Understanding and Overcoming B2B Sales Call Aversion
By Joan Carles Sanjurjo
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You’re about to pick up the phone to dial the next number and get a new lead , but suddenly a wave of uncertainty hits you and a bunch of “what ifs ” start playing in your mind. As that anxiety takes over, you watch as other B2B sales reps make calls , smile, and have fun interacting with their customers.
“How is this so easy for them?” you ask yourself. Instead of sitting down and picking up the phone, you decide you should probably check your CRM one more time to verify that all of your contact information is up to date. Deep down, you know you should be making calls to meet your lead generation goals , but this overwhelming anxiety is hard cyprus business email list to overcome. What you’re experiencing right now is known as “call aversion ,” a very common inhibition that affects many salespeople, but potentially very damaging to your sales career.
“By understanding the key factors that fuel your call aversion, you’ll be much better equipped to overcome it.”
And while call aversion may seem incorrigible, many salespeople like you have overcome it by understanding its root causes and developing a strategy to confidently reach out to customers, connect authentically, and begin building relationships based on trust.
Table of Contents
What is call rejection?
What causes the repulsion to commercial calls?
You have a natural fear of rejection
You are not properly qualifying your leads
You don't have a deep understanding of the value of your product or service
You haven't practiced enough
What are the signs of repulsion to B2B sales calls?
Frequent procrastination
Over-preparing before your calls
Feeling ashamed of being in sales
Do not ask for references
Always anticipating the worst case scenario
How do you overcome call aversion?
Remind yourself that you are a problem solver and a partner.
Gain and maintain a deep understanding of your products or services
Prequalify each of your prospects
Eliminate distractions from your physical and digital workspace
Seek guidance from your Sales Manager
Track your progress after each call
Conclusion: Understanding and Overcoming Call Aversion in B2B Sales
What is call rejection?
Call aversion means “unwillingness or unwillingness to do something .” So if making calls is a big part of a salesperson’s job, does that mean that most salespeople are unwilling to do their jobs? Probably not, although it’s also true that most salespeople will likely encounter call aversion at one time or another.
Call-aversion is a form of fear: fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown.
Call aversion can be one or all of those things, and can lead to a downward spiral of making excuses like, “I haven’t had time to call,” “I didn’t get around to making calls,” Wrong time of day/week, Too early/too late… Too much whatever!
This downward spiral of call aversion can lead us, as salespeople, to invent imaginary obstacles that simply don't exist.
What causes the repulsion to commercial calls?
The root causes of call aversion vary from person to person, but they often stem from a few common sources. When you understand the factors that fuel your call aversion, you'll be in a better position to overcome it.
You have a natural fear of rejection
As humans, we are intrinsically wired to pursue positive social interactions, group acceptance, and the recognition that we are contributing to the group. But when we are rejected, whether by a client, potential client, or business partner, our biological fear response kicks in and screams at us that we are of little value and that we should remove ourselves from the situation.
On a cognitive level, we are terrified that rejection and the subsequent biological response we feel will confirm our deepest fears : that we are bad at sales and destined to fail.
These thoughts and feelings, working in tandem with our body’s biological responses, create a toxic mix of panic. And naturally, we want to avoid experiencing these uncomfortable stimuli, which makes the thought of picking up the phone an increasingly anxiety-inducing episode.
You are not properly qualifying your leads
One of the basic principles of business ethics is to recognize that your role as a salesperson is to be a trusted advisor, and that you are there to help your potential customers solve their problems .
But if you're not doing the work to prequalify your product or service as a good fit for your prospect, you could be doing everyone involved a disservice. You and your prospect could be wasting your time exploring a business venture that you previously knew had no business being successful.
Being presented with prospects who have not been properly pre-qualified greatly increases the likelihood of being rejected, which further reinforces any negative thoughts and feelings you may have about your ability to sell effectively.
