Thus far we have admitted we have call reluctance; we have identified the source of reluctance and we have set up a plan of action to overcome this reluctance. We now introduce the next step—implementation of the plan. How many times have you come up with a plan to do something and not implemented the plan? It is not about planning, it is about doing.

How can we make sure we implement the plan?

You are not going to overcome call reluctance overnight. Thus, you must recognize that the plan has to be implemented one step at a time. That means you must make progress every day, without exception. To do this, schedule what you want to get accomplished in your calendar. You schedule meetings, prequalification appointments and even doctor’s appointments. You must also schedule your calls to make.

If you have set a goal of seven calls per day this week, carve out an hour or two each day in your calendar. And another tip: make these calls early before the day starts crashing down around you. Or, if you are calling customers directly, you may want to carve out time in the early evening when you are more likely to reach them.

I have two additional points to make: 

• Don’t forget to celebrate. Do not underestimate the power of recognizing your successes along the way. Each success has the power to help break down the barriers that call reluctance erects. All too often we focus upon our failures (and there will be failures). We need to elevate our successes. You can do that by celebrating each success. This celebration might be as small as telling close contacts about your breakthrough, or as large as buying yourself a fancy dinner. Perhaps have a contest with someone else who has call reluctance, with the loser buying the dinner. Make it fun as you focus on your successes.
• Don’t forget to evaluate. It is not enough just to make the calls. Evaluate how well you did on these calls with an eye on improving your results. Through evaluation, you might find that calling a certain time per day is more fruitful. Or perhaps you need to alter your script in certain ways. Without adjustments, we will never improve, and the evaluation process is the key in this regard.

Dave Hershman is Senior VP of Sales of Weichert Financial and the top author in the mortgage industry. Dave has published seven books, as well as hundreds of articles and is the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and Mortgage School – the online choice for expert mortgage learning and marketing content. His site is www.OriginationPro.com and he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..