As I speak to business owners across the country, they always ask me, “How do I get my sales people to make more calls, to overcome call reluctance?” Though it’s a common problem, it’s actually quite easy to fix.
Three ways to overcome call reluctance
- Pick up the phone and make the call
- Say “hello” to whoever answers the phone
- Ask your discovery question
Step one for overcoming call reluctance: Pick up the phone
Salespeople do a lot of “work,” without actually engaging real, live, breathing prospects. One business owner told me, “I think my salespeople spend more time updating the database than they do talking to prospects.” He’s not alone. The natural pull of everything-else keeps people from doing the main thing: finding prospects and talking to them.
Another, well-seasoned, proprietor told me, “Whatever’s the hardest thing for you to do, do it first.” So, for salespeople, if the hardest thing to do is to pick up the phone and make a call, jump right in and make the call.
Step two for overcoming call reluctance: Say hello and get the conversation going
One reason salespeople are reluctant to pick up the phone is their fear of what comes next. Sometimes we tend to over think and over plan the sales call. Take a little pressure off the call by realizing every conversation starts with a greeting. Greetings are how human beings initiate human interaction. When you make that phone call, you’ll be connecting with a human being who may or may not have a problem you can help them solve. To find out, you’ll have to start with, “Good morning, good afternoon,” or simply, “Hello.”
Step three for overcoming call reluctance: Ask your discovery question
Step two paved the way for a conversation by starting with a simple person-to-person greeting. To give you confidence to keep the conversation going, have a discovery question ready to ask. The discovery question brings up a common pain or challenge your prospects face. It could be something as simple as, “Would you mind sharing with me how you all are dealing with X?”
Knowing you have a good discovery question in your tool box will help give you the confidence to dive into the conversation.
Every salesperson has to deal with call reluctance. The key is taking action to get conversations underway.
A friend told me about an legendary entrepreneur who had been in business for over fifty years. People loved him for many reasons, but sales people loved him for his morning routine: He’d walk by each desk, look each salesperson in the eye, greet them with a with a pleasant “Good morning,” and then say, “Go ahead. Make that call.” He boiled three ways to overcome call reluctance down to just three words: Make that call.
You can do it. Overcome call reluctance: Make that call.
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