Do Your Assessment Tools Identify Top Sales Performers

It’s December and sales managers are in planning mode for the New Year. Part of that planning process is evaluating your sales teams to determine if you have the right players to achieve next year’s goals. One positive scenario is that everyone is performing, business is booming, and team expansion may be part of next year’s plan. On the flip side, this year’s sales performance may not have been up to par and changing up the team roster may be a consideration.

Assessments are routinely used to evaluate current sales team members and sales candidates. Yet, most assessment tools are not sales specific as they ask the same generic questions for all positions (sales and non-sales). These standard assessments may be great at identifying communication style, but if the assessment questions are the same for all positions, can they be relied on to pick a true sales winner?

Fortunately, there are sales specific assessment tools that are great at identifying DRIVE which is the primary attribute of top sales performers. Sales specific assessments can also determine if sales team members possess the natural behaviors essential to sales success. These tools may also identify individuals who are coachable or those who need constant pushing to perform daily sales activities.

Sales assessments may also determine if a sales person fits the sales position’s sales style. Here are a few questions to help identify a position’s sales style:

• Is the position a Hunter or Farmer role?
• Does your company compete on price or sell value?
• Does the position require patience and discipline to manage a long sales cycle? Or can your product be sold quickly through an online presentation?

Each style requires different sales competencies and behaviors. All sales positions are not created equal. Consequently, a sales person’s success in one style does not guarantee success in other styles. So matching an individual’s sales style to the position’s sales style is important.

Fortify your sales plan by identifying sales performers with DRIVE and who fit the style of your sales positions. If you would like to assess your current sales team or assess sales candidates in an upcoming search, give us a call at 317-578-1310. Or email us at info@safarisolutions.com