9 tips for overcoming sales call reluctance

September 9, 2014

Getting over the initial fear of talking to people can be a major roadblock for aspiring producers.

One such producer who really wants to make it in this business but is battling anxiety actually making the pitch to prospects reached out to the Forum community this week for some advice on how to overcome this fear.

What follows is a sampling of the tips and ideas that this thread has already generated. Please jump in with your own thoughts about the best ways to overcome sales call anxiety on this thread.

Zig says: “Some will. Some won’t. So what.” Fear is a liar. Step into the box and swing the bat. If you keep your eye on the ball, you’ll hit it. (that’s what I tell my baseball team, and myself, most days)
Some people you get will be rude, but be happy you can make the decision that they have just crossed themselves off your list of people you would like to help today… It is always a numbers game. You can get a better closing percentage over time, but the ones who are at the top simply talk to more people during the day. They also try to learn constantly and make changes to their presentations all the time.
Buy and read “The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance.” Figure out what type you have and apply the prescription recommended to overcome it.
1) So what if they don’t want to talk to you; you didn’t walk out with anything less then you walked in with; 2) Ask your spouse to role play with you on your job/ pitch. Ask your boss, co-workers, practice by yourself in the car and in the mirror. Seems silly but it works; 3) watch this video… Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are – YouTube – It’s about faking it till you make it. It’s worth watching the whole time otherwise you’ll miss the beneficial part of putting it all together.
Someone said, “Successful people form the habit of doing the things unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do”.That’s fine as far as it goes, but Wayne Cotton (www.cottonsystems.com) says instead to find a way to do the things you must do in a way that doesn’t grind you to powder. Grinding it out every day doing things that leave you in an emotional puddle is no way to live. There are many answers to your question, but the most important one is this: Believe in what you’re doing and see its value for the people you’re working with. There’s more, but unless you get that one first, the others won’t matter.
Work more on “low pressure” situations where a potential sale is not on the line. Ask a your waitress/waiter a question or two. Something like how they like working here. When standing in line try and talk to the person in front or behind you. Some people get more comfortable with it the more they talk to people. Other people never get comfortable with talking to strangers. Personally I love meeting people and talking with them. My brother is the opposite. I know his neighbors better than he does. You are to be commended for trying to find solutions rather than let it defeat you.
The first thing you need to do is develop a track to run on. A lot of people say they don’t use a “canned” speech, but if you were to ride with the people out of that group that are actually successful, I bet you will find that when they are making the initial call, their approach will vary very little, if any from one call to the next. They do it so often and so naturally, they don’t even realize themselves that they are using a ‘canned” speech.
I’ve been in phone sales for years… I’ve had those mornings where I would just feel it in my stomach and also when having to call some hard follow-ups and I’ve just sucked it up. But I read something on this forum that changed that – someone said if you are offering good products and truly trying to help people, then just remember all you’re trying to do is help people. I use that and couple it with someone else’s tag: Some will, some wont, who cares? So now I remind my self every day all I am doing is helping people. No more bad stomach feeling and I’ve been much happier.
You just have to realize that the worst thing that can happen is they tell you no, or go away. Sometimes we build things up so much that 99% of things in life are no big deal.