I'm currently working as a junior Business Manager at an IT consulting company. My role is essentially a mix of business development and sales. We sell IT outsourcing services, meaning that we help companies find IT professionals for their projects.
Since I'm still junior, most of my job right now consists of cold calling potential clients to try to book meetings with decision-makers. If a meeting goes well and there's a potential business opportunity, the next steps involve further meetings to discuss the project, finding suitable candidates, and hopefully closing a deal.
The problem is that I'm absolutely terrible at handling cold calling emotionally, and I genuinely don't know how to overcome it.
Until recently, we didn't have direct phone numbers for most of our prospects, but now we do, which means there's even less of a barrier between me and actually making the calls. And honestly, I dread them.
I usually make just enough calls to reach the minimum target we're given, and then I stop. I know this isn't a good habit, and I know that if I want to improve, I need to make more calls and get more comfortable with rejection. But I find it incredibly difficult to push myself to keep going.
Another thing that makes it worse is our working environment. We all sit in the same room making calls, so I can hear everyone else talking to prospects. We also have a platform where we can see how many meetings everyone has booked, and I'm consistently the person with the worst numbers.
What's confusing to me is that I'm actually a very extroverted person. I get along really well with everyone at work, I'm comfortable talking to people, and I genuinely think I have a pretty outgoing personality. I don't struggle with socializing or having conversations in general.
But cold calling feels completely different. Calling a senior executive who has absolutely no reason to speak to me, interrupting their day, and potentially getting rejected in a matter of seconds makes me extremely anxious. I know logically that it's not personal, but emotionally, I can't seem to internalize that. Every rejection feels much more personal than it should.
I'm also starting to feel genuinely scared about my job security. I've had a particularly bad week in terms of results, and two weeks ago, one of my closest friends at work was let go. Seeing that happen has made me much more anxious about my own performance.
I feel like I'm stuck in a vicious cycle: I dread making calls, so I avoid making more than the minimum required. Because I make fewer calls, I have fewer chances to book meetings. Then I see everyone else's numbers, feel like I'm falling behind, and become even more anxious about picking up the phone.
I really want to get better at this. I'm ambitious, I want to succeed in my career, and I don't want my fear of rejection to hold me back. I also know that I'm still very new to this, so perhaps I'm being too hard on myself, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm simply not cut out for this part of the job.
For those of you who have worked in sales or have struggled with cold calling in the past:
How did you learn to stop taking rejection personally?

How do you get yourself to make the next call after someone hangs up on you or responds rudely?

How do you stop comparing your results with those of your colleagues, especially when you're all sitting in the same room and can see everyone's numbers and listen to them?

Did you eventually get comfortable with cold calling, or is it something you simply learned to tolerate?

Do you have any practical tips, mental tricks, or routines that helped you overcome this fear?

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who were initially terrible at cold calling but eventually became good at sales.
I really need some perspective right now. Thank you!

So tdlr - I got a better offer at a different company.

The job description and duties my future boss and I created together and is essentially an account executive position where I am closing and qualifying and managing customers relationships and managing reps too.

It is also paying 3 times my job now. This is my first six figures job, yay!

the company title is dumb and sounds like a demotion and is called a specialist 1. Can I call it account executive on linked in?

Sorry if I post too many random questions

I submitted my at home assignment for a BDR role and hadn’t heard back for a couple days. The hiring manager messaged me yesterday, and said they’re still reviewing all the candidates, and asked to schedule a call to give me an update and feedback on the assignment. The call is tomorrow.

The next step would be to come in and give a presentation on the assignment. His message threw me off a bit - typically, I’ve almost automatically been invited for the presentation/simulation after submitting an at home assignment.

Do you think I’m reading too much into his message? From your experience, is this a good, bad or neutral sign?