Don't Be a Reluctant Caller
The great English actor, Sir Laurence Olivier, after a lifetime on stage and screen, once admitted that he suffered from stage fright his entire career.
Huh? Hard to imagine that one of the most revered of all 20th century actors, who appeared in more than 120 stage roles, nearly 60 movies, and more than 15 television productions, could have had stage fright.
Notice his numbers. Obviously, Sir Laurence's condition didn't prevent him from being successful. And I think it's instructive that he was willing to talk about it, because it gives us at least four clues about him as a professional, and about his spirit:
1. He recognized that he had a "condition."
2. He accepted it as something he must deal with.
3. He obviously took steps to minimize the affects of his condition.
4. He refused to let his condition get in the way of his life's goals.
What do your "numbers" look like? I'm speaking of your sales numbers, not your acting numbers. Are you making the sales goals you and your organization have established. At the end of the day, month, or year, can you say that, regardless of the challenges, your performance at least met, if not exceeded what was expected? If not, do you know why?
Over the years I was trained by some of the best selling organizations in the world. As I became proficient in the fundamentals of selling, I observed something that was happening concurrently with the professional growth of many salespeople. Something was preventing some of the best trained, and seemingly highly motivated people from achieving their goals, and the goals of their organizations.
This "something" was call reluctance.
I have been selling all my life. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I was selling on commission by age 18. After all these years, thousands of sales calls, who knows how many sales made and sales budgets successfully met, and even many years as a professional sales trainer, I, too, have a confession to make. I suffer from a form of call reluctance.
I would like to think that my "numbers" would provide any interested observer with some clues about this professional: that I recognized, took steps to minimize, and refused to let this condition get in the way of my professional goals. But that book hasn't been written yet.
You can line up a hundred sales trainees, each with comparable motivation and ability to learn, give them the same world-class training and practical experience, and in time, the inability of some to achieve success in selling will likely be traced to some form of call reluctance.
Some "form" of call reluctance? Well, it turns out, call reluctance is a fairly complicated condition, which manifests itself in a number of ways.
Frankly, I didn't know there were so many different kinds of call reluctance until my friend, Mike Stewart, joined me on my show. Mike's a professional sales trainer and a member of my Brain Trust, and he introduced me and my audience to a list of 12 types of call reluctance, which have been identified by Behavioral Sciences Research Press, Inc. Here's the list:
Doomsayer - worries, avoids social risks
Over-Preparer - over-analyzes, under acts
Hyper-Pro - obsessed with image, credibility
Stage Fright - fears group presentations
Role Rejection - ashamed of sales career
Yielder - fear of intruding on others
Social Self Consciousness - intimidated by upscale clientele
Separationist - fears loss of friendships
Emotionally Unemancipated - fears loss of family approval
Referral Aversion - fears disturbing existing relationships
Telephobia - fears using telephone for self promotion
Oppositional Reflex - rebuffs attempts to be coached
Mike says call reluctance prevents "highly motivated, clearly goal-directed salespeople from initiating contact with prospects." The good news about call reluctance, Mike points out, is that you can overcome it. Obviously I agree, because I am walking proof.
At first, I didn't see myself in this list. My call reluctance condition is what we used to call simply, "the fear of rejection". This is where you may actually find the prospect, but before you make contact, the idea of being rejected causes you to convince yourself that the prospect doesn't need what you have to sell. Mike says my call reluctance is akin to stage fright, so perhaps I do fit in one of these twelve after all - me and Sir Laurence.
The interesting thing about this is that, just like no one would imagine Sir Laurence would have to deal with stage fright, those who know me would never suspect that I would have to manage the fear of rejection. Why is this important to point out? Because sometimes the thing that is preventing us from achieving our goals is not at all evident.
How can you tell if you, or someone in your organization has call reluctance? Here's what it looks like: As I pointed out earlier, it ultimately manifests itself in the numbers. For example: Insufficient numbers on call reports; missed selling step goals, such as proposal delivery; and of course, failure to meet sales budgets.
Here's what call reluctance sounds like: As the goals are missed, when held accountable, those with a call reluctance condition will offer a number of excuses. Mike says you may hear things that sound like this:
• Blaming others or job requirements for not prospecting.
• Complaining to divert attention from sales responsibilities.
• Whining to get sympathy and create guilt.
• Spending time and effort on safe activities.
• Making excuses instead of making productive calls.
• Staying in the office instead of getting into the field.
So, what do you do about call reluctance? If you think it might be holding you back, look at the list of four clues I mentioned above: recognition, acceptance, minimizing, and refusal to let it interfere with your success. The first two are critical, because both of them are totally up to you. Number three, minimizing, is something for which you will likely need help from someone else. Probably a professional like Mike Stewart.
Number four, refusing to give in, depends on your spirit and inner strength - what you are made of - and really, is what drives the other three. Are you the kind of person who allows a condition like call reluctance to control and direct your life? Or are you a person like Sir Laurence Olivier? Prepared to recognize that you are not without personal challenges; Accepting these challenges as something to be dealt with; Taking steps to minimize the affects of your challenges; And drawing on your spirit to accomplish your personal and professional goals in life in the face of these challenges.
What if you are managing people whom you believe have forms of call reluctance? The steps are similar: recognize; help them admit and accept the problem; and this is your most important role, help them minimize the problem. I believe if you can help your salespeople with the first three, number four, strength of spirit, will be taken care of.
Mike emphasizes that there are ways for you to know about call reluctance tendencies before you hire someone. He and other professionals help companies conduct sophisticated assessments of sales candidates, where they can get an idea of the possibility of call reluctance, as well as the level of motivation of a candidate, prior to hiring.
Yes, assessments and consultants cost money. Money most small businesses think they don't have. But my question to you is this: How much money are your poor performers costing you? Not only in current business, but also in market penetration.
I also know how difficult and expensive it is to find new people and get them qualified to represent your company. If you have someone on board that you think has a call reluctance condition, but whom you also believe is redeemable, get them some help. Don't let their call reluctance cost you your business, or their career.
Write this on a rock... Call reluctance is a serious and expensive malady that is not always easy to identify. Find out if you or your current (and prospective) salespeople have any form of call reluctance, and take the steps necessary to get rid of it.
Jim Blasingame, creator and host of The Small Business Advocate Show
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