12/16/2005
Why salespeople won't call, follow up or even show up
Colleen Stanley
Eighty percent of new salespeople terminate within the first year due to insufficient prospecting activity. That's according to George Dudley and Shannon Goodson, authors of "Psychology Of Sales Call Reluctance."
Don't be misled by the title or the book's research. "Sales call reluctance" isn't limited to sales teams that use cold calling as one prospecting strategy, nor to new or untalented salespeople. Sales call reluctance also occurs in successful, goal-directed salespeople.
It's defined as an emotional short circuit that's ignited when a salesperson is charged with contacting prospects. Instead of investing 100 percent of their energy in contacting new business opportunities, they expend energy coping with some form of sales call reluctance.
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Colleen Stanley is president
of SalesLeadership Inc. in Denver. Reach her
at cstanley@salesleadershipdevelopment.com or
303-708-1128.