You're sitting at your desk, you know that now is the time to make your calls. Why aren't you making the calls? You are suffering from call reluctance, an affliction that affects every salesperson from time to time. What can you do to overcome this career-killing problem?
Making sales calls is the only way to be a successful salesperson. A farmer doesn't get a crop without planting seeds, and a salesperson doesn't get sales without making calls. It's that simple.
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Make it the first thing you do. You get to the office, you have coffee, you find out about your neighbor's weekend, then you check your email, oops, it's time for that sales meeting, then you check your email again. Wow! Now it's time for lunch. It's easy to let the day slip away from you if you don't take control of what's important. Moving from checking email or chatting with your neighbor to making calls can be a bummer. Making that first call of the day is so important to success. Make sure it gets done and gets done early.
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Know who you are going to call. Keep a running list of prospects. Print it out, so you can have the satisfaction of checking them off once the call is done. Before you leave work, figure out who your first call will be in the morning. Have the information right on your desk so it's staring you in the face first thing in the morning. An added plus to this policy is that reaching out to a client early in the day communicates to them that they are important to you.
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Be prepared. When you've been making calls for a while, you soon learn there are only a few reasons to call. Not every call will be the first cold call; some may be follow-up calls or closing calls. Narrow it down to a few categories and perfect your pitch. This will give you the confidence that you have what it takes to close the sale.
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Know the best ways to overcome each objection. Make a list of the things you hear from your prospects and when there is a quiet moment, think about what they're really saying when they say that and what's the best way around it. For me there is just no replacement for writing out a script. Think of a particular situation and write a response. Actually having to form complete sentences will bring out gaps in your logic. Do this exercise and next time that objection comes up, you'll feel more confident and prepared to answer.
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Have a mantra. Have something you say to yourself when you're on a NO streak. It's your North Star and will guide you when you feel lost. It should be something that motivates you to make that next call. Something like, "Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later." -Og Mandino
Making those calls is a priority for success. These are a few tips that should make it easier to hit the ground running each day, make more calls, and thus, make more sales.