Today is the last workday of February. It is not exactly the five-month mark of my time at my new company, but it’s close enough.
I have been a Business Development Representative (BDR) in Minnesota since a little before Halloween, and having never been in sales before, I’ve learned a great deal.
Basically, a BDR is someone who makes cold calls and sends emails to people all day long. My role specifically is to try and get them to schedule a meeting with one of my sales partners, who’s job is to give them a demo of our product and try to get them to use us.
Honestly, I’ve learned a ton in the past few months. A million different things have happened, and it would take forever to give you even half of the details of my life in Minnesota. Therefore, I will stick with one of the biggest things I’ve learned in sales.
How to Talk to People Without Fear
I am naturally a bit of an introvert. Don’t get me wrong, I love my people, my parties, my good times, but I’m easily burnt out and greatly enjoy sitting quietly by myself for extended periods of time.
When I was on the job hunt, I was forced to talk to people fairly frequently for interviews. Admittedly, this was often over the phone, and sometimes via video chat, but it stressed me out. As far as time on the job hunt goes, I can probably condense the various time frames into about five months total. After five months of putting yourself in front of people, always saying yes when they want to talk to you, and putting your best foot forward every time, the nerves start to ease up just a bit.
Still, even when I was offered the job I have now, I got quite nervous on the phone. I still moved around a lot, sweat a bit, and had to force myself to control my breathing and answer questions slowly and carefully (with any phone call, not just this one). The fact that it was a sales role that required me to be on the phone most of the day intimidated me slightly. I had already seen how far I’d come and knew I would only get better surrounded by other people on the phones all day.
And if I cracked under pressure and had a nervous breakdown on the sales floor? Well, at least I can say I tried.
In sales, you get hung up on, a lot. Occasionally, you even get yelled and cussed at. Most of the time, though, at least in my experience, you are politely told ‘no thank you’, and sometimes you even get an explanation and a pleasant conversation out of it. At some point, you just have to make yourself pick up the phone and make the call.
I still fidget a bit when I talk to people, which may be a remnant of nerves. I don’t mind it though, it feels more natural and I would rather the nerves come out through movement than a shakey or breathy voice. I speak with more confidence than I used to, and though I still have a way to go, I feel more comfortable challenging people on the other end with polite questions.
Body language
Even though you’re only talking to people on the phone, body language communicates information to you just as much as it does someone you’re talking to in real life. It definitely affects your mood and tone. You can’t speak with a confident tone if your chin is drooped to your desk and your shoulders are more sloped than the hunchback of Notre Dame. I provide examples of the kind of body language I personally used while selling in the different approaches below, but feel free to do some research and use what works best for you.
I have a few different personalities on the phone.
Lost Puppy Mode
This is where I tell whoever answers the phone that I really don’t know who to talk to, but here’s what I’m calling about and will you please connect me to the right person or at least let me know if I’m even barking up the right tree? I’ve used this a lot when female receptionists pick up the phone, especially if they sound middle-aged to elderly. I’ve even gotten a woman to explain their entire business to me, which she certainly did not have to do and she probably had better things to do.
Body language when I used this was leaning over my desk, crossing my ankles and tucking them under my chair, and crossing one arm over my body while the other held the phone. It’s a combination of aggressive, eager body language, and timid, shy body language. A perfect mix to pull off the lost puppy tone while still digging for information.
Casually Confident Mode
For this approach, I pitch my voice a half octave lower, speak slower, and completely expect them to book a meeting with me because of course they need us. If they don’t then that’s totally fine, would they mind telling me why?
When I used this approach, I would lean back in my chair, prop my feet up on the bar under my desk (never put your feet on an actual desk in a workplace, even the most casual of workplaces), held the phone in one hand and had a pen poised to take notes in the other. A very confident, casual pose, assuming the best.
Professional Mode
This is a very straightforward, polite approach.
“Hello, I’m Samantha and I’m looking for Billy Bob, the Operations Manager. Oh hello, Mr. Billy Bob? How are you, good? I’m calling because my company does XYZ and I’m wondering if that might be useful to you? Yes? Excellent! How does Thursday at 3:00 sound for a meeting?”
This one’s body language is similar to what you might use in an interview. I sit up straight, my feet are neutral or crossed at the ankles for comfort, I’m ready to take notes either on a note pad or my computer. I have the name of the person ready, I know exactly what I’m doing.
Which mode I use depends entirely on who I am calling, how much I know about the company, who I may have talked to about this before, how the person on the other end sounds, and whether we’ve worked with similar companies in the past. They’ve all served their purposes in the right setting, and the nice thing is I’m not faking any of them, they reflect how I feel on each individual phone call.
At the end of the day, practice makes perfect when it comes to just about anything. Talking and socializing with people, especially total strangers over the phone, can be daunting for us introverts, but it can be done, and results can come from it.