Last month, this column detailed two steps you can take to cope with call reluctance–observe and pattern interrupt. This month, our series on coping with call aversion concludes with two more steps you can take to overcome your hesitancy to speak to prospects over the phone.
Substitute
After you observe yourself experiencing call aversion as if you were watching yourself in a movie and then interrupt the pattern by recognizing your irrational thoughts, immediately substitute a positive experience to replace the negative one.
Clinical research psychologists, William Redd and William Sleator, discovered that self-inflicted negative messages have an enormous impact on future success. If you have been selling for even a few weeks, chances are you have made at least one successful telephone call.
You also probably recall how easy it seemed at the time, and how good you felt during and after the conversation. Get a three-by-five card, write down that prospect's name, and record every detail of how you felt during and after that call.
