The Real Reason Why Salespeople Hate Calling
Something I notice a lot when training salespeople is that many of them just don’t like calling prospects.
They give different reasons for this:
- It takes a lot of time. Some people are hard to reach. You have to call multiple times and it can get on your nerves.
- Decision makers are snowed under by salespeople trying to set an appointment, causing them to guard themselves even more, which makes it harder to get an appointment.
- It can be very frustrating to have the wrong person on the phone. You get sent from pillar to post.
- A lot of time is wasted in the process of calling prospects. Waiting for people to pick up the phone, getting put on hold or being put through to the wrong person,…
- Sales calls come with some pressure. You need to fill your calendar for the coming weeks.
- It’s easy to project your own feelings on the prospects you’re calling. It makes you feel like you’re interrupting, trying to sell them something they probably don’t want.
- After a while it gets monotonous and becomes a routine. It’s hard to stay motivated if you start from scratch every time again.
- It can be hard to deal with the indifference of prospects who are not interested while they clearly belong to the target group.
- Sometimes you must push a bit to get the appointment. Some salespeople don’t feel comfortable with this. It makes them feel like hard sellers.
- If you try to gauge interest, chances are high the prospect will ask direct questions or raise objections you don’t have an answer to.
- Your communication skills can’t be used to their full extent. Some people feel they can’t really get the message across using their voice alone.
- Communication through the phone is easy to break off or interrupt.
- Some prospects are simply arrogant. The salesperson often feels like he’s not taken seriously. Doing sales calls is then perceived as an inferior activity.
This list goes on and on and on. But are these the real reasons why salespeople don’t like calling prospects?
I don’t think so.
In my experience this negative attitude is predominantly the consequence of a lack of structure and method. Sales reps get so many no’s that they feel unwelcome, lose all motivation and develop call reluctance.
A huge part of the frustration will disappear if you know what to do, when to do it and how.
For this exact reason I have created for you a report called the ’3-Minute Method’ that will give you a complete system for calling prospects and setting appointments by phone. Something you can instantly use and always fall back on later. Fill in your name and e-mail in the sidebar and I will send you the report for free!
I’ve been teaching it for years to hundreds of sales reps around the world and with a minimum success rate of 30 percent (that’s one appointment for every 3-4 decision makers on the phone!) I can safely say it works.
It is my biggest wish that it will show you how calling prospects can truly be a fun and rewarding activity. Getting an appointment is a great way to experience instant success, gratification and a confidence boost. I know I still get a kick out of it time and time again.
Wim
In my experience this negative attitude is predominantly the consequence of a lack of structure and method. A huge part of the frustration will disappear if you know what to do and how to do it.
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4 Responses to “The Real Reason Why Salespeople Hate Calling”
Daniel M. Wood on May 19, 2011
Hey Wim.
I believe that the most common reason sales people hate cold calling is their fear of rejection. Making a sale in a meeting is easy in comparison to doing it over the phone. People are also a lot ruder over the phone since they can’t see you.
That fear is, in my belief, what keeps sales people from calling.
That sounds like a great technique you have my friend. I’ll add my email and hope it works
Wim on May 19, 2011
Great to see you again Daniel & thanks for subscribing!
Fear of rejection indeed plays a huge role in salespeople’s aversion to calling prospects. It’s not always easy to get started when you know that, whatever method you use, you’ll always get more no’s than yes’s.
I also believe that having a proven system in place is one of the best ways to battle this fear of rejection. If you know you’re using something that works (and has worked in the past), it’s easier to bring yourself to it.
If you’ve tracked results in the past for that particular method or approach, you roughly know how many phone calls you’ll have to make to fill your calendar and experience satisfaction. That helps!
Talk to you soon,
Wim
Bruce Bates on May 19, 2011
I haven’t nor won’t ever make a cold call. I also haven’t and won’t ever make a call to a “qualified” lead. I never call any contacts for any reason. I use my instant messengers for that.
Its not because I fear rejection. Its not because of the no’s. Its because of the time required to do so.
In the amount of time it takes me to get a single no, I could have received 8 no’s and 11 yes’s on my instant messenger.
The thing about social media, is I am not limited to make one connection at a time. I hear often that its faster using voice communications, but I find just the opposite to be true. It takes between 20 minutes and 45 minutes to explain things over the phone vs the 35 minutes to an hour and a half online. However online I can be explaining to 10 or 20 people at once, on the phone, I am limited.
Just just my take, and my experience. I am of the rare exceptions though
Wim on May 20, 2011
Hi Bruce, thanks for stopping by!
Great to see that you have found an approach that works for you.
I’m not a big fan of cold calling too. I prefer to first research (and if possible interact) with prospects online. It’s often a bit more informal and there seems to be less resistance against this approach.
However, I am a big fan of the phone. At some moment in time I will move the conversation from the online world to a phone conversation as I like the more personal touch of it. A real voice generally has more impact than letters on a screen.
I guess it all depends on the industry you’re operating in. From looking at your website I assume you mainly operate on the internet and therefore that’s probably where your customers are. If I’m trying to contact a 60-year old sales manager of a big steel company, for example, chances are high he’s not really into social media, so I pick up the phone
Thanks again for your input man, much appreciated
Wim