How Do You Feel About “Sales Call Reluctance”?
There has been not inconsiderable resistance in our culture to identifying oneself as a salesperson. Many consider selling to be “beneath” them or somehow inferior to holding a “professional” job. Over 25 years ago, psychologists Dudley and Goodson created a test to measure the degree of “Sales Call Reluctance” which measured 12 different areas that are predictive of success as a salesperson.
Among the 12 categories is the general category of the willingness to be identified as a sales professional. One’s score reveals the degree of embracing or rejection of a role as salesperson. Obviously, if one rejects the role, she or he is going to have a hard time selling successfully.
Where do you fall in terms of willingness to identify yourself as a salesperson – either directly or in terms of functionalities within your job? Where do you see salespeople within a socio-economic hierarchy? How valuable or not valuable are salespeople in your opinion to the ultimate betterment of society?