Sales Assessments and Call Reluctance

Psychometric assessments can be used for salespeople to assess their ability to sell and influence. Most often sales assessments will include some form of personality assessment, however not many providers will offer a measure of call reluctance to assess sales people.

Call reluctance measures fears and anxieties a person may have which are likely to impact on a person’s success in a sales role. If a person is fearful of presenting (Stage Fright) this fear is likely to make the person either avoid presenting or showing physical signs of fear when presenting such as nervousness.

Sales Preference Questionnaire (SPQ_GOLD™ and SPQ_GOLD/FSA™)

On the surface the SPQ_GOLD™ is very sales oriented, but the information that can be gleaned by the tool is usually extremely valuable for both sales and non-sales roles.

The SPQ_GOLD™ provides information valuable for many roles and can diagnose development needs for people.

What does the SPQ_GOLD/FSA™ measure?

There are many different types of call reluctance and the sales preference questionnaire measures the following types:

Doomsayer

This scale measures energy diverted away from contact initiation or selling with worry about low probability worst case scenarios.

Over-Preparer

This scale measures energy diverted away from contact initiation or selling with worry about low probability worst case scenarios.

Hyper Pro

This scale measures energy lost by habitual over-investment in the language, mannerisms, and / or appearances of success. The person may avoid work which they feel is “demeaning” or “unprofessional”.

Role Rejection

This scale measures energy lost by habitual over-investment in the language, mannerisms, and / or appearances of success. The person may avoid work which they feel is “demeaning” or “unprofessional”.

Yielder

This scale measures hesitation to assert oneself to clients or others because of a reflexive fear of being considered intrusive or overly pushy. While often strong at relationship-building, high scorers may hesitate to ask for the sale, negotiate and sometimes may not deal with conflict effectively.

Oppositional Reflex

This scale measures a reflexive need to be right and defend oneself against negative feedback. This can include reflexive criticism about the relevance of the test and potentially disagreement with the results and whole process. This can be a face-saving mechanism in case the results are less positive.

Stage Frigt

The scale measures how making presentations before groups of people causes emotional discomfort and therefore is generally avoided.

Social Self Consciousness

This scale measures feelings of discomfort with up market buyers and clients. The individual may be emotionally intimidated by persons of wealth, prestige or power.

Referral Aversion

This scale measures emotional hesitancy of asking a client for a referral or favor. Individuals may have concern about offending the client by making the request.

Telephobia

This scale measures discomfort when trying to use the telephone for prospecting purposes. It measures a preference for face-to-face forms of prospecting or over the phone.

Online Selling Discomfort

This scale measures discomfort associated with using modern online resources to assist in marketing oneself or your organisation’s products and / or services. Tools such as social media and web-based conferencing sites may not be used to their maximum potential.

Complex Sales

This scale measures discomfort associated with selling in complex sales environments. These environments may include contacting senior level executives, contacting multiple high level decision makers, preparing professional proposals, and managing complex negotiations.

Sales Extensions

This scale measures the degree to which opportunities to make additional sales to customers can be neglected or avoided due to a fear that existing business or relationships may be threatened. On selling, up selling and cross selling can be effected.

Arranging Payment

This scale measures the degree of anxiety or hesitation experienced when stating cost of the product or service and / or when asking for payment for the goods.

Sales Call Reluctance Imposters

In addition to the above call reluctance scales the tool also measures what the test makers call imposters, they may look like call reluctance but are other aspects of a person's sales profile which can impact on sales success.

Motivation

This scale measures total amount of energy or motivation available for selling and prospecting activities minus any energy lost to Call Reluctance and / or other goal-obstructing behaviours.

Goal Level

Degree of goal clarity or focus on the longer term. Goal-level is the degree to which an individual has set (and / or written down) medium and long term goals.

Goal Diffusion

The scale measures the degree to which available energy or motivation is dispersed across multiple goals or tasks which are all simultaneously competing for time and attention. High diffusion may lead to overloading oneself.

Sales Support Requirements

This scale measures the degree of importance attached to receiving ongoing support in the role. This support could be training, encouragement, and access to supervisors and management needed in order to achieve optimal performance.

Principles Based Exoneration

This scale measures energy lost due to concerns about the perceived ethics and / or “worthiness” of the employer organisation and / or its products and services. These concerns may either be genuine, excuses or personally held beliefs.

Validity Scales

In addition, there are 6 validity scales for the tool checking for faking, consistency, hedging and attitude towards the questionnaire.