Syntony Business Advisors, LLC

Most people hate cold calling and that includes both those who have tried it and those who didn’t even bother. There is no question that cold calling is not the most enjoyable part of doing business but for many startups and even for mature businesses there are times when cold calling is a necessary evil and if executed properly will produce results. So you can bet I have done my share of cold calling and have trained and coached many of my clients’ employees to do it in an effective way. But what I noticed several years ago was that I actually became more comfortable and productive at cold calling after joining Toastmasters!

Now I don’t think many people at Toastmasters International are aware of this but one of the exercise we regularly do during a Toastmasters meeting is a very valuable tool for becoming more comfortable at cold calling. I am talking about table topics when without warning you are asked to stand up and talk about something you had no clue about a minute ago. I think table topics really help strengthen one’s objection handling muscles and almost everything else one learns at Toastmasters help us conduct a more effective telephone conversation.

So nowadays besides helping my clients develop a laser sharp sales plan, if its execution involves cold calling I encourage their staff to go find a Toastmasters club near them and join, have a lot of fun and get more commissions thanks to improving their skills.