Today, advances in technology make it easier than ever for prospects to screen their calls and avoid speaking to anyone other than their close friends and family. For a sales agent to get through to an actual lead is often a lucky break, considering the newfound vigilance against telemarketing means fewer and fewer  people willing to pick up for an unknown number.

From leaving voicemails to emails, tracking down prospects can seem like a full-time job all on its own, and once you finally get someone on the line, there’s no guarantee that you will get even the most basic civility as you prepare to pitch your product. This can be an exhausting way to spend your days, and a real blow to both personal and office morale.

Though some may dismiss these difficulties as “just part of the job”, it’s not constructive to just ignore the negative emotions these interactions can cause; they don’t just go away, and can instead fester and affect your daily work.

However, by instead reviewing why these leads may behave in such a way, agents can learn to not take it personally and instead find motivation to continue on to the next call. Here’s what’s going on in the average buyer’s head:

A recent survey revealed that up to 75 per cent of American citizens have been personally and negatively affected by the recession, making it necessary to do more with less money than they have in the past. This means an added watchfulness on their part to every dollar coming in and out of their household budget, and an added wariness of making decisions on where to spend their hard earned money.

The first few moments of conversation with your buyer count as a make or break audition to see if you are going to benefit them and be a valuable asset to their finances. They will immediately focus on whether you are reading off of a generic script or contacting them in a personalized, genuine way, whether you seem confident and competent in what you are selling, and what benefits they may receive by working with you. If you fail to show them your value and how they will benefit from working with you within the first few minutes, you will often get cut off before you can get to the meat of your sales presentation.

Instead, once you make contact get right to the point— respect their time and intelligence by letting them know right off the bat what you are selling and how it will benefit them personally. If possible, pull up some numbers to illustrate your pitch. Remember not to push too hard with these leads, as they may be legitimately busy and unable to talk– ask to reschedule if now is not a good time.  And finally, drop the script so that your conversation will become a more genuine give and take instead of you just selling your product—listen to what your lead has to say, and address their questions and concerns before continuing on with your sale. The more you work to approach each lead as an individual instead of a name on a list, the more likely you are to get a positive response.