Pick Sales Winners with This Assessment Tool

A successful sales hiring strategy identifies sales candidates with DRIVE. Internally driven people know how to set goals, develop a sales plan to achieve those goals, and are disciplined to work the sales plan. Yet, how can business owners and sales managers reliably determine if a sales candidate is driven?

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 questions for all positions (sales and non-sales). DISC, Predictive Index, PXT Select, Kolbe, Culture Index and many others fall into this category. These standard assessments may be great at identifying communication styles, behaviors, and interests, but can they pick sales winners?

Fortunately, there are sales specific assessments that are designed specifically for sales producers. The assessment tool we use in our recruiting practice is ideal at identifying DRIVE which is the primary attribute of top sales performers. Using an assessment tool that asks questions specifically about the sales reps’ attitude and behaviors in their current sales environment provides clearer results than general assessment questions.

Goal setting, ambition, competitiveness, success mentality, and resiliency are many of the behavioral traits that comprise a high level of DRIVE in top sales performers. The first step in building a successful sales team is to hire salespeople who are driven. Sales Managers can then train and coach these driven individuals to achieve outstanding sales results.

Yet, sales positions are not created equal. They come in all different shapes and sizes. A salesperson’s success in one sales environment does not guarantee success in others. Thus, matching an individual’s sales style to the position’s sales style is important.

Match your DRIVEN sales candidates to the style of the sales position by asking these questions:

• Is the sales position a Hunter (new biz) or Farmer (existing accounts) role?
• Does your company compete on price or sell value?
• Does the position require patience and discipline to manage a long complex sales cycle?
• Does your product/service have a short sales cycle that can be closed through virtual selling?
• Is there heavy competition for your product/service?
• Is your product/service new that requires educating the customer?

Achieve a higher chance of sales success by hiring driven salespeople with the right sales style.

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