How about this for a Cold Calling Nightmare

By now, you all know that I like to talk about cold calling. For whatever reason, I find this to be one of the most intriguing methods of marketing my services. Not to mention the fact that there is no greater thrill than making a call, finding an interested party, and closing a deal.

Of course, things don’t always work out as planned. A couple weeks ago, I ran into an angry local business owner who was outraged that I contacted him without notice.

After introducing myself and explaining that I was a local writer, there was dead air for a few seconds. At this point, I asked “are you still there?” This led to me being called everything from rude to unprofessional. After a brief apology on my part, he fired back with inquiries such as where I found his number and why I contacted him in the first place.

As you can imagine, I was doing my best to stay professional and explain my position. This was not good enough, as he continued with his rant.

Since it was obvious that the conversation was going nowhere, I thanked him once again and hung up the phone.

Why was this particular prospect so angry? I will never know for sure. Maybe he receives a lot of cold calls. Maybe he was having a bad day.

This is all part of cold calling. Although I was taken aback by his attitude, it did not stop me from picking up the phone again and making another call.

You are going to run into people like this from time to time. Don’t let them scare you away. Instead, move on and continue seeking out your next client.

Profile image for Chris Bibey
Chris is a full-time freelance writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He specializes in web content, sales copy, and many other forms of writing. Chris has two books in print, as well as hundreds of articles in local and nationwide publications.

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5 thoughts on “How about this for a Cold Calling Nightmare”

  1. Maybe that’s where the old “silence is golden” saying could’ve helped, :). If silent after introducing yourself, maybe just letting the silence go, let him be the one break it. Some people in sales or telemarketing even call this the “death pause”, whomever speaks first loses, something like that. I usually don’t like it as it feels like playing games, but, perhaps for some people it’s appropriate, it’s more their style, if the shoe fits, etc.

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  2. It sounds like he was having a bad day. Or, he could be experiencing obstacle after obstacle in his life and had to vent his frustration. Sadly, you were the ‘sounding board’ that day.

    I haven’t cold called, but I’ve cold emailed. I’ve stopped counting the number of emails and letter of introductions I’ve sent out. I agree with, “it did not stop me from picking up the phone again and making another call.” You can’t allow one person to stop you. I don’t.

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  3. Chris, I think sometimes people lump all unsolicited calls into the same category as telemarketers trying to sell them something they don’t want. I’ve had strong reactions in email before, and ironically one or two of those who reacted did come back later asking for my rates.

    Not everyone is a customer, I guess.

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  4. Thanks for sharing Chris. I don’t like making cold calls, but I appreciate you sharing this experience and driving home the important message of how to keep on marketing yourself in spite of rejection (or in this case a horrible situation). The morale of the story: Keep moving forward!

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