Do you clearly map out a game plan of when and who you are going to call tomorrow, only to find yourself distracted with busy work and unable to make any calls?

Do your visions of all-expense paid, tropical vacations, big promotions and 5 digit bonus checks evaporate as phone stares viciously at you like a ten ton one-eyed, one arm fire breathing monster?

Call Doctor, you have a bad case of Call Reluctance.

If you are in business of selling, and let's face it, we ALL are to some degree, you need to identify, address and work through this disease if you are ever going to be successful.

Before we talk about ways of working through this, let's talk about what doesn't work -

*Oh, just go out and do it!*

Ever hear those words and want to choke arrogance out of one who uttered them?

*Get over it! No one is going to bite you.*

Again, visions of acting out a mad fantasy invade your mind.

* It's messenger, no one really cares what you say. *

Well, that sounds great to slick master of sales sitting next to you, but when you are dealing with call reluctance, this shallow encouragement will NOT get you off of start and into race.

So, how do you overcome Call Reluctance.

The first step is to recognize and acknowledge it. It is not unique, something to be ashamed of or incurable. Simply admitting that you are dealing with this is half of battle.

Second, identify what type of Call Reluctance you are experiencing. Below are a few categories -

Reluctance to call someone you view as having a higher socioeconomic standing.

Reluctance to admit that you are * selling * something.

Afraid to * bother * family and friends.

Obsessed with having a perfect presentation.

Fear of using telephone.

Fear of actually closing sale.

These are just a few of categories that could be afflicting you.

If it's any consolation at all, you are not alone. Call Reluctance is single biggest killer of most sales related careers.

Knowing this, what can you do to cure yourself once and for all?

1. Make sure you have a hard-hitting headline on your sales page to draw your visitors in.

I know, I know. This point is SO played out. But, I'd be a bad, bad tutor if I didn't at least mention it. Need help crafting a sure-fire, order-pulling headline? "Hmph! Not ME!" you say? Okay, so let's pretend. ;-) Check out following truly outstanding resources for help writing a sales-boosting headline:

Great Headlines Instantly! http://www.hypertracker.com/go/emag/ps/

Writing Effective Headlines http://eagle.cc.ukans.edu/~editone/heads.html

How to Write Headlines that Make Sales Soar! http://www.whosclickingnow.com/headlines.htm

Publicity Tips: Creating Captivating Headlines http://www.mindconnection.com/library/business/headlines.htm

2. Take 5-10 brief (1-2 paragraph) tips from your product, and cut them down to bare bones best parts.

You don't want to be giving away only "secrets" from your excellent infoproduct. Make these tips powerful and informative, but don't give away farm. The purpose, (as you'll soon see), is to convince your visitor that they NEED your product -- not to simply provide CliffsNotes for it.

3. Sign up with a reliable follow-up autoresponder, free or otherwise.

Ideally, you'll need one that gives you up to 10 follow-up messages -- one for each mini-tip that you created above, minus one. (i.e. If you have 9 tips, you need to be able to send at least 8 follow up messages.)

Program your autoresponder to send that number of follow-ups, and make each tip its own follow-up message. Send your tips out about 3-7 days apart, depending on how many you have. The more you have, more frequently you send them. Just don't harass reader. ;-)

If you need an autoresponder, try either of these:

http://www.AutoBots.net http://www.Biz-Reply.com http://www.AutoRespond.com http://www.GetResponse.com http://www.SmartAutoresponder.com

4. Put a brief sales message at bottom of each mini-tip.

You don't want this to be a sales LETTER. Basically, have it resemble a resource box that you'd see at end of an article. The purpose of this sales message is to remind reader of what your product is, and of any special bonuses or discounts that you offer, and to get them back to your site to order your product.

5. In your final autoresponder message, offer your readers something special for finishing your e-mail series.

You want to reward visitors who haven't cancelled your follow-up messages at end of message run, as these people have just become your hottest prospects! They were obviously interested enough in your product to keep reading your tips, and with slightest extra push, they just might still buy.