Sales Call Reluctance Questionnaire

"The thick-skinned fearlessness expected in salespeople is more fiction than fact. It turns out that many Advisors are struggling with a bone-shaking fear of prospecting. This fear tends to persist regardless of how well they have been trained, or how much they personally believe in their service's worth. The fear of self promotion is the general condition which makes call reluctance possible in Advisors. It's found everywhere in motivated, goal-striving Advisors who have trouble promoting themselves, which keeps them from earning what they're worth. The notion that call reluctance is a single condition is a venerable piece of nonsense which has largely been discredited. Twelve different types of sales reluctance have been identified so far and there are probably more."

—Excerpted from, The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance: Earning What You're Worth in Sales by George W. Dudley and Shannon L. Goodson, ©2007, Behavioral Sciences Research Press, Inc., Dallas, Texas. USED WITH PERMISSION.

I probably spend more time planning to prospect than I devote to actual prospecting.

I’m probably not really trying to prospect for new business as much as I could or should because I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle any more.

I probably don’t try as often as I could to initiate contact with influential people in my community who might be prospects for the products or services I sell, or at least a source for referrals.

I get really uncomfortable when I have to phone someone I don’t know, who is not expecting my call, to persuade them to buy something they may not want to buy.

Personally, I think having to call people I don’t know, who are not expecting my call, to promote a product or service is humiliating and demeaning.

To me, self-promotion doesn’t really bother me. I just don’t apply myself to it very purposefully or consistently.

I try to avoid giving presentations before groups if I can.

Actually, prospecting doesn’t really bother me. I could initiate more contacts if I were not involved in so many other activities which compete for my time and energies.

I find myself hesitating when it is time to ask for a referral from an existing client.

I tend to need time to “psych” myself up before I prospect.

I tend to spend a lot of time shuffling, planning, prioritizing and organizing the names on my prospecting list (or cards) before I actually put them to use.

Regularly making cold calls (calling on people I don’t know who are not expecting my call and who many not want to talk to me) is really difficult for me.

I tend to feel uneasy when I prospect because deep down I think that consistently promoting yourself or your products is not very respectable or proper.

To me, making sales presentations to my friends or asking them for referrals is unacceptable because it might look like I was trying to exploit their friendship.

I often feel like I might be intruding on people when I prospect.

To me, making sales presentations to members of my own family, or even asking them for referrals, is inappropriate because it might look like I was trying to selfishly exploit them.

It is very important to me to find innovative, alternative ways to prospect which are more professional and dignified than the methods used by other salespeople.

I think that prospecting for new business probably takes more out of me emotionally than it does other salespeople.

I do OK in one-on-one sales situations, but I would probably get really nervous if I found out that next week I had to give a sales presentation in front of a group.

Highly educated, professional people like lawyers and physicians tend to annoy me, so I don’t try to initiate contact with them even though I probably could if I wanted to.

I have reasonably clear goals, but I probably spend more time talking about them than working towards them.

I would probably feel more positive about prospecting for new business if I had some additional training to fortify my product knowledge.

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A 3 Minute Questionnaire That Can Double Your Income

Is sales call reluctance placing an artificial limit on your earning ability?

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A 3 Minute Questionnaire That Can Double Your Income

Is sales call reluctance placing an artificial limit on your earning ability?

To find out, take this 3-minute questionnaire. Each requires a simple “yes” or “no” response. Be Honest! Then keep an eye on your in-box to see your score.

Contact Me

Find out more about how our programs can help you

To find out, take this 3-minute questionnaire. Each requires a simple “yes” or “no” response. Be Honest!
Then keep an eye on your in-box to see your score.