Humor can be very helpful on a cold call.
A while back I was just beginning a Call Block (a set aside block of time to do nothing but make appointment making calls) and I got tongue tied while trying to get through my opening script. Hardly could I get my name out as a matter of embarrassing fact. It happens to everyone from time to time, right?
I stopped, chuckled at myself, and asked with all the sincerity I could muster, “Do you mind if I start again?” My target chuckled along with me and said, ‘Sure”. We wound up having a good qualifying conversation (he was not qualified, but as we know, every ‘No’ gets us closer to a ‘Yes’, so no complaints here).
The caveat with humor is on a cold call is that it normally occurs spontaneously. It is not planned. Jokes should never be used as you’ll lose credibility.
This spontaneity, it should be noted, stems from self-confidence. The reason I was able to laugh at myself was because I was confident in my ability to deliver my opening script. It is delivered in a very conversational manner because it is. I do not even need the script in front of me anymore, so it doesn’t come across as being read.
The moral of the story is that humor, especially self-deprecating humor, can be very effective in breaking down the barriers that exist on a cold call.
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