Conquering Phone Fear - Three Tips

Did you ever come into your office in the morning, knowing you needed to make 30 phone calls, but hating the thought of picking up the telephone? If you’ve ever felt that way, you are not alone.

PHONE FEAR
Marketing research has found that call reluctance holds more salespeople back from earning what they’re worth, than anything else. Selling is a numbers game and most sales are made after the seventh contact, but many salespeople quit after two calls
KILLING SALES CAREERS

Call reluctance strikes men and women, young and old, new and experienced people in every selling field. It’s as common as the common cold, but can be a lot more deadly even killing sales careers.

Research has found that 40 percent of all salespeople suffer a career-threatening episode of call reluctance at some point. Studies show that 80 percent of all first-year salespeople who don’t make the grade, fail because of insufficient prospecting.

Often, call reluctance is a learned behavior and certain forms of it are contagious. Salespeople can pick it up from managers, trainers or co-workers. Traumatic early selling experiences can contribute to call reluctance.

CONQUERING THE FEAR OF CALLING
Three tips

1. Keep a phone log. Before you leave the office each night, prepare a list of calls for the following morning, much like a to-do list. Next to each person’s name and telephone number, write the reason you will call, along with points you want to cover.

Reason: You will feel more organized and PREPARED when you come into the office. Your subconscious mind is set up to begin making telephone calls.

2. Set daily call goals. Decide how many calls you can reasonably make each day. WRITE down your call goals.

Reason: SETTING goals and writing them down is the first step toward achieving your goals. You are mentally preparing yourself to make the phone calls.

3. Focus on success, not failure. Keep your mind off rejection. Think about your customers who love your products and service and who buy consistently from you.

Reason: Remembering your successful experiences and happy customers will encourage you to repeat those good experiences. When you concentrate on past rejection and negative experiences, it’s too easy to talk or think yourself out of making phone calls.

GET CO-WORKERS INVOLVED

If you work near others who use the telephone for marketing and selling, make a deal with them that you won’t talk about negative experiences. Make an agreement that you will only share positive results

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