subject: How to Overcome the Fear of Making Sales Calls [print this page] How to Overcome the Fear of Making Sales Calls
Sales call reluctance is the hesitation to initiate contact with potential buyers, and it is a serious mindset that affects a lot of people. Very few of us are even aware that it is happening. In fact, the majority of entrepreneurs and salespeople suffer from sales call reluctance at some point in their career.
We've all heard dozens of times a once celebrated salesperson has "lost their drive" or someone else "wasn't cut out for bringing in new business." As many as 80% of first-year salespeople will fail and over 40% of successful, tendered salespeople will hit a serious decline at some point in their career due to sales call reluctance.
This mindset affects more than just sales professionals, it can impact anyone who has to ask for the sale, build a client base, close a quote, follow up with a customer or sell retail products or services.
You might be wondering - what is holding these people back from such a straightforward task? They simply have to ask for the business, make the calls and give the quote.
The explanation generally falls into two categories - repeated fear and rejection.
We know that people who consistently try to hit their goals will experience more success from the pure volume of their efforts. Plus, when you factor in skill and qualified leads their success ratio grows exponentially.
It's pretty simple, but there are times when repeated rejection, fear of a brush-off or a lack of belief in what you're offering develops into a fear of or inability to take action.
Here's what it sounds like:
"I'd love to see new customers but I'm too busy putting out fires."
"I'm too established to be chasing customers."
"I think calling people to promote my product or services is demeaning - I'm not a telephone solicitor."
Don't let this happen to you! Let's look at ways to overcome sales call reluctance.
Here are some great ways to gain control:
1. When selling you have two customers to win over - first yourself and second your customer. You need to be 100% sold on the quality of what you offer.
2. If over-preparation is a problem, force yourself to get out of the office after a certain hour of the morning. This forces you to stop preparing and kick-starts your sales activity.
3. Get over stage fright by taking a presentation course or joining a group like Toastmasters that focuses on improving presentation skills and provides opportunities for practice so that you can become a better presenter.
4. If you are afraid to ask for the sale, this fear is best overcome by role playing. I hear you groaning - I know most people hate it, but it is the most effective way to expand your comfort zone.
When I'm conducting training, I often share this unique and effective approach that an insurance company employed to help new hires overcome sales call reluctance.
Insurance people have one of the hardest sales jobs around and the highest dropout rate of new hires. One company combats this by giving new hires a sheet of paper with 250 little boxes on it. The new recruit's job is to check a box every time someone says no in response to being asked if they are interested in buying insurance.
When all 250 boxes have been checked off, the insurance company pays the new recruit $1,000. How can they afford this? Now they have 250 people who have clearly indicated that they don't want to work with them!
They can afford to do this because the insurance company knows that in the time it takes for a new recruit to accumulate 250 rejections, there will be a high percentage of positive responses and new clients brought on board!
Nancy Drew is the CEO of Drew & Associates International Inc. a company devoted to empowering small businesses and sales professionals throughout North America, with tools to make more money and have the time to enjoy it! If you enjoyed this article and want to find out how others have increased sales by 700% you'll love our free strategies and how to tips that will help you achieve dynamic results!
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