How to select salespeople who will sell

by Dr. Ira S. Wolfe
Guest Columnist

Dr. Ira S. Wolfe is president of Success Performance Solutions, a division of Poised for the Future Co. specializes in reducing turnover and building employee and customer loyalty for small- to medium-sized businesses and health care.

That sucking sound employers are hearing in your workplace may not be the sound of the cleaning people at work. No, it is more than likely the sound of lost customers and lost sales. Turnover and the shortage of skilled and dedicated salespeople is taking a toll on the bottom line. The loss of knowledgeable and experienced personnel is affecting the quality of goods and services businesses are delivering.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) reports a plummeting consumer satisfaction with service in nearly every industry since 1994 -- coincidentally, the same time period of the increasing employment rate. As a result, customer retention is suffering, which increases company costs by adding exponentially to the sales and marketing efforts needed to acquire new customers. And the reason is quite simple: it's a competitive job market out there, and many companies aren't responding effectively.

Building a sales force of high-performing salespeople is a crucial strategy for long-term growth and profitability. Employers and mangers must respond in a smart way, which may not be in the way it's always been done.

Many employers have difficulty matching the right person to the right job. The sole purpose of evaluating job candidates is to predict, or forecast, how they will perform on the job before they are added to the payroll. Hiring today, however, requires more than a well-written resume, a casual interview and intuition. The best salesperson for one company, product or service may be a nightmare for another.

How are nearly 35 percent of America's corporations reducing turnover and distinguishing themselves from the cascading torrent of competition for customers and employees? By using screening and assessment tools to hire, manage and set career paths for their employees.

What do you believe it takes to be a successful salesperson in your company?

A successful selection process looks not only at experience and product knowledge, but also which performance factors may influence how well an employee will perform the job. Performance factors for high performing salespeople in one company might be effective decision-making skills, interpersonal skills, first impression, persistence, customer focus and frustration (rejection) tolerance. In another company, it might be creativity, strategic skills, negotiation and enthusiasm. These performance factors, in addition to other job requirements, comprise a job analysis. A job analysis makes good business sense, and is a first step-in assuring compliance with EEOC Uniform Guidelines.

What are the tools a manager should consider?

The most widely used tool for assessing sales candidates has been and continues to be the personal interview. The problem is that interviews have been clearly identified as an ineffective and inaccurate predictor (0.14 validity or about 52 percent) of how well an applicant performs on the job.

(Note - A score of .00 validity indicates that a roll of the dice would be an equally accurate method to choose an employee. A score of 1 indicates the highest predictability.)

Relying on personal interviews alone, employers make hiring decisions based on the wrong factors, and increase the risk of mediocrity in sales and service. In addition the courts have identified interviews as lacking consistency, demonstrating bias and asking questions that were not relevant to the job.

Four other tools, besides the interview, reference and background checks, and the job analysis, will let the proverbial cat out of the bag before you hire. Which tools are the best for a particular position, product or company will depend on how crucial it is to hire right the first time.

The first question: Can they sell?

Are their differences between top performers and non-performers? The next question to be answered is, how will they sell? Will they have the behavioral style necessary to prospect, interact, multitask and follow policy? Or, will stress and frustration rule the day?

"CriteriaOne Sales Style Assessment measures the behavioral competencies of candidates and current salespeople and identifies selling style differences between your top performers and non-performers.

Do management and the salesperson share the same attitudes and approach? Why will they sell and will they sell for me? The Business Values and Motivators survey clearly measures how individuals view the world and how likely your product, service, company culture and rewards program will satisfy the salespeople for the short term and the long haul.

A sales personality test helps a manager assess candidates for decision making, problem solving, follow-through, reslience, motivation, multi-tasking, and more. Depending on the type of sales (transactional vs. consultative), length of selling cycle, complexity of the sales, new vs mature markets and so on, different sales test systems are available such PeopleClues, Prevue, Assess, and SalesMax.

Selecting the sales dream team is easier and more predictable than ever before. People with the right behavioral style, attitudes consistent with the culture, and motivation needed to thrive in the job and environment are more likely to get up to full speed quicker, learn and be challenged, stay longer, make fewer errors, be more dependable and reliable, make better team players, and, in short, provide a much better return on your payroll and training investment.

Assessment tools are the smart way to work. Using standardized tests reduces inconsistency and bias, and shows considerable validity for predicting job
performance for many jobs.