Conquering Call Reluctance Once and For All
Anne G. reviews the MLS to make sure she knows all of the new listings that might be of interest to her buyers–instead of following up on her leads.
Hank M. defers his follow up calls so he can build his industry knowledge by reading journals and newsletters.
And Chris H. finds herself giving in to the impulse to write proposals for prospective clients rather than pick up the phone.
What do these three real estate agents share in common? You probably guessed it, call reluctance.
Call reluctance is the “social disease of the sales profession.” Each year, call reluctance single-handedly accounts for over half of all failures in one of the largest professions in the world.
In their book Earning What You’re Worth, researchers George Dudley and Shannon Gooson write that as many as 80 percent of all salespeople who fail within their first year do so because of insufficient call activity.
Unresolved call reluctance can cause frustration and loss of sales. So with this in mind, how do you overcome call reluctance?
Here are five tips:
1. Aim for a number of calls you will make each day. Make this goal small and comfortable.
2. Next, increase the daily number of calls you will make. Do this slowly. Here you will start to see that you don’t encounter the bad things you imagined, or, if you do, you find out that you can handle them.
3. Record each call. In a notebook strictly devoted to your sales calls, make notes about things you should have done differently. Keep this notebook handy whenever you make sales calls and review it every day before you make phone calls.
4. Realize the difference between real and imaginary threats. Over time you will recognize that ninety-nine times out of a hundred the bad things you thought would happen, don’t. And if you do experience rejection or fear, realize it’s not personal. The caller is rejecting your offer, not you.
5. Report to an accountability person. Whether it’s you’re spouse or friend, broker or coach, invite someone to help you stay on track and meet your goals.
Caution: Research shows that successful people do the hard things other people refuse to do. Work through these five steps only if you want to break through to the next level. Follow the footsteps of the successful now and within time you will prosper.
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