Incidence of Sales Call Reluctance

Embedded deep within today’s softer, gentler, client-centered sales training programs lies the promise that the new methods make salespeople more professional, helps them feel better about their careers, and in so doing lowers interference from things like call reluctance. But, what does the data say? Are salespeople today more call-reluctant or less? BSRP’s newest research may have the answer. A recent BSRP study headed by BSRP senior research analyst, Trelitha Bryant, examined the incidence of sales call reluctance to see if any important changes have taken place. To complete the study, Bryant analyzed 84,273 SPQ*GOLD® reports. SPQ is the world’s only diagnostic instrument specifically designed to detect all twelve forms of call reluctance, a condition that emotionally limits the number of first contacts people in contact-dependent professions can comfortably make. Conflict or hesitation associated with making contact with prospective clients is responsible for more failures in sales than any other single factor. Why? It’s simple. If you don’t have enough people to present to, it makes little difference what you have to present or how well you have been trained to present it. Without a steady flow of prospects, raw talent, the “right” personality, ability, expensive brochures, product knowledge, drive, the newest laptops, polished presentation skills, or more ephemeral considerations like “goal congruence” makes little difference. They’re benign might-have-beens, held hostage to inactivity.

So do salespeople today have more or less call reluctance? The answer is more.
Approximately 90% of the salespeople included in the study had one or more forms of sales call reluctance. Within this 90%, individuals experienced an average of three forms of call reluctance, up from an average of two types just a few years ago.

BSRP’s 2004 call reluctance research update reconfirms that sales people today need more than traditional sales training- regardless of the method or philosophy used. Clientele-building organizations cannot afford to presume that their sales people will be able to prospect on a consistent basis without specialized diagnostic and remedial help. Prospecting is the capstone competency for sales success. Managers can help guarantee unimpaired prospecting by properly diagnosing sales call reluctance in new and established salespeople, so the 90% that need it can get the specific help they need.

Look for More BSRP Research in 2005
Are Today’s Salespeople Really More Honest? The Relationship of Gender & Selling Style to Impression Management (Bryant, Dudley & Goodson, 2005)

Relationship of SPQ’s Hedging & Impression Management Scores to Sales Production and Retention (Bryant & Dudley, 2005)

For additional information, please contact us.