Outcome)
When you take a cold with the intention of setting an appointment, booking a demo, or selling something and you expect to hear YES from the prospect every time then its outcomes have an emotional impact.
Your tonality, pacing and wording shows the emotional outcome and it automatically reduces your confidence. It happens with your subconsciousness and you can’t figure it out instantly.
Example:
Agent: Hello, Juan, I am calling from X.
Prospect: Not intersted.
Agent: Okay, maybe later.
3. Operational Unpredictability (Cognitive Load & Technical Friction)
During a cold call, you often need to multitask. Managing a lot of technical and general things creates an overload on you. When juggle a too many thing at once like:
- Navigating the CRM
- Scanning notes
- Remembering objection responses
- Tracking time
- Deciding the next step
That overload creates cognitive friction, and the conversation feels difficult to understand. It happens due to the messy user interface of your using tools, inexperience, no prior preparation etc and eventually it drains your confidence.
Example:
Agent: I think in the department of…. okay please let me check.. (Long process)
Prospect: Just send me an email.
4. Value Unpredictability (The Expert Gap)
When you do not have clear knowledge about the value you want to add to the particular prospect then your confidence collapses faster. Opener like
- I wanted to introduce ourselves
- We help companies like your
are also a reason where your value proposition is vague. You know clearly what service or product you are selling and how it can impact positively to your prospect, then it hammers your conversation, draining your confidence.
Example:
Agent: Hello, Juan, I am calling from X. we offer a solution that can help your company save cost and time. Are you interested?
Prospect: Well, How does it work? Is it a software?
Agent: Uhh.. (asking others) do we have software?.
5. Dunning-Kruger Effect (On Cold Caller)
“Difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments” – Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999) this is the theme of the dunning kruger effect.
It relates directly with a cold caller because when you can not figure out your knowledge gap and you feel yourself knowledgeable and confident then you are most possibly going to make a mess during conversation with any prospect.
In this scenario, you feel confident but it does not similarly impact on the other side of your phone. Admit that your knowledge is superficial regarding what you are going to do and how to handle the worst case. That is the only way to overcome the Dunning Kruger effect successfully as a cold caller.
Example:
Agent: I am great at sales, i dont need any notes (Overconfidence)
Prospect: I am not interested
Agent: Well, you should be.. (Pushy)
Why Predictability Creates Confidence and How to Build It on Cold Calls?
Predictability is the key to success on call because you know what you are going to say after picking the phone, you have solid knowledge when prospects ask about your service or product , how your one is better than other, you know your opening lines, closing lines, etc.
Pattern Recognition
confidence grows when you know how to handle objections like “Just send me an email” or “I am not interested” etc. If you have a proper IF-THEN plan for example if prospects say busying then don’t scramble just use a pre planned script to handle this.
Reduced Amygdala Hijack
Daniel Goleman introduced Amygdala Hijack theory in his “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” book and it describes the fear of rejection or hearing no from the opposite person.
Cold calling has around 85 to 95 percent rejection and 1 to 5 percent is recognized as a good rate for B2B industry. So overcome the fear of hearing no and kick out the amygdala hijack problem.
Reduce Ambush Feeling
During cold calls you can face objections anytime. If you are not prepared for those objections then it creates ambush feelings. This expertise comes with experience of handling objections. Take a preparation for what to say for which object then you can easily overcome this issue.
Tonality Control
Tonality control is the primary skill of a cold caller because of an odd situation like objection handling. Knowing your response and possible script help you to focus on voice modulation, pace, and emphasis rather than scrambling for words.
Those are the brief solutions of how predictability creates confidence. Building confidence is not the last. You need to execute them as you plan because bad execution of cold calling hurts your brand. So execution is more important than manifestation.
Conclusion
Till now you already know the root cause of feeling less confident during a cold call. Confidence itself is not a real problem, the reason behind this, is the real problem. So what you have to do is figure them out and solve them by practicing, taking feedback from your team leader.
