How to Overcome Call Reluctance

The work of a sales representative is hard. They have to communicate with someone new every time. The uncertainties of how each conversation will unfold are enough to give them cold feet.

But according to a recent report, sales calls are equally effective today as they were a decade ago. This marketing medium gives the sales rep a chance to talk with potential buyers in person, listen to their misgivings, and explain how they can benefit from a product/service.

So why do call reluctance occur? And how can someone overcome it? In this article, we will look at what call reluctance is, how to overcome call reluctance, and what tools can help one become a better sales representative.

What is Call Reluctance?

Sales Call Reluctance, or Cold Call Reluctance, is the act of avoiding making sales calls to promote a product/service. But how does it stem in sales reps?

The most obvious reason is the fear of rejection. They fear that the person on the other side of the phone will say no, or they might abruptly hang-up the phone. Some might get the Call Reluctance because of panic. Many sales reps suffer from this. They rehearse the script multiple times, but when it comes to engaging in a real conversation with a real person, they lose all their confidence and end up embarrassing themselves.

Let us now look at the top reasons for Sales Call Reluctance.

What Leads to Sales Call Reluctance

Sales Call Reluctance is not an inherent quality in sales reps. Over time, they grow this trait. Focusing on the aspects below can help avoid call reluctance.

Language Sales Reps Use

After a rejection or after multiple people hung-up on sales reps, having cold feet is absolutely logical. Here, it is important to analyze the situation correctly. A rejection might not be personal at all. Maybe the person on the other end of the call doesn't have the money to spend on your product/service. And instead of revealing that information, out of insecurities, they hung up. Sales Reps should not take this personally at all. Instead of saying, “I got three rejections today,” they should try to frame the event as “the first rejection happened for this reason, and the other two rejections happened for this reason.” As soon as they frame their perception about the event differently, they can move ahead, not be overwhelmed with disappointment that comes with a rejection, and focus their energy on finding a witty reply next time someone gives them the same excuse.

Lack of Training

If a sales rep is getting multiple rejections a day, the management must take responsibility, too. They hired that sales rep themselves. Now that something is not getting them the results they were looking for, they must find out what went wrong.

Right after the appointment, consider if the sales rep was given proper training. If not, this is a big reason they fail to make higher conversions over the phone. Also, if the management sees that a sales rep is failing to make more sales, even after he was given the standard training, this might be because the standard they followed might not work with the new generation of buyers.

Insufficient Monitoring

Monitoring is important to see what works and what does not. Monitoring can help understand the most pressing issues that make a sales rep seem manipulative for the buyers. Not every buyer will treat the sales reps the same way. Making inquiries into a successful conversion over the phone can reveal why it wasn't a rejection, how this conversion progressed, and what key factors eventually made a buyer place an order. Once you know these answers, you can try and replicate that past success in the future.

How to Gain More Confidence as a Sales Rep?

Now that we know the reasons that lead to Sales Call Reluctance/ Cold Call Reluctance, it is time to look at ways to overcome them.

Address the Problem

The first step you need to take is to acknowledge the problem. If you are getting more rejections than conversions, you need to take action. Don't be too harsh on yourself. Don't just write down all your shortcomings.

Be kind to yourself; it is not all your fault. Try to properly and critically analyze the entire situation. Also, write down your strengths and weaknesses. Try to maintain a log for your monthly report. See your average conversions for the past six months.

So even if you fail to reach your expectations for a given month, check if the current conversion is below your average. Try to be realistic.

Find a Company That Match Your Requirements

The reason for higher rejections over the phone might not be your fault at all. Maybe you are picking the wrong prospects. How much time are you devoting to create a profile for your prospects? Do their needs and lifestyle align with what you are trying to sell?

From next month, try to call only those prospects who are a perfect match for the products/services you are trying to sell. But how can you narrow down the list of companies and individuals you want to contact? There is a tool called SignalHire that lets you find a company that could be interested in your services.

Find Contact Details

After you have a list of the most eligible prospects you should get in touch with, it is time to find their contact details. While doing so, pick the phone number or email used by that person for business purposes. Not everyone likes to receive sales emails or calls on their personal numbers.

How can you find the contact details, you ask? You can use the same tool, Signalhire, as an easy way to find contacts of your prospects. Using this online tool, you can find the verified contact details by name, emails, phone numbers, social profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, MeetUp, Dribbble, Gmail, Xing, Quora, etc.

And that is a wrap! We hope you found this article helpful and wish you all the very best with your career. We hope this article will help you get more conversions.