Even the best sellers have some level of call reluctance—the fear of having a conversation with a new business prospect or an existing client. Call reluctance can occur in the following situations:
- Sellers might be afraid to contact a prospect they don't know.
- Sellers might be afraid to contact a client if a problem has occurred.
- Sellers might be reluctant to call a customer to see if their product delivered the desired ROI.
Here are 5 things managers can recommend to a seller to help overcome call reluctance:
- Suggest ways to warmup cold relationships like a letter (email) of introduction or a third party introduction.
- Sellers can ask for referrals on a regular basis to get more third party introductions.
- Have a customer hotline and a person on staff that deals with customer complaints and issues.
- Make ROI follow up part of the sales process.
- Have a person on staff that has ROI follow up as part of their job description—possible job title: Director of Results.
Minimizing call reluctance will help sellers build and maintain great relationships and should be part every sales strategy.
Kurt Sima is a VP / Senior Consultant at The Center for Sales Stategy.