call reluctance

Call Reluctance Happens

As the old saying goes, I’ve got good news and bad news.

The good news is you’re not the only person that gets call reluctance.

Look, I was a self-confessed phone chicken.

Hell, I had just come off a $30,000 month and the other day I caught myself hesitating to call 2 peeps who are premium prospects!

Oh, yeah, if I could make it LOOK like I was doing something important instead of picking up the phone… But I’m too old to live in these contrived forms of denial.

Everybody knows the beauty of MLM is that what to do first is clear.  There is NO DEBATE!  Pick up the damn phone.

The bad news?  If we don’t overcome call reluctance, two really bad things occur.  First, we fail.  That sucks.  Second, it damages our already fragile self-esteem.

I mean do any of us want to tell our spouse or best friend we failed because we were a chicken?   So we keep it to ourselves and it eats us up.   Now, we tell ‘fibs’ to ourselves and others about the effort we are making when, in fact, we are making no effort at all.   Our self-esteem erodes further.  And the downward spiral begins.

More fibs and false promises about how many dials we are going to make on the day that never comes – tomorrow.

In my Early Days…

I suffered, exactly that negative, self-esteem crushing pattern while failing 5 times at MLM in the 1980s.

My list was shrinking.

And the shorter my list got, the more call reluctance strangled me – or should I say I strangled me.

And, by the way, I’ve never bought into the bullshit about ‘not wanting it bad enough.’  And you shouldn’t either.

I knew quotes, mantras, and the Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins Nike-esque motivational ‘do it’ stuff wasn’t going to make any difference.

Why?

How’s it worked for you?  About the same as it did for me, I’m sure.  Sounds great but the actions and results never changed, not really

Seeking a solution was a shock… a shock at how simple it was.  It not only worked in me, but it also worked on every single person, every single time.

And I’ve used it several times over the years… as soon as call reluctance begins to rear its ugly head…

The Solution to Call Reluctance

All your goals realized will fulfill two highly personal needs of yours.

Pick your two from this list.

  1. Liberty
  2. Autonomy
  3. True Health
  4. Helping others
  5. Spiritual Growth
  6. Recognition for creative expression
  7. Legacy

Every worthwhile goal will fill 1 or 2 things on that list.

The Pencil and Index Cards?

STEP 1 – Decide how many hours you’re going to put into your business and take a pencil and schedule 80% of that time, in writing, to contact people about your business.

STEP 2 – Pick 2 from that list of 7, getting your personal pivotal needs met, the motives behind your goals are Step 1.

Write your two key needs on 10-20 index cards (20 is better than 10) and put them everywhere after writing on the other sides, “I promise to contact people 8 hours (or whatever you committed to in Step 1) this week.  I always keep my promises”

STEP 3Print out this document, tape it on your bathroom mirror.  There is one for women and one for men.

The Only Partner You Can’t Fib To

Read it out loud in the morning.  Look yourself dead in the eye, wink at yourself and say, out loud…”I always keep my promises.”

Read it again at night, and, I promise, within 2-3 days you’ll be shocked.  Effortlessly, because you want the ‘night-time’ read of this document to be favorable, you’ll pick up the phone.

Imagine how simple this is to teach to your team.  Combining that with the networking marketing skill of duplication we have for you, it’s game over for phone chickens.

Bigger Benefits

Once you move into this level of honesty with yourself and share the solution with your team, they will LOVE you confessed to being a phone chicken, relieved… and they’ll embrace this simple solution.

All the fancy stuff about leadership, empowerment, relationships, and motivation is dwarfed when we bond over a common form of suffering and work together to overcome that suffering.

It’s huge.  You and your team will make more calls… good for everyone.

believe

mark januszewski

world’s laziest networker

About the Author

  • Mark,
    Awesome stuff and thanks for the pdf of the guy and gal in the mirror. This business should start with being honest with yourself. If you can’t do that, all is lost.
    – Frank

    P.S. My phone weighs less than an ounce 😉

  • Keep promises that you make to yourself, by reminding yourself why you made the promise. So simple!!! I also read my goals(DMP) right before making the calls, which helps me personally 🙂

  • Thank You Mark! Will be sharing this post with all of my Team mates. I just wrote it all down also.

    What honesty and truth here for us all. You are amazing and all your tips are valuable when one truly desires what they seek.

    Taking ACTION is where it is at. This will help us all do that. I appreciate ALL your tips! Keep them coming!!

    In-JOY!

  • Thanks Deb for stopping by.

    Obviously, you ‘get it’…….sharing vulnerability with our teams and a solution makes us better leaders – AND – encourages leadership because it shortens the distance to being a leader in the mind of each member.

    believe
    mark j

  • WOW!!

    Tremendous insight……we read our DMP [definite major purpose] before we dail and the DMP of the person we are calling with…..then we have them read it before and after we dial with them.

    Sue, this is such a great reminder for every reader….thanks for taking the time and adding to this post. Brilliant

    believe
    mark j

  • Aloha Mary….

    It’s not hard to see why you are such a tremendous leader….keeping ourselves and our teammates focused on the main thing is where the action is….

    And *actions* lead to trans*actions*

    believe
    mark j

  • Frank……

    I agree…..as one Italian to another…..if we can’t be honest with ourselves…..FHUGETTABOWTIT

    And….I love your under-an-ounce phone…..next mental stop?

    my iATM has replaced my iPhone 🙂

    believe
    mark j

  • Call reluctance can be a habit. Like any habit you have to replace it with something else. I find humor works too. Hopefully clicking will give you a short intro into every ‘telemarketers’ nightmare. When you know what to say and are willing to have fun while you are calling the ‘fear’ disappears. It’s not the steps that matter, it’s not the goal either but it is the path you take, the journey that matters. When I ‘get’ that all is well. When I argue with it, trouble appears.

  • Great article that is at the heart of my challenges to overcome. I will overcome this call reluctance and i am appreciative and grateful for your example and direction in overcoming this and becoming the hero that I long to be. It fills me with confidence and enthusiasm as it is impossible to help others if i cannot help myself.

  • Aloha Dennis

    I learned something from The Fabulous Davene at a training……several years ago…….2 questions and 2 sentences…..that I’ve passed on over and over…..because it contains a simple truth that is extremely powerful in overcoming obstacles….

    She asked the audience this: “Can you think, for a moment, what it would mean to you and how it would change you life to hit your objectives? Let’s take 60 seconds and just think about that, OK?” [she was then quiet for a full minute]…….then she asked, “look into your heart, and, with the purest honesty you can muster ask yourself what is it that I fear that is preventing the actions that will obtain my objectives?” [full 30 second pause]

    Then, the bomb…..that has changed a lot of lives for a lot of people….. “That fear or fears you have is the only thing between you having what you want so decide, right now, which of the 2 you will continue to feed because the one you feed is the one that will win and the one you strave is the one that will lose. Decide right now and stick with your decision.”

    It is in the overcoming of obstacles by the hero that lives within each of us that authentic success is found…..it is not the check that will give us what we want, it is overcoming our personal demons……and I am certain, based on your honesty and efforts [both rare] you will face and conquer your enemies…..as Pogo [a comic strip] said many years ago “I have seen the enemy and it is us.”

    I am postive you will pick and feed the path of victory because you have a rare quality Dennis, honesty with yourself. Go for it brudda!

  • GREAT!!!!! I have new IBO’s who have not yet gotten into Grow90Grow site (qivana)…they finished silver training but seems link is not sent readily (i had to write 3-4 times) …….i am checking on today but wanted to forward this to many …..If they have not yet gotten in to go90grow…They cannot open link…..
    Hoping the Q support team, or whoever monitoring can fix the connection soon!!!

    This is great stuff…..and it is directly on their site!!!!

  • {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

    Learn How to Be a Better Network Marketer... Start Now!

    >