Ben is a clean-cut, bright-eyed, affluent-looking insurance broker. His job
is to call on big clients. He has only one mandate: to bring in clients with
annual premiums of $100,000 plus. He looks successful and talks like a sales
superstar. He is also the lowest-producing salesperson in the office.
Outgoing and likable, he has all the right qualities to succeed. By all accounts,
he should be outselling everyone around him. But he's not. Ben has a dark, secret
fear that prevents him from achieving those big dollars that are within his
grasp.
Let's Hear Him Tell It
Ben explains: "Every time I have to call a CFO, I start to feel all queasy
inside. I know this is stupid. They are the same as every other person, aren't
they? They put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. I simply
can't pick up the phone and call. Isn't that something? I know he'll have questions
I can't answer, want information I can't provide, may not have the time to talk
to me, and probably will be very rude. Don't you think this is stupid?"
Ben's Sales Manager replies: "Anyone can be rude, including the lowest person
on the totem pole. When someone is rude, that's their problem, not yours. They
are probably rude to everyone who calls. Matter of fact, the higher you go up
the corporate ladder, the less rude people tend to be. Executives may be impatient
with those who waste their time, but even then, they're usually polite."
Ben replies: "You're right. I've noticed that when I do get to talk to the
CFO, he or she is always very nice to me."
Ben's Sales Manager reassures: "Another thing you should consider is that
you are bringing value to the company. If you have a good, valid business reason
for calling, then the CFO should be pleased to hear from you and be willing
to listen."
Ben answers: "You're right. Our company has brought tremendous value to the
clients we serve. Many are just like the CFO I want to call. They really like
us and are happy to be clients."
Ben's Sales Manager asks: "So your queasy feeling has no foundation, right?"
Ben exclaims: "You're right! It's stupid! I should just go ahead and make
the call. I'll do it!"
Ben seemed confident and pleased with himself.
Case Closed, Right? Wrong!
Two days later...
Ben moans: "It's me. I didn't make the call. Don't ask me why. I don't know.
I just can't get myself to do it. I feel so intimidated. What's wrong with me?"
What's wrong? Ben has a type of "Sales Call Reluctance" fear referred to
as "Social Self-Consciousness." It attacks good, honest, hard-working, and intelligent
salespeople just like Ben every day in all parts of the world and in many different
industries. Not only does it defy logic, it plays with it and then ambushes
it.
Ben should have made that call, right? He came to the logical conclusion
that his "queasiness" was stupid and had no justifiable basis. Unfortunately,
logic was not enough. It seldom is.
No matter how many times Ben told himself that his fear was illogical, no
matter how many times he tried to talk himself through it, the uneasiness in
his stomach prevented him from making the call. Anything else was preferable:
a visit to the coffee shop, a walk around the mall, the mound of paperwork on
his desk. The call could always be put off until tomorrow.
Ben Is Not Alone
Numerous salespersons have experienced Sales Call Reluctance, even veterans
like Ben. It is a fear that defies logical persuasion. It prevents decent, intelligent
salesmen and women from doing the things that they not only know how to do,
but want to do. They simply will not allow themselves to act. This emotional
short-circuit has ruined many a promising sales career and has nothing whatsoever
to do with personality, brains, or motivation.
The type of Sales Call Reluctance that Ben experienced, Social Self-Consciousness,
involves intense feelings of intimidation. Others are perceived as being better—in
a superior position, having more money or power, or even achieving higher education.
Unable to place themselves on an equal footing, the salesperson suffering Social
Self-Consciousness habitually avoids these people, preferring instead to call
on those at a lower level, even if they are not part of the desired market.
In the presence of "better" people, the salesperson becomes like a child
and is easily intimidated. They fawn instead of concentrating on their sales
presentations. While bragging that they can call on anyone, they secretly fear
these "better" people and find every excuse not to call them. This fear must
be disguised and hidden from sales managers. Stories may even be created of
their exploits among the rich and famous to throw everyone off. And then the
suffering salesperson silently slinks off to hide in a quiet place to daydream
about becoming all-powerful.
There is another dark side to this Sales Call Reluctance. Those very same
salesmen and women who fear those better than themselves tend to treat lesser
mortals with disdain and rudeness. It's almost as if they are acting out the
way they expect to be treated by those in power.
Sales Call Reluctance does not turn good salespeople evil. It simply prevents
them from prospecting at certain levels. It causes entire markets to be ruled
out. When forced into those markets, the salesperson suffering Social Self-Consciousness
experiences acute discomfort and becomes less than effective.
What Can Be Done?
Fortunately, there is a solution. A process called "Thought Zapping" is an
extremely effective mechanical method for replacing fear with more positive
feelings. With fear eliminated, calls on CFOs become possible. Although many
scoff at the Thought Zapping process, it has been proven to work and work well.
Here is a shortened version of how Thought Zapping works. (For a more detailed
explanation, see the book Earning What You're
Worth; the Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance, by George W. Dudley and
Shannon L. Goodson. Available from Sales Academy, Inc.)
Step 1—Select a type of Sales Call Reluctance
to fix. (There are 12 types; in this case, Social Self-Consciousness)
Step 2—Place a rubber band on your wrist
and find a quiet place to relax.
Step 3—Imagine a scene where you are shying
away from calling the CFO. Make this scene vivid in your mind. Experience
as fully as possible those gut-wrenching feelings.
Step 4—Zap! Pull the rubber band back and
snap your wrist just hard enough to make a loud sound and yank you out of
your thoughts.
Step 5—Immediately replace the gut-wrenching
feelings with positive ones, such as the feeling of accomplishment when
watching the CFO sign the application. Feel the pride.
Step 6—Repeat this process for 3 days,
twice a day.
After this, wear the rubber band around your wrist. Each time you experience
call reluctance, zap yourself. The snapping of the rubber band will immediately
muscle out the fear and instill a feeling of accomplishment. This allows you
to act, to do the things you know you should. In just a few days, simply looking
at the rubber band will have the same effect and, a few days later, just thinking
about it will produce the same result.
Sound stupid? Tell that to the thousands of people who have already experienced
its power. Tell that to Ben who is now regularly making calls on CFOs and others
in high positions and who has become the number two salesperson in his office.
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