What is a Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment?

A Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment is a hiring tool to help recruiters and managers objectively identify and select salespeople with the most significant potential for long-term sales success. 

Natural ability, predispositions, attitude, level of competence and mindset contribute to the success of a salesperson. The revolutionary Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment combines all these factors into one report that allows recruiters and sales managers to make more reliable talent decisions, decrease staff turnover and recruitment costs, and increase the productivity of their salesforce.

The competence assessment enables you to make more confident hiring decisions by identifying an individual's current level of competence across, sales behaviours, mindsets and the excuse index. Our sales recruitment test identifies a salesperson's strengths and development areas in 18 areas critical to sales success to determine how well matched they are for the job role. These sales recruitment assessment tools are combined into one report that enable quick hiring decisions.

Using the insights from the assessment managers and recruiters can evaluate an applicant's behavioural fit to the typical tasks and activities required in a job role. While reviewing the scores, consider which sales competences relate strongly to the specific job requirements. For example, a respondent may have a low score for a particular competence. However, if the competence is not an essential factor for the job, then a low score may be beneficial as they don't need to focus on it.

Furthermore, recruiters and managers can identify development needs before the candidate starts in the sales position. The recruitment assessment provides a match between a salesperson and a job role as well as the sales cycle to ensure you match your recruit to the right position in your organisation. 

In comparison to other sales assessments, the scores are not static, and the tool presumes that anyone is hireable as a person can develop or reprioritise their competencies. ​

Benefits of a Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment

Identifying top talent and avoiding mis-hires can be challenging. The Sales Competence Recruitment assessment identifies the DNA of exceptional sales performance. The intuitive reports measure a salesperson's current level of competence in 18 key areas vital to success and provides suggested sales roles that match the candidate's strengths.

Benefits of the assessment include:

1. Make More Objective and Accurate Hiring Decisions
   A Sales Competence Assessment is non-bias method to compare candidates. By utilising sales competence tests, recruiters and manager can scientifically determine which salespeople amongst a candidate pool are the best fit based on their current strengths, mindsets, and excuse index. Organisations can benchmark top talent that already exists within their company and compare future salespeople to the benchmark.
   
   Sales skills can be costly for an organisation to develop, using the Sales Competence Assessment allows you to identify a candidates' specific skill set from the get-go. If you require applicants who already have the necessary sales behaviours and core strengths you're looking for, a sales competence test will help you identify them.
    
2. Helps to Reduce Turnover
   The most significant risk when recruiting is selecting a salesperson who doesn't fit the role. Mis-hires cost time, money and a lot of frustration! Mis-hires are especially problematic in sales roles where making a wrong decision could mean a decline in business. 
   
   Using the Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment organisations gain an accurate percentage match between a candidate and a sales role, to help select a winning sales force. Our sales assessment calculates a match between a salesperson and eight standard job roles based on their current level of competence and ranks them from high to low.
   
   Top sales roles are currently the most comfortable for the respondent and create significant opportunities for success. Potential sales roles are more challenging for the respondent, but with effort, training, and ongoing development could become a fit if required for success in the role. Marginal sales roles are the most difficult for the respondent and need a significant amount of time, effort, development, and growth across several areas to become a fit. 
   
   When recruiting, match your job to the sales roles in the assessment to gain a clearer picture of the candidate's job skills and quickly identify how well a candidate fits your job role. Furthermore, the flexibility of the Sales Competence Assessment allows you to create up to 5 of your own sales roles with unique criteria to replace or support the system's standard job roles. Use the Sales Roles to ensure you hire the best fitting applicant.
    
3. Increase Sales Performance
   Selecting the right candidates during the hiring process contributes directly to the bottom line. Consider taking some time upfront to match your job to the sales roles identifies in the Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment. In the end, you will have a more precise and quicker picture of how well a candidate fits your job role.
   
   Furthermore, the reports indicate areas in which an individual may need development. Practical coaching tips and development plans provided in the assessment enhance sales performance and jumpstart training and development, so you are not wasting valuable resources. 

Sales Recruitment Assessment Tools

The Sales Recruitment Assessment incorporates several tools to evaluate job fit.

Sales Competencies

The Sales Recruitment Test assesses a candidates effectiveness in 18 skills critical to sales success. Gain valuable insight into the current competence level and whether the scores match your job role requirements.

Sales Mindsets

Mindsets go beyond competencies and provide more indepth analysis into the sales attitudes that could be holding a sales person back from success. Mindsets are the building blocks of the 18 sales competences and are like attitudes towards sales, they are much more difficult to develop. Mindsets help recruiters and sales managers understand the way a sales person approaches problem solving and overcoming challenges. The Sales Recruitment Test includes 12 mindsets.

Sales Roles and Sales Theory

The Recruitment Report calculates a person's match for eight standard sales roles that cover a range of positions from long term repeat sales to short term one-off sales. The 18 sales competences measured in the Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment are identified within three different continuums; how a salesperson deals with their prospects' needs, how they perform in the length or cycle of a particular sale, and how they manage the relationship with the prospect after they close the deal.

The report divides the Sales Roles into Top Roles, Potential roles, and Marginal Roles. Top sales roles are presently the most comfortable for the person and create the best opportunities for success. Potential sales roles are more challenging at this time, but with effort and ongoing development could become a fit. Marginal sales roles are the most difficult for this candidate and would require more improvement in several areas to become a fit. Furthermore, you can create up to 5 of your own sales roles with unique criteria to replace or support the system's standard job roles.

Excuse Index

The Excuse Index revolutionises sales hiring. The index provides an indicator of how likely a person is to make excuses and not actively focus on activities that produce direct sales outcomes. The Excuse Index is one of the first factors we recommend recruiters look at in the sales recruitment test, as it will tell them whether a candidate is likely to look for excuses or distractions rather than focus on sales activities.

Suggested Interview Questions

One of the most practical sales recruitment assessment tools is the suggested interview questions. The report generates questions unique to the salespersons individual scores. The questions help recruiters and sales managers prepare for interviews and allow them to delve deeper into the candidates sales experience.

Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment: Sales Roles

The Recruitment Report calculates a person's match for eight standard sales roles that cover a range of positions from long term repeat sales to short term one-off sales. The 18 sales competences measured in the Sales Competence Recruitment Assessment are identified within three different continuums; how a salesperson deals with their prospects' needs, how they perform in the length or cycle of a particular sale, and how they manage the relationship with the prospect after they close the deal.

• The first continuum, sales need, refers to the need of the prospect. Expressed needs are needs the customers are consciously aware of, and a latent need is one that the customer is unaware of. 
• The second continuum, sales cycle, refers to the length of the sales process and whether the prospect makes a buying decision quickly or takes their time to reach a decision. 
• Finally, the relationship continuum refers to the length of the relationship between the salesperson and the prospect. A short relationship describes a situation where the relationship with the prospect does not continue after the initial sale. Long relationships continue with the prospect after the initial sale, as the purchase may lead to repeat purchases or servicing requirements. 

The report analyses the candidate's strengths and matches them to eight sales roles. The report ranks the matched sales roles from high to low. As you review the match percentages, remember that the scores reflect the respondent's current level of competence. With enough motivation and dedication, people can develop competences in time.

The report divides the Sales Roles into Top Roles, Potential roles, and Marginal Roles. Top sales roles are presently the most comfortable for the person and create the best opportunities for success. Potential sales roles are more challenging at this time, but with effort and ongoing development could become a fit. Marginal sales roles are the most difficult for this candidate and would require more improvement in several areas to become a fit. Furthermore, you can create up to 5 of your own sales roles with unique criteria to replace or support the system's standard job roles.