Greg Bennett Sales Blog

When Facing Call Reluctance - Accountability is the Key

Facing Call Reluctance, as I said in the first post in this series (the other two posts can be found in the "Call Reluctance" category listing in the right column), is a lot like facing other problems, addictions, or diseases we may encounter.  We have to face them head on...stop denying the situation...and fight back a day at a time.

We also have to rely on other people to help us battle the beast.  Other people in your life can help remind you of the reality of your situation...they can help keep you on the right path...and they can hold you accountable when you've managed to sell yourself on bad choices and damaging behavior.

With facing Call Reluctance, it's critical to have other people involved because it's so easy to come up with a million excuses for why we can't make new calls, or stop in and meet new people:

• I was going to make calls this morning, but i had to finish that proposal...
• I couldn't get to those calls because I had too many fires to put out...
• No one is in on Monday morning (or Tuesday afternoon...or Thursday...or Friday)...
• I'm too busy trying to close business to worry about starting new accounts...

Find An Accountability Partner

In the 12-Step programs you see around, who is it that acts as sponsors for addicts?   Right... other addicts!  Only they know the levels of deception and spin an addict can tell himself to keep using...and they know how hard it is to stop.  The same holds true for Call Reluctance, you need to find an accountability partner that is in sales, or sales management, and can see through your garbage about being "too busy"...or "too tired"...or whatever.

Of course you will also act as their accountability partner, helping them (and in doing so, helping yourself at the same time)...

Ideas for Using An Accountability Partner:

• Communicate what you want to happen in your prospecting plan
  • "I need to spend 2 hours a week on the phone making cold calls...and I need to reach 10 new prospects in that time, or in follow-up during the week..."
• Identify when you'll blocked out time to prospect
  • "I will be calling an hour on Monday morning from 9 to 10...and again on Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 4..."
• Determine how you will check in with your partner (sponsor)...
  • "I will email you prior to starting...and call you with the update right after"
• Talk about what should happen if you don't stick with the plan
  • "If for some reason I tell you I can't call, or just didn't do it...I owe $20 into our dinner pool..." (or whatever works for you as a hammer)

"Can't" vs "Chose Not To"

One of the things I insist on when acting as the Accountability Hammer for my clients or friends is that we aren't allowed to use the words "Can't" or "Couldn't", as in "I can't make my calls today" or "I couldn't do any prospecting last week" Instead, we must use the words "choosing not to" or "chose not to"...as in "I choosing not to make calls today"  or "I chose not to do any prospecting last week" because that is really what's happening, we make choices...we COULD HAVE called, but we CHOSE NOT TO...it's a difference in ownership, power and control of your life vs acting as if the world is always happening TO you...

It's called Tough Love baby!!  Try it for a few weeks and see if it doesn't make a difference in your world.

GB

GB

Facing Call Reluctance is a "Day at a Time" Thing

This is the second post in a short series I'm putting together on Call Reluctance (CR).  In the first post I discussed why I call CR a "stealthy killer" (mainly because we don't like to admit we can catch it), the symptoms of CR, and some initial steps we can take to deal with CR.

In this post, I'll be covering why the battle with CR is a long-term struggle that can only be faced on  a day-to-day basis.

Salespeople have a tendency to work up the courage and willpower to do business development in short spurts...filling the pipeline with good prospects...then suddenly they stop, and begin doing something else! After all, they have a bunch of new opportunities they MUST follow-up on with calls, visits, proposals, etc....and these take time...time away from prospecting for new opportunities.

The challenging thing about this behavior is that:

• On the surface it makes sense...after all we HAVE to follow-up and do the work, right?
• It feels more productive than looking for new people (leaving messages, sending emails, etc.)
• It's less risky activity than prospecting (at least people know us)...and we tend to do the less-risky thing..
• No one is going to be upset when you're writing proposals, working on warm leads, etc...this means no one will hold us accountable or even ask what we're up to...

So the pattern of prospecting and business development goes in spurts...prospecting enough to fill the funnel...then slowly we empty it...only to have to fill it again...then empty it again...up and down...on and off...etc. etc...

This impacts our sales success over the long haul because it usually means we're forced to start prospecting in our most desperate times -- when the pipeline is dead or dying....and we have to face an even larger Call Reluctance problem because it grows with each day we don't make calls.

This is why we must wake up each day and face the "Beast"...every single day in sales we must do the following:

• Upon arrival at work acknowledge that you're susceptible to Call Reluctance, which means you're susceptible to wanting to do the safe things...the easier things...
• Make sure you have planned SOME prospecting time in your day...even if that time is only a 10 minute block (and EVERYONE has 10 minutes, even on our busiest day)...prospecting is like working out, even if you only have 10 minutes to do SOME EXERCISES on busy days, it will be easier to stay with your plan on days when you have more time...
• Have some "Psych Up Phrases" you say to yourself in order to get ready to pick up the phone and make calls...you need to get into the role, and detach yourself from the need to be liked and accepted...
• Just do it before you think about it too much...upon arrival if you'll pick up the phone and make 10 calls before you check your email, glance at the newspaper, do the cubicle-stroll to talk about last night's game, etc....if you'll just bang out some quick calls it will be like eating the cake first and then enjoying frosting the rest of the day...

This is a day-to-day thing we can beat today. The dragon will be back tomorrow however... but so will we!!!

And speaking of "Psych Up Phrases"...check out my "Motivational Mousepad"...it's a functional piece of office gear that doubles as a sales training tool.  Just $5 bucks each...just email me and we'll send one out your way, or attend one of my workshops and I'll give you one free...

GB

Facing the Stealthy Killer Known as Call Reluctance

This is the first in a series of posts I'm going to create on Call Reluctance...I'll probably turn them into podcasts as well since it's such an important topic.  Let me start by saying...

My name is Greg...and I can catch Call Reluctance.  Everyone now..."Hi Greg!"

Call Reluctance is probably the most interesting phenomenon I've come across in my nearly 20 years in sales training (eeegads 20 years??).  I call it the stealthy killer...the killer of goals, killer of dreams, killer of sales careers...even the killer of companies.

And the reason it's stealthy is because it operates on the "qt" -- many victims don't realize they've got it...and those that do know, don't ever like to admit it ...it's socially unacceptable.  And another frightening thing about this "thing" is the longer you remain quiet about it and pretend it's not there, the larger and larger and larger it grows inside you...until eventually it suffocates the very life force from it's victim.

What IS Call Reluctance?

In a nutshell, my interpretation of Call Reluctance is:  A condition where one does not want to pick up the phone and make uncomfortable calls.  The discomfort may come from a fear of rejection, a fear of the unknown, or a general feeling that the activity is not productive and there are more important things one should be doing.

People who are Call Reluctant display the following behaviors:

• They stop making prospecting (cold) calls...
• They spend an inordinate amount of time writing proposals, or doing "busy work"...
• They go to book stores and read and read about how one goes about doing the hard things... but they can't DO the hard thing...
• They find co-dependent supporters...other sellers who also suffer from Call Reluctance...and they'll waste time talking about how the world has to change first before they'll start to make some tough calls...
• They blame their lack of doing the hard things on being too busy...or poor time management...or something that has to change in the company, or market, or world...
• They like to talk about the need to do the hard things ("I really need to be making some cold calls")..and the importance of doing the hard things ("New business is very important...I should be spending more time on it")...but they can't make themselves actually DO it...

How Do You "Catch it"?

I believe Call Reluctance comes from the following:

• We listen to prospects and clients all day, and we start to believe them...and they're "job" is to convince us that we're selling the world's biggest piece of crap...
• We LOVE to be liked and and accepted...we're taught at an early age to seek acceptance and approval...making tough calls rarely end in someone "liking and accepting" us...so we focus on doing the things that will keep us liked and accepted (writing reports, doing customer service work, etc.)
• We may suffer from hidden self-esteem issues...so we seek safe outcomes, and easier successes...
• We are too "attached" to the performance in our work role being the determining factor in how we feel about ourselves as human beings...

Even though the enemy is great...I'm here to tell you, there IS hope!   But it's not going to be easy...we have to muster our courage and face the beast head on, starting right here and continuing forever!  For we'll never totally destroy the beast, but we can at least beat his ass back to the far recesses of our minds.

I think we're talking 10 Step Program here, don't you think? (I'll roll out some steps in the next post)  Of course CR isn't as serious as alcoholism, or other addictions out there, but there are several similarities to the approach one must take to begin to address this beast.   

I'm fortunate that I am not an alcoholic, but I've picked up enough here and there to know some things about it -- like the need admit some general truths about what you're facing.  Here's how these would apply to Call Reluctance:

1. Anyone can catch it...doesn't matter what your experience level may be (FYI, experienced salespeople are the most susceptible)...or your personality type...or your level of success...Call Reluctance is an equal-opportunity destroyer. The minute you think you're immune, is when the evil seed is planted.
2. You don't ever "get over it" completely...the best we can hope to do is keep Call Reluctance at bay one more day (day at a time, eh?).  If you are ever under the illusion that you've cured it...you're opening yourself up to catching it again, at that very moment.
3. It's a sign of weakness to admit you've got it...the exact opposite is true...you will start to feel empowered the minute you admit you're feeling Call Reluctance.  The problem is that it's not socially acceptable within the sales office to admit in front of your manager or your colleagues that "Hey...I'm feeling Call Reluctant today."

Exercises to start right away:

• Admit to yourself and others in your office that you can catch Call Reluctance and that you've probably suffered from it off and on for years...but now you're going to take steps to face it and get better...
• If you're a manager, share with your sellers the importance of letting you know when they're feeling Call Reluctance...I'd much rather have my salesperson come in and say, "Boss...I'm feeling some call reluctance today..."  vs covering it up and just not making tough calls.  At least if I know they're suffering from it, I can get them some help (which we'll also talk about in future posts)
• Start attacking the beast on a day-to-day basis...each day you walk into the office acknowledge that it's there...and then keep it at bay by picking up the phone and making a few tough calls RIGHT AWAY...

In the next segment I'm going to introduce some steps we can take to start to deal with the stealthy killer...stay tuned!!

GB