We've all heard it before. Sales is a numbers game. We've heard it from sales
managers, sales gurus and sales trainers—but from a behavioral scientist? George
Dudley, world-renowned behavioral scientist and author of the book, The Psychology
of Sales Call Reluctance, comes to the same conclusion.
George started studying salespeople some 30 years ago. He wanted to know
why some salespeople made so much money while others, with the same amounts
of talent, skills, and abilities, did not. He thought at first that it was simply
due to personality differences. Perhaps some were more shy or withdrawn. He
came to the same conclusion that all salespeople had realized for years—success
in sales is determined by the number of contacts initiated with prospective
buyers on a consistent basis.
Let's assume that you and I have the same product knowledge, abilities, experience,
and territory. However, you make 10 new contacts each week and I make one. Who
is likely to sell more? This is such a basic concept that he calls it the one
indisputable secret of success in sales.
So Why Don't We Just Do It?
If that is what it takes to make sales, then why do salespeople not just
go out and initiate contact with people who are likely to buy what they sell?
After all, they know how to do it and they agree that this is what they should
be doing. Intellectually, they have no difficulty buying into this concept.
Emotionally, it's a different story. When presented with the opportunity to
promote themselves and their products or services, they hesitate.
They spend endless hours and gobs of energy avoiding these opportunities.
They come up with the most logical reasons why they will not get out and prospect
for new business. The most common reason they give is lack of time. "If only
there were more hours in the day," they complain. "Perhaps we need time management
training," they tell their sales managers who dutifully supply it only to find
that sales do not improve. They simply become more efficient at their avoidance
behaviors.
Three Reasons: Myths, Misconceptions, and Fear
One reason why salespeople avoid prospecting is because they are still stuck
in outdated beliefs or myths. Remember your mom telling you that little kids
should be seen and not heard? Remember the saying that worthwhile goods and
services don't have to be sold, they sell themselves? Or the hardest working
and most deserving will earn the most? We call them myths because they no longer
have any validity even though we cling to them as "facts."
Another reason for contact avoidance is misconception about selling. Some
people believe that they must become the stereotypical salesperson in order
to promote themselves, and they shy away from that. After all, salespeople lie
and cheat, don't they? They're bombastic manipulators, aren't they?
There is nothing further from the truth. There are no liars and cheats in
sales. Do you know why? They get run out of town pretty quickly. Those are the
dishonest hustlers who are not true salespeople. In order to make consistent
money as a salesperson, you have to be professional and honest, and care about
your customers.
The third reason for contact avoidance is fear. Salespeople are afraid that
they would look unprofessional if they tooted their own horn. Or they would
appear pushy if they called someone to sell them something. This fear is Sales
Call Reluctance and it causes more salespeople all over the world to give up
on their dreams than anything else.
Do I Have It?
One of the biggest problems with Sales Call Reluctance is that it often lurks
undetected in salespeople. They know something is wrong but they don't know
what it is. They find it very difficult to admit that they have any kinds of
fear about calling on people. Their managers know something is wrong, but they
attribute the lackluster production to laziness, lack of motivation, or an uncaring
attitude. They talk about attitude adjustments.
Salespeople find some ingenious ways to cope with their call reluctance.
I remember how I did, and how much it had cost me. Several years ago I had my
own life insurance brokerage company in South Africa. I was doing very well
and sold a number of policies.
There was one insurance salesperson who used to rile me because he always
seemed to sell more than I did. One day I did an analysis of the two of us.
I came to the conclusion that he was not smarter than I was. In fact, I could
run rings around him on product knowledge. He was not better connected than
I was. Some of my friends would not even talk to the likes of him. He didn't
look better than I did. (Okay, he was marginally better looking but I dressed
better.) So what was it?
I thought I knew. I was too busy with paperwork! I needed to free up more
time to be out there selling. So I hired a secretary (we still called them that
back then) and got ready to beat him. However, instead of improving sales, I
just got busier. So I hired a second secretary. Guess what? No more extra sales,
just extra expense. (Here's a note for sales managers—I have only once seen
a salesperson increase sales after getting an administrative assistant. Don't
fall for that one!)
It finally did dawn on me why he was more successful than I was—he contacted
more people than I did! That was all. While I debated about the value of prospecting,
he did it. While I honed my prospect list, he was calling on his. While I held
meetings with my secretaries, he was talking to my potential customers. But
I looked good!
Coping with my sales call reluctance was expensive but I have seen many salespeople
waste countless hours and dollars coping with theirs. They simply don't know
that they have sales call reluctance and may never know until someone tells
them. The biggest strength this fear has is to stay hidden because that allows
it to strike with impunity. It makes logical, educated adults very creative—but
not in sales. They become creative in finding excuses. They believe these excuses
and, like me, will spend huge amounts of money on these excuses. Call reluctance
is expensive!
The 12 Faces of Sales Call Reluctance
In previous articles, I described some of the call reluctances. This may
be a good time to divulge all twelve. Remember that these are all fears; they
cause salespeople to avoid opportunities; and they don't come free. Many started
as something good and then got out of control. Once out of control, they exact
a painful penalty.
Referral Aversion
| Prevents salespeople from asking for
referrals even when they know how to do it, intend to do it, and want
to do it. |
Doomsayer™
| These are salespeople who always seem
to see the worst-case scenarios. They spend a great deal of time, energy
and effort worrying about things that can go wrong. |
Overpreparer™
| Concerned about knowing everything,
they avoid by spending too much time getting ready. They tend to bore
customers with their product-oriented presentations. |
Hyperpro™
| Over-concerned with the image they
project, they spend their time checking themselves out in the mirror.
They often suffer from big case-itis and find many ordinary prospecting
methods beneath them. Performance often does not justify the ego. |
Stage Fright™
| They become flustered by having to
present to a group. One-on-one prospecting is unimpaired. |
Role Rejection™
| Secretly ashamed of being in sales.
Even though intellectually bought in to the sales career, still has
emotional doubts. |
Yielder™
| Over-concerned with being liked. Afraid
to appear pushy or intrusive. Defaults a lot of business to more assertive
competitors. |
Social Self-Consciousness™
| Intimidated by people they consider
above themselves, they routinely avoid them and prefer to call on people
at a lower level. |
Separationist™
| Refuses to mix business with friends.
Fears loss of approval from friends. |
Unemancipated™
| Rigidly refuses to sell to family
members. Referral Aversion™ Never seems to find the right time to ask
for referrals. Afraid to lose the present sale. |
Telephobia™
| Has to psyche self up to use the telephone
to prospect. Other uses of the phone unimpaired. |
Oppositional Reflex™
| Reflexively opposes even when to do
so is not in best interests. Argues with customers. Refuses to accept
help or even admit to needing help. |
How Do I Know If I Have Sales Call Reluctance?
One sure-fire way to know if sales call reluctance is present is to look
at sales production and prospecting. If sales production is not where you think
it should and could be, then you should look at your prospecting activities.
Is prospecting low?
Low prospecting exists if:
- You're not selling enough to achieve your personal goals.
- You're not selling enough to achieve goals set by your company.
- Selling opportunities exist that are not being addressed by you but
are being addressed by your competition and you could or should be addressing
them.
Take a good hard look at yourself and your sales career. If you feel you
could do more but are frustrated because you cannot seem to comfortably prospect
and you want to, sales call reluctance may just be the one thing that is getting
in your way. I know this is small consolation but it's probably the same thing
that's preventing your competition from really beating up on you!
Other Sales Call Reluctance articles include the following:
Call Reluctance, the Fear-Free
Prospecting and Self-Promotion Workshop, and all related terms are copyrights
and/or registered trademarks of Behavioral Sciences Research Press, Dallas,
Texas. Sales Academy, Inc., is an Advanced Authorized Dealer for the Call Reluctance®
Program. Frank Lee is an international expert on Call Reluctance®. He can be
reached at (800) 898-3743 or at