# Sales Call Reluctance Self-Assessment

> A 20-question diagnostic that scores you against 12 recognized types of sales call reluctance and names which one is actually costing you dials, with a one-line remedy for each.

Free assessment/quiz for sales reps. Topic: [Psychology, Mindset & Productivity](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/psychology-mindset-productivity/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/sales-call-reluctance-self-assessment/

## How to use it

Rate all 20 statements based on your last 30 days of real behavior, total your scores against the mapping key, and treat your top 1-2 scoring types as the priority to work on rather than trying to fix everything at once.

## What's inside

- 20 statements rated on a 1-5 frequency scale based on your last 30 days of real behavior
- Full scoring key mapping every question to 1 of 12 recognized call-reluctance types
- Separate reading thresholds for 2-question types vs. 1-question types
- Guidance for identifying your primary and secondary constraint rather than treating all 12 equally
- One-line remedy for each of the 12 types
- Designed for honest self-scoring in under 10 minutes

## Instructions
Rate each statement based on the last 30 days of your own prospecting behavior, not how you wish you behaved. Use this scale:

**1** = Never true of me · **2** = Rarely true · **3** = Sometimes true · **4** = Often true · **5** = Almost always true

Answer honestly and quickly, your first instinct is usually the accurate one.

## The 20 Statements

| # | Statement | Score (1-5) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Before I even dial, I've usually already decided this call probably won't go anywhere. | |
| 2 | I catch myself thinking "why bother, they'll just say no" before I pick up the phone. | |
| 3 | I've delayed making a call so I could do "just a bit more" research on the account first. | |
| 4 | I feel like I can't call someone until I know almost everything about their company. | |
| 5 | The idea of a call where multiple people from the prospect's side are listening makes me noticeably more anxious than a 1:1 call. | |
| 6 | I've rehearsed a pitch in my head more times than I've actually delivered it live. | |
| 7 | When a gatekeeper pushes back, I back off faster than I probably need to. | |
| 8 | I worry that following up again will make me seem "annoying" or "too much." | |
| 9 | I'm self-conscious about sounding "salesy" on calls, even when what I'm offering is genuinely useful. | |
| 10 | I think more about how I'm coming across on a call than about what the prospect actually needs. | |
| 11 | I avoid asking people I already know (friends, past colleagues, personal network) for introductions or referrals. | |
| 12 | Asking someone I have a personal relationship with for a business favor feels harder than cold-calling a stranger. | |
| 13 | By the end of a heavy prospecting day, I feel emotionally drained in a way that carries into the next day's calls. | |
| 14 | A string of rejections has changed how I approached my very next call, more than it should have. | |
| 15 | Somewhere in the back of my mind, I feel a bit uncomfortable calling myself "in sales." | |
| 16 | I downplay or soften the word "sales" when I describe my job to people outside work. | |
| 17 | I'll send an email or a message instead of picking up the phone, even when calling would clearly be faster or more effective. | |
| 18 | I resist using a call script or talk track because it feels inauthentic, even without a clearly better alternative prepared. | |
| 19 | There's a specific type of account (senior executives, a certain industry, past customers, etc.) I consistently avoid calling more than the data says I should. | |
| 20 | Starting prospecting into a brand-new list, account set, or territory takes me noticeably longer to get moving on than working an existing/warm list. | |

## Scoring Key, map your answers to the 12 recognized call-reluctance types

| Type | Questions | Your total |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Doomsayer (expects failure before dialing) | Q1 + Q2 | /10 |
| 2. Over-Preparer (research as avoidance) | Q3 + Q4 | /10 |
| 3. Stage Fright / Group Presentation Anxiety | Q5 + Q6 | /10 |
| 4. Yielder (over-accommodates pushback) | Q7 + Q8 | /10 |
| 5. Social Self-Consciousness (image anxiety) | Q9 + Q10 | /10 |
| 6. Referral / Friends-and-Family Aversion | Q11 + Q12 | /10 |
| 7. Emotionally Overextended (rejection fatigue) | Q13 + Q14 | /10 |
| 8. Role Rejection (identity discomfort with "sales") | Q15 + Q16 | /10 |
| 9. Telephobia (phone-specific avoidance) | Q17 | /5 |
| 10. Oppositional Reflex (resists structure/scripts) | Q18 | /5 |
| 11. Special-Case Avoidance (avoids specific segment) | Q19 | /5 |
| 12. Cold-Start / New-Territory Aversion | Q20 | /5 |

**How to read it:**
- For 2-question types (rows 1-8): a score of **8-10** is a strong, active constraint; **5-7** is worth watching; **2-4** is not currently a driver.
- For 1-question types (rows 9-12): a score of **4-5** is a strong, active constraint; **3** is worth watching; **1-2** is not currently a driver.
- Most people carry a primary type and a secondary type, rarely just one. Rank your top 2 scores; those are what's actually costing you dials, not lack of effort or talent.

## One-Line Remedy Per Type
1. **Doomsayer**, Track actual call outcomes vs. what you predicted beforehand; the data breaks the pattern faster than willpower.
2. **Over-Preparer**, Set a hard prep-time cap (e.g., 10 minutes) per account before you're required to dial.
3. **Stage Fright**: Rehearse out loud in front of a peer or manager before high-stakes group calls, not just in your head.
4. **Yielder**, Script one firm-but-polite follow-up line and use it verbatim until it stops feeling uncomfortable.
5. **Social Self-Consciousness**: Shift your pre-call self-talk explicitly onto the prospect's problem, not your delivery.
6. **Referral Aversion**: Reframe the ask as helping your contact look good to their network, not as a personal favor.
7. **Emotionally Overextended**, Build a fixed recovery ritual after rejection-heavy blocks; don't stack them back to back.
8. **Role Rejection**: Reconnect "sales" to the specific skill and value you deliver, not the label.
9. **Telephobia**: Make the first touch in every sequence phone-first, by rule, before email/message is allowed.
10. **Oppositional Reflex**: Treat the script as a skeleton to personalize (aim for ~20% your own words), not a cage.
11. **Special-Case Avoidance**: Name the avoided segment explicitly and schedule those calls first in the day, not last.
12. **Cold-Start Aversion**, Break new-territory prospecting into a small fixed daily quota (e.g., 5 new accounts/day) instead of "get through the list."