On a Monday morning in the United Metro Insurance Agency, Nancy – an agent for only three weeks – sits at her desk, occasionally glances at a nearby wall clock, and worries. She knows how critical time-efficient prospecting is to her new sales career, but this isn’t enough to immunize her against the vague, shadowy fears which threaten her resolve to succeed.

The company psychologist who interviewed her said she was “strongly recommended” for a career in life insurance sales. In fact, she was awarded the highest score on their standard screening test. Obviously she has the potential, ability, skills and motivation to succeed.

There is one catch. She fears prospecting. “I know what to say and how to say it,” she assures herself as she draws in a deep breath and reaches for her prospect file. Finally, she reaches for the phone, takes a few more deep breaths and begins to dial a number. The phone rings, and her composure unravels.

BOB

Bob is a veteran – he’s been an automobile salesman for over four years. Although everyone expected Bob to be a big hitter, his production leveled off early. Sales seminars and workshops have improved his attitude but not his output. Bob knows that his “target” prospects must include more people than his floor traffic to increase sales. But he is indignant that these “so-called prospects” are members of his own family or his personal friends. “Real professional sales people NEVER make sales calls on family and friends,” according to Bob.

LARRY

Larry has been in microcomputer sales since 1980. He is very capable in all areas except prospecting. Larry is dedicated – to a production plateau he reached in May of 1981. Larry says he can sell “anybody, anytime, anywhere” – unless they happen to be physicians, lawyers, accountants, and members of other professional upmarket groups. Unfortunately, these are the prime markets for his products.

Larry has been asked, told and threatened to direct his sales calls to this market. He’s been to psychologists, stress managers, and the leading sales training seminars in his industry. Larry listens to motivational cassettes, reads inspirational books and knows how to use body language. But he just can’t overcome his fear of prospecting.

FEARLESSNESS IS A MYTH

Salespeople are expected to be socially warm, responsive, bold, adventurous, and sometimes abrasive. However, in-depth personality studies show that salespeople, as a group, are barely distinguishable from the general population in terms of social forcefulness or dominance. More importantly, the lore of fearlessness among salespeople is more fiction than fact. Many salespeople today are coping with a bone-shaking fear of prospecting.

Generally, it takes about 25 contacts with prospects to get 12 responses which result in 5 sales presentations and 3 closed sales. Most salespeople know this, yet 80 percent of the salespeople who fail in their first year fail because of insufficient prospecting activity. Even veteran salespeople are not immune to the disease. Some have trouble using the telephone as a prospecting tool. Others have trouble initiating face-to-face contact. A few have trouble doing both.

THE ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM

Some forms of call-reluctance are an inherited part of your personality. Other forms appear after early sales training experiences. Sometimes the problem begins when performance pressures increase.

Many salespeople get off to a bad start through no fault of their own. They receive the message that prospecting is a chore which is irrevocably associated with a career in professional sales. Cynical sales managers may tell them, “There’s nothing you can do about it; it comes with the territory; if you can’t stand the heat…”

CALL RELUCTANCE OR SOMETHING ELSE?

Although the fear of prospecting is always reflected in insufficient activity, not all salespeople who don’t make enough calls suffer from “authentic call reluctance.” Below are four common call reluctance “impostors.”

1. Salespeople who aren’t motivated. Low level prospecting in a high-demand career means failure. No amount of anti-call-reluctance medicine will be effective.

2. Salespeople whose motivation doesn’t match the opportunities in their present jobs. These salespeople have the drive necessary to succeed, but they either don’t know what they want, or what they want isn’t possible to achieve with their present career.

3. Salespeople who have too many goals. They see themselves as modern day “Renaissance” people – they want to do everything. Usually, though, these salespeople have difficulty prioritizing their overloaded schedules.

4. Salespeople who question their goals. These individuals lack self-confidence and a strong self-image. They constantly question their ability to present their product or service ethically. Because they never feel they’ve been trained enough or know enough, their consciences won’t let them call on people.

THREE TYPES OF AUTHENTIC CALL RELUCTANCE

The three salespeople we met in the beginning of this article – Nancy, Bob and Larry – illustrate three authentic types of call-reluctance.

Nancy, our first example, experienced “threat-sensitivity.” She was overly cautious and self-protective. Threat sensitive salespeople make the assumption that “things are bound to go wrong and I better be prepared for them.” Most threat-sensitive salespeople lack the emotional resiliency necessary to endure in professional sales. They find social self-promotion distasteful and emotionally difficult.

Bob, our second example, limited himself by refusing to call on family or friends. Usually, these reluctant salespeople offer elaborate ethical arguments as excuses for their self-limiting behavior. Often they become belligerent when they are asked to defend their positions rationally. Reason alone can’t persuade them to “lighten up” because they are emotionally unable to call on family members or personal friends.

Larry was overconcerned about social differences. Salespeople like Larry tend to feel inferior to people they see as socioeconomically better off. They avoid these prospects, or when they do call on them, they develop memory lapses, raise their voices two octaves, and perspire a lot.

Each of these three forms of call reluctance is essentially different but they all affect the self-image, productivity, and health of salespeople. The stress of call reluctance is very real.

Recent research shows that call-reluctance seems to be related to age. The fear of prospecting increases over the years and there is a strong relationship between years of experience and call reluctance.

Women in professional sales are not significantly more prone to call reluctance than men. They are only slightly higher in two types of prospecting fears – calling on family members and speaking before groups.

With the new information and technologies available today, sales trainers can help salespeople overcome call reluctance. If they can determine the problem – whether it’s call reluctance or another reason for low activity – discover which type of call-reluctance exists, and then work on correcting the problem, they’ll see a happier and more productive sales force. The best solution, however, is prevention. Avoid infecting yourself or your sales team with the fear of prospecting. Lost profits are a high price to pay for a disease that can be cured or, better still, prevented.

TURNING PANIC INTO PROFITS

Recognizing that you have call reluctance is the first step in curing this common sales disease. We have listed examples of the negative self-talk salespeople engage in for each of the nine types of call reluctance. As you read them, think about why each statement is irrational. Then read our suggestions for turning them into positive thoughts for prospecting action.

1. SOCIAL THREAT SENSITIVITY (will not take social risks)

Negative: “I must be perfectly careful to avoid any and all danger, because if I don’t I won’t be able to handle it, and that would be the end of me.”

Positive: “I can take risks, and chances are that I will enjoy meeting new prospects. If the prospect isn’t interested in buying, I understand that he is not rejecting me as a person but simply has no need for my product at this particular time.”

2. DESURGENCY (over-analyzes, under acts)

Negative: “I must be prepared with enough information to keep the relationship instructional and never emotional. If I were ever to lose my self-control and show emotion, prospects would think I was impulsive and undisciplined. They would never agree to do business with me.”

Positive: “I understand that I would like to have perfect control over my emotions, however I must learn to give up control in order to gain control. Instead of overpreparing myself with information, and underpreparing for the relationship, I will shift my focus to developing a positive relationship with the prospect.”

3. IMAGE SENSITIVITY (fears humiliation)

Negative: “I’ve got to prove that I am somebody! I must find a way to make myself appear extraspecial. Salespeople who don’t are not taken seriously. Instead, they are humiliated and I couldn’t handle that.”

Positive: I don’t need to be perfect to make a sale. I can become more self-accepting. I know that by accepting myself the way I am, others will follow suit.”

4. GROUP SENSITIVITY (fears groups)

Negative: “You’ve got to be really smooth to speak before a group. If you’re not, people will think you’re incompetent, and that must never happen to me because I couldn’t handle it.”

Positive: “I can allow myself to make mistakes, because that’s part of being human. The group is there to receive information, not to judge whether I am competent or incompetent. If I should make a mistake, chances are that nobody will notice it. If they do, it won’t be the end of the world and I can accept the error and move on confidently.”

5. PERSONAL FRIENDS (fear of losing friends)

Negative: “I must never offend my personal friends by asking them to listen to my sales presentations. If I did, they would think less of me and I could never recover from it.”

Positive: “I believe in the value of my product and I am proud to use it myself. Since the benefits of my product are so distinctive, I would not be loyal to my friends if I did not share the good news with them.”

6. ROLE IMAGE (ashamed of career choice)

Negative: “I must never ever really be a salesperson. They are self-interested and manipulative, and I couldn’t stand someone ever thinking that way about me.”

Positive: “I can become a professional salesperson and show by my example that salespeople are primarily interested in finding productive solutions to customer problems. If I act as a professional, people will respect me and seek out my advice.”

7. DISRUPTION SENSITIVITY (fears being intrusive)

Negative: “I must never intrude upon people under any circumstances. They might think that I was rude or insensitive – or even unethical – and I couldn’t handle that.”

Positive: “I need to stop acting as if I am the bearer of bad news. I have information that can greatly benefit my prospective customers and my positive attitude will lead to more satisfied clients.”

8. SOCIAL-DEFERENTIAL (fears affluent prospects)

Negative: “I’m not good enough to call on people better off than I am. It would be presumptuous, and they would think I have stepped out of place. That would be humiliating and I know I couldn’t handle that.”

Positive: “I am just as capable and valuable as my prospects. Instead of putting my prospects on a pedestal, I will treat them with respect, not with awe.”

9. FAMILY (fears being seen as explosive)

Negative: “I must never make a fool of myself trying to make sales presentations to members of my own family. They know me for who I really am, and would never take me seriously as a salesperson. They might even ridicule me, and that would do me in for sure!”

Positive: “I am sold on the benefits of my services and honestly feel that my family members would enjoy sharing these benefits. When I sell to family members, I am not asking for a favor, I am doing them a favor.”