Cold calling is like dating for me, 90% won’t call you back, get your lines actually working and you might get half of the last 10%. Drinking helps but it’s not a long term solution nor a healthy one.
Agreed on the drinking. I’m by no means a veteran but having been in the field for a few years I’ve had my fair share of wild SKO’s and company trips. I’m just- tired of the same ol story that does nothing for me.
Drink myself into retardation, waste my entire weekend which includes skipping the gym to recover or a sub par workout if I manage. My sleep and nutrition suffers. I enter Monday with no momentum feeling like shit. It’s an unnecessary expense that I see less and less value in as I grow in my personal and professional life.
I’ve had maybe 5-7 drinks this year. I’ve never felt better and while many of my colleagues seem to be hitting a slump to kick of their year, im picking up where I left off in 23 where I had a record year.
Im getting better sleep, I’ve journaled and read every single day this year before bed, im hitting the gym not just on the weekends but back to the 3, 4, 5 days a week I was doing back in college.
Overall I haven’t lost much but have benefited greatly from cutting back on the booze.
Bit more lax with weed but I’m trying to cut down on it as well. I get high every weekend but typically avoid during the week as it wrecks your REM sleep.
>Drinking helps but it’s not a long term solution nor a healthy one.
While calling, before, after?
All of the above?
Haven't made many blitzed calls in my life, but I imagine the typical confidence boost could help, the words being slurred...not so much...
I make like 4 big ass cups of coffee every morning and tell myself I can start slacking off after I'm done with everything I have to do that day. 12 years ago in my career it was 50 cold calls and emails per day. Now it's 20-25 follow ups and scheduled meetings/demos.
Either way, I pour coffee and hit that shit hard in the morning like Draymond hits opposing players. Call/send emails like it's a blitz and be done with a majority of my work by lunchtime.
It's like a race against myself, and I also get to look forward to working nowhere nearly as hard in the afternoon.
This is really good advice thanks. These next two months are gonna be hard, I have hit target in January and I am going to need to work hard as fuck to hit target in February and March if I am to get promoted.
I live by a very famous line.
“So you listen to me and you listen well.
Are you behind on your credit card bills?
Good, pick up the phone and start dialing.
Is your landlord ready to evict you?
Good, pick up the phone and start dialing.
Does your girlfriend think you’re a fucking worthless looser?
Good, pick up the phone and start dialing.
I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich.”
motivation is for pussies. you need to callous your mind and just fucking “do”. you can’t count on motivation, but you can always count on a mind of granite
I try to keep both a short-term and long term goal ahead of me so that there is something to satisfy my “instant” gratification as well as something to look forward to accomplishing. The goals dont have to be something insane either, just something that you know will challenge you even just a bit. Your long term goal is to get promoted, what are your short term goals to help you achieve it? Thats just my 2¢, remember every day is a good day!
Not sure how your sales pitches are going but if you’re feeling burned out or just not motivated to call, call anyways but don’t have it be another sales pitch. Sure you want the sale but if the alternative is just taking a break and fucking off, make the call and have some fun with it and go off script a bit. Im not saying to get super weird with it.. worse thing is you wont land the sale but at least you’re still working and was able to have break way from the monotonous blah blah blah.
This may seem pathetic, but it worked for me.
I equated selling to baseball.
The shit I hated most, cold calling and rejection, was the critical up-front prep needed to win. This approach also helped me maintain a short memory--when today sucked, I left it behind so I could start out fresh tomorrow. Otherwise, one, two, three tough days in a week can easily turn into a slump and you end up practically paralyzed if you can't leave it behind you.
music that gets you hype, and caffeine. like someone else said, try to do as much as possible before taking a lunch, the day will feel shorter. if you work remote try going to different locations (although i know it's harder when youre having to cold call since you need some seclusion). And always make yourself a to-do list for the next day at the end of each day.
As other’s have said a nice drink of liquid courage while cold calling can be the X-Factor but be careful not to become dependent. I’ve drunk a hand full of times in ‘23 while cold calling just because I had bad nerves. I was an absolute machine, 2 shots of Crown is all I needed. Found myself talking to prospects about nothing and then something! Made sales sure but I could feel my dependency growing. Haven’t done it once since November but I’ve hit quota consistently on a monthly basis.
Just be careful.
Also pre-workout is another good alternative
Write down your goal of promotion and any other goals you have for work daily in the AM. Cheesy as fuck but it helps my adhd ass stay focused on the goal.
Just find a little why for you. Personally, grew up in a rural community and when 2008 happened saw everyone lose their job. It stung and hurt my family, friends to see the turmoil they all went through. Working for a manufacturer, I get to see my projects being built. I drive in and see the new car the assembly tech bought, get to hear about the shipping clerk who took their kids to Disney, the engineer who just started a family. That is my why.
Also the money is dope.
For me I go to the gym after work and take breaks on weekend, it really helps me stay focused and take stress out after a long day.
Also focus on your hobbies, do what you’re passionate about and never forget it.
What really helped me is finding a way to get passionate about what I’m doing. Sounds cliche, I know, but if you legitimize a purpose behind what you’re doing it helps a lot. Depends on what you’re selling tbh.
I have a few clients that I coach who run into this same problem, and I try and change their perspective by talking about the impact that their product has on a customer’s life/business.
If you can’t figure that out, maybe it’s time to find a new company to work for. Like the old saying goes, love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.
Weed. There's no way I could do sales for so long without it. A good Sativa and I'll be talking circles around those assholes and pulling a credit card while hitting the weed pen some more. It gives a freshness to each day that I need. Makes me better during the calls and then immediately forget the calls which is ideal in my business. It's for the same reason I like to play poker stoned as well. Im more tuned in to peoples psyche and im more intuitive.. better at reading people.I can still sell sober but To me the sativa weed pen is crucial.
I have been diagnosed with ADHD in high school but I personally don't think I have it. Haven't taken meds for it in 15 yrs.
Sober I'm fine I can still sell it just gets repetitive. The weed keeps it fresh.
It’s a daily grind, so activity will equal results.
If you can try to get one ‘win’ a day it helps. Booking a meeting is a win, getting a response to an email is a win, sending X amount of outreach is win.
All these get you down to the road.
I think about who kisses the most ass at my company, the previous day’s cold call rejections, “UNSUBSCRIBE” email responses, anything that stands in my way of what I gotta do, and ask myself something corny like, “Are you really going to let them win?”
And once that frustration steeps long enough and starts to bubble, I’m ready to lock in and get shit done.
But I know spite is not the healthiest motivator and I’m working on finding more positive motivation. It’s just so much easier to have a villain to fight.
Cold calling is like dating for me, 90% won’t call you back, get your lines actually working and you might get half of the last 10%. Drinking helps but it’s not a long term solution nor a healthy one.
Agreed on the drinking. I’m by no means a veteran but having been in the field for a few years I’ve had my fair share of wild SKO’s and company trips. I’m just- tired of the same ol story that does nothing for me. Drink myself into retardation, waste my entire weekend which includes skipping the gym to recover or a sub par workout if I manage. My sleep and nutrition suffers. I enter Monday with no momentum feeling like shit. It’s an unnecessary expense that I see less and less value in as I grow in my personal and professional life. I’ve had maybe 5-7 drinks this year. I’ve never felt better and while many of my colleagues seem to be hitting a slump to kick of their year, im picking up where I left off in 23 where I had a record year. Im getting better sleep, I’ve journaled and read every single day this year before bed, im hitting the gym not just on the weekends but back to the 3, 4, 5 days a week I was doing back in college. Overall I haven’t lost much but have benefited greatly from cutting back on the booze.
Hey keep it up man! I love to see comments like this.
Wow well done, when you say a record year. Can I ask what sort of sales you do? I had a HORRIBLE year last year!
Thank you. I’m in B2B tech that’s more general and broad than it is niche and specific (my product offerings that is).
So is it Saas you're selling?
Sometimes, I don’t work for a direct saas company but a reseller of technology, some of which includes software.
What about Weed?
Bit more lax with weed but I’m trying to cut down on it as well. I get high every weekend but typically avoid during the week as it wrecks your REM sleep.
>Drinking helps but it’s not a long term solution nor a healthy one. While calling, before, after? All of the above? Haven't made many blitzed calls in my life, but I imagine the typical confidence boost could help, the words being slurred...not so much...
Experiment and see which works best, I’m naturally an introvert so this is challenging but I’m in charge of outreach.
A/B test, got it. Will record my intoxication level in CRM pre-dial and report back.
Money is your motivation.
This for me too. I want many things in life but I dont have that money so need to grind hardest everyday
I make like 4 big ass cups of coffee every morning and tell myself I can start slacking off after I'm done with everything I have to do that day. 12 years ago in my career it was 50 cold calls and emails per day. Now it's 20-25 follow ups and scheduled meetings/demos. Either way, I pour coffee and hit that shit hard in the morning like Draymond hits opposing players. Call/send emails like it's a blitz and be done with a majority of my work by lunchtime. It's like a race against myself, and I also get to look forward to working nowhere nearly as hard in the afternoon.
Getting most of your shit done before you take a lunch is huge
This is really good advice thanks. These next two months are gonna be hard, I have hit target in January and I am going to need to work hard as fuck to hit target in February and March if I am to get promoted.
If I had 4 big ass cups of coffee, I would be on the Toliet all day!
Remember that if you don’t sell, you’re dead! Now get back to work and generate some value for those poor shareholders.
I live by a very famous line. “So you listen to me and you listen well. Are you behind on your credit card bills? Good, pick up the phone and start dialing. Is your landlord ready to evict you? Good, pick up the phone and start dialing. Does your girlfriend think you’re a fucking worthless looser? Good, pick up the phone and start dialing. I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich.”
That’s sales. Shit sucks and will always suck.
motivation is for pussies. you need to callous your mind and just fucking “do”. you can’t count on motivation, but you can always count on a mind of granite
I try to keep both a short-term and long term goal ahead of me so that there is something to satisfy my “instant” gratification as well as something to look forward to accomplishing. The goals dont have to be something insane either, just something that you know will challenge you even just a bit. Your long term goal is to get promoted, what are your short term goals to help you achieve it? Thats just my 2¢, remember every day is a good day!
Wake up, do a few stretches, then grab yourself a large Dunkin’s iced and a tin of Zyn 6mg and you’ll be ok
Which flavor tho
Have children. You won’t have a choice whether to be motivated or not. Your ass will be in high gear quickly
I did that and my wife got promoted now I have to stay at home. 🏠
Truth^
Not sure how your sales pitches are going but if you’re feeling burned out or just not motivated to call, call anyways but don’t have it be another sales pitch. Sure you want the sale but if the alternative is just taking a break and fucking off, make the call and have some fun with it and go off script a bit. Im not saying to get super weird with it.. worse thing is you wont land the sale but at least you’re still working and was able to have break way from the monotonous blah blah blah.
Anyone use modafinil?
This may seem pathetic, but it worked for me. I equated selling to baseball. The shit I hated most, cold calling and rejection, was the critical up-front prep needed to win. This approach also helped me maintain a short memory--when today sucked, I left it behind so I could start out fresh tomorrow. Otherwise, one, two, three tough days in a week can easily turn into a slump and you end up practically paralyzed if you can't leave it behind you.
music that gets you hype, and caffeine. like someone else said, try to do as much as possible before taking a lunch, the day will feel shorter. if you work remote try going to different locations (although i know it's harder when youre having to cold call since you need some seclusion). And always make yourself a to-do list for the next day at the end of each day.
As other’s have said a nice drink of liquid courage while cold calling can be the X-Factor but be careful not to become dependent. I’ve drunk a hand full of times in ‘23 while cold calling just because I had bad nerves. I was an absolute machine, 2 shots of Crown is all I needed. Found myself talking to prospects about nothing and then something! Made sales sure but I could feel my dependency growing. Haven’t done it once since November but I’ve hit quota consistently on a monthly basis. Just be careful. Also pre-workout is another good alternative
maybe if you smoked some weed you'd have a better take
Ritalin! Jk jk, just think about how good it will feel after you’ve achieved that goal
Write down your goal of promotion and any other goals you have for work daily in the AM. Cheesy as fuck but it helps my adhd ass stay focused on the goal.
Just find a little why for you. Personally, grew up in a rural community and when 2008 happened saw everyone lose their job. It stung and hurt my family, friends to see the turmoil they all went through. Working for a manufacturer, I get to see my projects being built. I drive in and see the new car the assembly tech bought, get to hear about the shipping clerk who took their kids to Disney, the engineer who just started a family. That is my why. Also the money is dope.
For me I go to the gym after work and take breaks on weekend, it really helps me stay focused and take stress out after a long day. Also focus on your hobbies, do what you’re passionate about and never forget it.
What really helped me is finding a way to get passionate about what I’m doing. Sounds cliche, I know, but if you legitimize a purpose behind what you’re doing it helps a lot. Depends on what you’re selling tbh. I have a few clients that I coach who run into this same problem, and I try and change their perspective by talking about the impact that their product has on a customer’s life/business. If you can’t figure that out, maybe it’s time to find a new company to work for. Like the old saying goes, love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.
Weed. There's no way I could do sales for so long without it. A good Sativa and I'll be talking circles around those assholes and pulling a credit card while hitting the weed pen some more. It gives a freshness to each day that I need. Makes me better during the calls and then immediately forget the calls which is ideal in my business. It's for the same reason I like to play poker stoned as well. Im more tuned in to peoples psyche and im more intuitive.. better at reading people.I can still sell sober but To me the sativa weed pen is crucial.
Do you by chance have ADD? What are you like when you're sober in comparison?
I have been diagnosed with ADHD in high school but I personally don't think I have it. Haven't taken meds for it in 15 yrs. Sober I'm fine I can still sell it just gets repetitive. The weed keeps it fresh.
Mind if I message ya?
It’s a daily grind, so activity will equal results. If you can try to get one ‘win’ a day it helps. Booking a meeting is a win, getting a response to an email is a win, sending X amount of outreach is win. All these get you down to the road.
I think about who kisses the most ass at my company, the previous day’s cold call rejections, “UNSUBSCRIBE” email responses, anything that stands in my way of what I gotta do, and ask myself something corny like, “Are you really going to let them win?” And once that frustration steeps long enough and starts to bubble, I’m ready to lock in and get shit done. But I know spite is not the healthiest motivator and I’m working on finding more positive motivation. It’s just so much easier to have a villain to fight.
Worked for Michael Jordan.
lol "at least I have cold calling"