Call reluctance is a physiological response to an imagined event.

I remember the first time I read that phrase.  It was in a book entitled, The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance by George W. Dudley and Shannon L. Goodson.  That book made me consider some things about myself that I really didn’t want to agree with.

I generally think of myself as a positive and non-judgmental type of person.  I look for and find the good in most situations.  I also strive not to prejudge people or situations.

However, early in my sales career, I realized that prospecting caused me to get “butterflies” in my stomach.

Once I read that book, I understood why.  In my mind, I was pre-playing a negative response from my prospect.  And doing so made my body react as if I was indeed getting that negative response.

I was having a physiological response (butterflies) to an imagined event (my negative expectation played vividly in my mind).

What a waste of time!  Pre-playing negative responses makes you live through the negative once on all calls, and twice on many.  You live with it when you think it, and then again if you experience it for real.

There are great ways to stop doing that and become more effective in your work.

Certified Go-Giver Coach, Corey Jahnke wrote a great article about how he deals with this.

Enjoy!

Read Corey’s Post

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