Cold calling. It’s a road we’ve all been down if we’ve ever had a role in sales. For those of you who need a good laugh or a little pick me up before your next cold call, take a look at these 25 relatable cold calling memes to shake off the nerves.
1. The Call Back
Cold calling will not always illicit the most enthusiastic response. It’s important to remember that the customers you call are very busy people. They could be at work. They could be running errands with their children. Whatever the case may be, remember not to take it personal. Instead, use it as an opportunity to engage and keep contact with your prospect.
For example, if a prospect asks for a call back in the future, you could say something along the lines of, “Yes, no problem! I could call you back in 6 months, but by then you will have lost X amount of money by foregoing my current offer. I only need 5 minutes of your time if you’d like to hear more, otherwise I am happy to give you another call in 6 months.”
Letting the prospect know the benefit and potential involved in speaking with you will make them more likely to pause whatever they are doing and give you a moment of their time.
2. The Receptionist
Okay, raise of hands, how many of you SDRs have gotten connected to the receptionist instead of your prospect? Probably all of you! This might be the most relatable of all cold calling memes. Do not become discouraged.
A perfect response in this instance would be something like, “Yes, this is in regard to the email I sent recently”. Or “Yes, I am just following up with them in regard to our previous conversation we had”. Whatever the scenario is, frame your response in a way that doesn’t undermine the importance of your call.
3. Cold Calling is Hot
Cold calling is not a thing of the past. It is still an incredibly effective means of reaching your prospects. Even with the advancement of technology with platforms such as five9; cold calling is STILL hot and it’s here to stay!
4. The Excuses
Does being rejected feel good? Of course not! However, rejection is the nature of the beast. You might hear a lot of no’s before you hear your first yes. And you may even hear some strange ways of turning down your offer because your prospect doesn’t want to hurt your feelings. Don’t take this personal.
If you’ve hit a wall with a customer who is not interested in your offer, think of this as an opportunity to grow some thick skin. Being resilient as an SDR will keep you motivated to hustle and continue reaching for the stars.
5. Script in Hand
Coming to your job prepared is a no brainer. When you have a script prepared for your cold call, you are more likely to nail your sales pitch. Preparing a script helps you sound better because it will decrease your stress levels and bring out the confidence in your voice.
In your cold call script, you want to make sure you have some basics included such as short sentences that drive your point forward, some ready to go responses for questions you know they might ask and statistics and data on the subject matter.
Being prepared demonstrates that you take your job seriously and that will always lead to success.
6. The End is Near
This is a very relatable meme. You’ve made your cold call with your customer and you’ve spent weeks developing a relationship. Your customer has decided to make the purchase. This is a time of celebration. Think of all the hard work that went into this sale. If you look back at the most difficult moment, it was likely the first attempt at contacting your customer. Cold calling can work and it’s important to remember that many SDRs do find success in it.
7. Dreading the Cold Call
We get it, cold calling can be nerve-racking. It requires guts and confidence to be able to pick up the phone and cold call someone. It also takes a lot of self-control to regulate the stress you might be feeling. But it is such an essential part of the job.
In fact, cold calling still generates the most qualified leads for many businesses today. 57% of C-level prospects prefer to be contacted via phone. Do not underestimate the power of cold calling. Practice getting thru the nerves as much as possible and perfect it.
8. Hello Anxiety
Here is some advice that will benefit not just your work life, but every aspect of your life: Get out of your head! The fear of rejection will not benefit how you perform during a cold call. The only two things you should be thinking about during your cold call is your customer and the goal at hand. Thinking about all the things that could go wrong will create unnecessary stress.
9. The Rude Prospect
Coming across a rude prospect is inevitable. It will happen a few times during your career as an SDR. Don’t let that stop you from picking up the phone and making your next cold call. Rejection can make you stronger!
10. Panic Time
Again, coming to your cold call prepared will never do you wrong. Aside from having an outline for your call, you should have an opening line ready to go. This doesn’t mean talking to your customer as if you’re a robot but having some lines prepared to use whenever you need them will create less panic during your call.
11. The Dead End
It happens, you call a prospect that won’t even give you a second of their time. Don’t let it bring you down, it happens to the best of us.
12. Don’t Sweat It
You’ve delivered an amazing sales pitch and now your customer is about to make a decision. Don’t sweat it. You are about to close the sale! It can be so exciting to reach this point. You can celebrate after!
13. As Jay-Z Once Said…
When you make a cold call, make sure you have your pitch ready to go. In general your sales pitch should be a one-liner summarizing what your company does, how they do it and for whom. Have this ready to go so you can ace your cold call.
14. Repetition
You’ve been cold calling all day and it seems like you’ve been delivering the same lines over and over and over again. Well, that’s because you have. But each time you deliver your pitch, you need to make it count. It’s important to speak slowly and with intent. It can help to get up from your seat and give your body a good stretch before the next call. Just remember, make every cold call count for something.
15. Cold Call Turn Meeting
The look on Oprah’s face makes this one of the most relatable cold calling memes. Imagine you’re an SDR who is trying to turn a cold call into a meeting. When you’re able to get your prospect to agree to a meeting, it can be a really exciting moment because you are getting one step closer to closing the sale. Your closer will thank you later for hooking that meeting for them.
16. Spook Yourself
Halloween is around the corner. If you’re in the mood for some spooky behavior, then indulge yourself in a cold call.
Just kidding! But seriously, cold calling can be fear inducing, especially if you’re new to the world of sales. The more practice you get in, the less scary it will be.
17. The Voicemail
This can be surprising for a lot of SDRs. A lot of the time, it doesn’t seem like you can make a connection with your prospect unless you’re speaking to them. If you leave a voicemail and end up getting a call back from them, that means you must have made an incredible pitch over voicemail. Good job!
18. A Nice Surprise
If you’ve developed a good connection with your prospect and they take the time to call you back, it can make you feel really accomplished. Celebrate the little wins!
19. Cold Calling Works
Again, cold calling is a tried-and-true method! There is nothing you could say to change our mind about that.
20. The Waiting Game
Perseverance is an amazing quality to have as an SDR. However, knowing when to count your loses will save you time and energy. Use your best judgment when it comes to deciding when to move on from a prospect.
21. No Pain, No Gain
Cold calling can bring some pain but try to remember that you are not alone! All SDRs experience rejection.
22. The Gatekeeper
Every once in a while, during your cold call, you will make contact with the gatekeeper instead of the prospect. No worries! Think of this as an opportunity to make a great first impression to someone on your prospect’s team.
23. Thank You Internet
Liam Neeson recommends doing research on your prospect before cold calling. The internet is a great resource to use during the research process. Use it to your advantage.
24. CRM is Your Friend
Updating your CRM is crucial during a day of cold calling. Being diligent about keeping track of each interaction with your prospect will better prepare you for the next time you speak to them.
25. Pick Your Poison
Of all the relatable cold calling memes, this one hits home for many. There are two specific tasks that sales dread doing: cold calling and updating the CRM. Pick your poison.
Cold calling can be stressful but hopefully these 25 relatable memes brought you some much needed laughter to your day. Still needing help with cold calling, SDR development and more? At TopLead, we have seasoned sales professionals ready to help you succeed. Send us an email at sales@toplead.io to get started today!