RESEARCH_FILE
George W. Dudley
Behavioral Sciences Research Press
Known for:Coining and diagnosing 'sales call reluctance' — the fear of self-promotion that blocks prospecting — and building the SPQ*GOLD assessment used to measure it
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“Enterprise buyers can smell that I'm small-time”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“They can’t smell small-time; they can smell vague. I can make this concrete.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Open a blank note and write three bullets for one enterprise account: their likely priority, one proof point you could mention, and one question you would ask. Stop after the third bullet and save it privately.
Key findings
- 1982
Constructed SPQ*GOLD, the first diagnostic instrument built to systematically measure sales call reluctance rather than treat it as an unmeasurable personality quirk. SPQ*GOLD diagnostic assessment of sales call reluctance ↗
- 1992
With Shannon Goodson, published 'The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance,' describing twelve distinct subtypes of the syndrome and arguing it is common among otherwise skilled salespeople rather than a rare personal defect. The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance: Earning What You're Worth in Sales ↗
- 1999
Validation research on the SPQ*GOLD instrument across eleven industries and four countries found the twelve-subtype structure of call reluctance held up outside the original telesales samples it was built from. Validity of SPQ*GOLD for measuring call reluctance across 11 industries and four countries ↗