Behavioral Sciences Research Press

09/04/2025

What if the executive suite has call reluctance?

Call reluctance is not just a sales team problem. When it starts in the boardroom, the whole company feels it:
- Policies lose consistency
- Focus drifts
- Sales teams lose confidence

Digital Equipment Company, once a tech giant, dismissed selling as “unethical.” Their culture became sales tolerant instead of pro-selling. Not long after, they were acquired by a competitor who embraced both sales and innovation.

👉 The lesson? When leaders undervalue selling, company culture weakens, sales lose direction, and long-term competitiveness suffers. Sales leadership is not just for the front line. It is a boardroom imperative.

🔎 Explore more resources and take the free EKG Survey to see how call reluctance could be affecting your organization.

callreluctance.com/blogs/what-if-the-executive-suite-has-call-reluctance

Sales call reluctance in leadership can cripple an organization. Discover how executive attitudes toward selling shape culture, stall growth, and impact long-term business success.

09/02/2025

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭?

Call reluctance is not just a sales problem. Research shows fear of self-promotion can quietly stall any career. The first sign is not sweaty palms or nervous breathing. You feel it in your wallet.

Read the full article to learn how visibility impacts growth, income, and opportunity: callreluctance.com/blogs/why-fear-of-self-promotion-costs-you-money-even-if-youre-not-in-sales

Sales call reluctance isn’t just for salespeople. Research shows fear of self-promotion limits career growth, earnings, and visibility in every profession. Learn how to spot it and overcome it.

08/28/2025

𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐳 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞?
Yes! And it takes just a few minutes.

If you’ve ever caught yourself avoiding outreach, over-preparing before a meeting, or second-guessing yourself before picking up the phone, this quick self-assessment can show whether call reluctance is holding you back.

The EKG Survey is free and gives you a fast snapshot of how fear or hesitation might be impacting your ability to prospect, network, or advocate for yourself.

𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰: https://callreluctance.com/free-call-reluctance-survey

Take the free Call Reluctance survey to see if you have hidden emotional barriers keep many salespeople from truly earning what they are worth.

08/25/2025

𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬.
It costs relationships, revenue, promotions, and even innovation.

We have spent decades studying how subtle fear shows up in behavior, and how it stops even the most motivated people from taking action. The truth is, reluctance is measurable, predictable, and coachable.

In our latest blog, we outline the 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, and how to spot them before they stall your career or your team.

👉 Read it here: callreluctance.com/blogs/top-5-missed-opportunities-that-stem-from-sales-call-reluctance

Top 5 opportunities lost to call reluctance. Learn how fear of prospecting hurts sales and how leaders can fix it.

08/20/2025

𝐈𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧.
And no, a better script probably will not fix it.

That hesitation you feel is not just nerves.
It could be call reluctance, a real, researched fear that shows up as:
- over prepping
- second guessing
- or ghosting the phone entirely

Scripts can structure your call.
But they cannot calm what is happening inside.
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐄𝐊𝐆 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲: https://callreluctance.com/free-call-reluctance-survey

08/19/2025

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨?

When leaders avoid tough conversations, prospecting, or high-stakes opportunities, it sends an invisible signal through the entire team. And performance follows that signal.

Our latest blog post breaks down how call reluctance shows up in leadership, and what to do about it.

👉 Read it here: https://callreluctance.com/blogs/what-happens-when-managers-have-call-reluctance-too

Call reluctance affects more than salespeople. Learn how managers develop call reluctance, how it hurts team performance, and how to fix it with proven tools.

08/14/2025

Your dashboard isn’t telling you everything.

Reps can hit call targets while avoiding the hardest conversations. Fear hides behind productivity, and it stalls pipeline growth.

Call reluctance is real. Measure it. Coach it. Grow again.

See what your metrics can’t at https://callreluctance.com/blogs/what-sales-leaders-miss-when-they-focus-only-on-metrics

08/05/2025

📉 Ever feel like your reps are doing just enough, but the pipeline still isn’t growing?

You check the dashboard. The activity is there. But something is still off.

That’s because metrics only show what’s happening on the surface. They don’t show the real reason reps avoid outreach, delay follow-ups, or play it safe with low-risk leads.

Behind those numbers could be something deeper: call reluctance.

If you're only coaching based on performance data, you're missing the mindset behind the behavior.

👉 Learn how to spot the emotional barriers your reports can't see
👉 Understand why pressure often backfires
👉 Discover how the SPQ Gold®/FSA assessment helps you coach with clarity

Read the full post:
🔗 https://callreluctance.com/blogs/what-sales-leaders-miss-when-they-focus-only-on-metrics

Most sales leaders track activity, but miss the deeper reasons behind underperformance. Learn why focusing only on metrics can hide call reluctance and how tools like the SPQ Gold/FSA help you coach more effectively.

07/28/2025

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠?
𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑒. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑙, 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢.

You don’t need more willpower. You need to know what you’re dealing with.
We’ve built the tools to help you do that.

That hesitation might be something deeper, and more common than you think.

We’ve spent decades studying a real, measurable barrier that holds people back from picking up the phone. It’s called call reluctance, and it’s costing professionals deals, confidence, and growth.
The good news?
There’s a proven way to identify it and fix it.

🔍 Read the full breakdown: https://callreluctance.com/blogs/why-am-i-afraid-of-cold-calling-and-what-can-i-do-about-it

✅ Take the free EKG Survey: https://callreluctance.com/free-call-reluctance-survey
It’s quick and can help you find out if call reluctance is holding you back.

07/25/2025

Ever feel like you're doing everything right in sales, but still not hitting your numbers?

Here’s the truth:
Prospecting doesn’t guarantee success… but NOT prospecting guarantees failure.

And one of the biggest hidden reasons reps avoid it?
It’s called Call Reluctance, and it’s way more common than you think.

✅ 85% of salespeople experience it.
✅ For many, it derails their entire career.

If you’re avoiding the phone, over-prepping, or stuck in your head…
You might be fighting fear, not just laziness.

🎯 Learn how to overcome it at https://callreluctance.com/blogs/what-is-call-reluctance
Take the free EKG Survey: https://callreluctance.com/free-call-reluctance-survey