For many years people have been searching for the perfect sales assessment tool. Why? Because identifying and retaining high performing sales talent continues to elude many organisations. It has become even more important with products losing their competitive edge and sales success becoming hinged squarely around the capabilities and performance inputs and outputs of sales people.
I have been using psychometric assessments as part of my work for more than 20 years now. In my business alone we have assessed more than 70,000 people in sales, sales management and leadership roles using a variety of high quality assessment tools for both selection and development purposes. The tools we use are designed to measure Cognitive Abilities, Personality (i.e. sales, leadership and everyday styles), Motives & Values, Call Reluctance and Coping & Derailing Behaviours.
We favour well researched, well built, validated assessments constructed by professional psychometricians because, like diagnostic tools used in medicine and other scientific applications, good assessments are calibrated to measure specific aspects of self. However, like most instruments they are not perfect. We are always looking at what’s happening in the world of assessments and we can report that there are thousands of assessments promising all sorts of things. However, we find that many of them are junk and nothing better than a Cleo quiz which adds nothing to your selection process.
All this research has also revealed that the perfect sales assessment tool does not exist. Trying to measure all the things we want to know about sales people and leaders with one assessment is unrealistic and virtually impossible. However, what we do know is that the latest research into modern sales assessments is showing subtle difference between:
- Influence and Negotiation
- Impact and Credibility
- Initiation and Social Leverage
- Resilience and Self Belief
We are now seeing more purpose built sales assessment tools that are designed to measures key qualities such as:
- Creating Compelling Relationships – measuring the preferences the individual has when working with clients and developing relationships
- Perceptive Reasoning – measuring how the individual processes information and makes judgments relating to client issues and solutions
- Channelled Energy – measuring the motivators and levers which drive the individual to succeed
- Contact Initiation – measuring the emotional response to prospecting and the amount of initiative, energy and drive devoted to proactive prospecting as well as the amount of energy spent in coping with inhibiting influences such as fear
Effectively predicting sales success is critical to any business’ success and using well designed, rigorous psychometric assessments as part of a sales selection process can really boost our chances of finding and retaining the right sales people for our business. However, many people look to psychometric assessments as the panacea, the quick fix, the one source of information that will give them the answer to the question ‘How can I tell if this person will sell and make me lots of money?’ This too is a mistake.
Therefore, to get the most value out of psychometric assessments when applied to your sales selection process you might like to consider these important points:
1. Use as part of a selection process: Psychometric assessments should be used in concert with other validated selection tools such as structured behavioural interviews, competency based simulation exercises and structured reference checks where findings can be cross referenced against core criteria that have been established as relevant to the job and culture in question.
2. Predictive Ability: Psychometric assessments should account for no more than 20% of your decision making criteria. They can never be 100% predictive of performance and if anyone claims an assessment, by itself, can have predictive ability over 60% they are not being truthful. Sadly, many people rely on overly simplistic grid type assessments that are not predictive of sales success nor purpose built for sales recruitment and are even less reliable than ‘gut’ feel.
3. Purpose Built: Use recruitment grade psychometric assessments that have been purpose built to measure specific qualities, abilities or attributes. Quality assessment tools will present information and inform you of the following:
a. Relevant: Make sure the assessment(s) is designed for use in selection for a ‘normal’ (rather than clinical) population, is calibrated to the appropriate level (e.g. management, supervisory, entry level) and has occupational context i.e. sales.
b. Practical: Make sure the test/questionnaire is easy to administer, undertake and score. Check what facilities and equipment are required to complete the assessment and how quickly reports can be generated.
c. Technical quality: Technical information is typically presented in a test manual and hence, the absence of a test manual should raise some doubts. In terms of technical properties, you need to consider: Reliability, Validity and Norm groups (these are common technical terms used in psychometrics). All genuine assessments will provide this data. Wading through statistical information can be dry and confusing for some people. If that includes you, seek the assistance of a Psychologist or other person familiar with the correct use of psychometrics. If you decide to ignore technical evidence, because it all seems too hard, it could be at your peril.
4. What to measure: You are unlikely to get all the information you need from one assessment. There are a variety of assessments you can use in isolation or in combination and you need to select the ones that will determine what you need to measure for your role. For example:
a. Cognitive Abilities – verbal and numerical reasoning, conceptual reasoning, critical thinking, mechanical reasoning, etc.
b. Personality – everyday preferences, personal and learning styles, self management, team orientation, ambition, etc.
c. Motives & Values – what makes people happy at work, what drives them, what makes them unhappy.
d. Coping & Derailing Behaviours – learned behaviours and attitudes that can adversely affect sales and leadership performance when under pressure or operating from a fear or frustration.
5. Cost: cost will inevitably be a consideration. In an ideal world you would test everyone with every relevant assessment, however that is not realistic for most businesses. If you have simple screening tools which you use in conjunction with resume and telephone screening this can be useful as long as they are measuring the right things for your role and business. However, these simple tools, while cheap, are not usually robust enough to give you the real detail you need to make informed decisions. Most businesses reserve the more stringent psychometric assessment process until after they have developed a short list of candidates who have been through the initial screening parameters and a thorough Behavioural Interview. By doing it this way you can manage your costs well. A number of our clients use assessments as a mandatory part of their selection processes and incorporate this information across all the findings. This saves them time and money in the long run. So, balance the cost of including psychometric tools in your recruitment process against the cost of one or more poor selection decisions. Which bill would you rather pay?
Getting it right when it comes to hiring your sales team is critical. A successful sales person will not only enable your organisation to ride out the economic uncertainty but will ensure you are ready to seize the opportunities that present during the recovery. As your sales teams are the primary interface between your organisation and your clients, it’s only when you get that interface right that you will achieve true competitive advantage. Using a robust psychometric assessment process as part of your selection strategy can really assist you. Next week we will discuss the different types of sales assessments available to you, and show you how and when you should use them.
Remember everybody lives by selling something.
Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au
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