Posted on: 28 November, 2001
Author: Jackie Ulmer
Does the thought of picking up the ... to calla ... customer or prospect make your ... you clearly map out a game plan of whenand who you are going to call ... only to fi Does the thought of picking up the telephone to calla potential customer or prospect make your stomachchurn?Do you clearly map out a game plan of whenand who you are going to call tomorrow, only to findyourself distracted with busy work and unable to makeany calls?Do your visions of all-expense paid, tropical vacations,big promotions and 5 digit bonus checks evaporate as thephone stares viciously at you like a ten ton one-eyed,one arm fire breathing monster?Call the Doctor, you have a bad case of Call Reluctance.If you are in the business of selling, and let's face it,we ALL are to some degree, you need to identify, addressand work through this disease if you are ever going to besuccessful.Before we talk about ways of working through this, let'stalk about what doesn't work -*Oh, just go out and do it!*Ever hear those words and want to choke the arrogance outof the one who uttered them?*Get over it! No one is going to bite you.*Again, visions of acting out a mad fantasy invade your mind.* It's the messenger, no one really cares what you say. *Well, that sounds great to the slick master of sales sittingnext to you, but when you are dealing with call reluctance,this shallow encouragement will NOT get you off of start andinto the race.So, how do you overcome Call Reluctance.The first step is to recognize and acknowledge it. It isnot unique, something to be ashamed of or incurable.Simply admitting that you are dealing with this is halfof the battle.Second, identify what type of Call Reluctance you areexperiencing. Below are a few categories -Reluctance to call someone you view as having a highersocioeconomic standing.Reluctance to admit that you are * selling * something.Afraid to * bother * family and friends.Obsessed with having a perfect presentation.Fear of using the telephone.Fear of actually closing the sale.These are just a few of the categories that could beafflicting you.If it's any consolation at all, you are not alone.Call Reluctance is the single biggest killer of mostsales related careers.Knowing this, what can you do to cure yourself onceand for all?To begin with, Call Reluctance can usually be tracedto one of these originating factors - personalitytraits, hereditary factors and environmentalinfluences. Environmental influences are by far thebiggest cause.Perhaps a bad experience early in your career, aclose, respected friend, family member or mentor whotold you that you couldn't sell or be successful inyour endeavor or the pressure of unrealistic quotasor goals.Because these are environmental influences, they arelearned behaviors and, consequently, they can beunlearned.Properly identifying the type or types of CallReluctance you are experiencing will help with thecure.Spend a few quiet moments clearing your mind andallowing events of the past to filter through. Ifyou have an instinctive feeling about someone orsome event that may be causing your reluctance,don't disregard it.Write your thoughts down and try to remembereverything you possibly can.Do this on a regular basis until you feel that youhave uncovered everything that could possibly becausing your dilemma.Then, one by one, work through each of the events orpeople you have written about and write out what youwould like to change about these experiences. Getvery creative and actually see in your mind's eyethe perfect experience.Next, do regular mental exercises where you viewyourself experiencing the events in the positiveway that you have written out. Rehearse these overand over in your mind. Feel the empowerment andrenewed confidence?After doing this with some frequency, you are nowready to experiment with making a few calls.Spend a few minutes visualizing a successful outcome,and then choose those areas that are the mostcomfortable to you. Gradually, as yourself-confidence builds, you can move on to the morechallenging areas.These exercises will prove very powerful in helpingyou to break through your barriers, if doneconsistently.Before long, that one-eyed monster sitting on yourdesk will once again become a communications deviceknown as a telephone.You'll be packing your Bermuda's and sunglasses inanticipation of your company-paid, tropical vacation.Oh, and those bonus checks? Six Digits!!! Article Tags: Call Reluctance Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com