SPQ Test Archives - Sales Assessment Testing

How do you find out if a candidate is a real account developer?

How do you know if your sales candidates can and will prospect and convert prospects into clients?

Use the SPQ Gold test — the only pre-hire sales test that measures Sales Call Reluctance.

Hidden emotional barriers keep many salespeople from initiating contact with prospects.

Call Reluctance seems simple enough, but chances are it goes deeper than you think. It consists of all the internal thoughts, feelings, and “avoidance” behaviors that conspire to keep otherwise talented and motivated sales professionals from prospecting. Numerous studies based on large samples of salespeople reveal that lack of prospecting is the primary reason for underperformance in sales. Nothing else even comes close—not the fear of rejection, inadequate training, low self-esteem, lack of product knowledge, low self-discipline, ambiguous goals, the fear of success, or the fear of failure.

Does Call Reluctance really matter?

Call Reluctance is not a theoretical abstraction and is accompanied by actual costs. Individuals with this behavior tend to avoid opportunities to engage with potential customers and offer solutions that meet their needs.

How do you know if a candidate is an actual business developer?

Invest in the SPQ Gold sales test — the only assessment in the world that measures the 16 types of Sales Call Reluctance.
Are you opposed to learning more? If not, call Connie Kadansky at 602-380-5431.

It is a BIG mistake to hire “seasoned” salespeople without running a SPQ assessment

Received a call from another very sad sales manager who hired a seasoned salesperson from a similar industry to sell his products and the salesperson is completely failing.

Just because someone has 30 years “selling” experience does not mean they will be successful in a new dynamic

Research shows that some top producing salespeople are simply good account managers. They keep selling to their current customers, meeting their goals and everyone is happy. It may have been years since they did any active prospecting for new customers. They do not identify with being account developers.

What is the cost of onboarding a new sales person in time and money? For a nominal fee, what do you have to lose in assessing your seasoned sales candidate?

What Prospecting Skills Do They Bring To The Job?

The SPQ/FSA assessment is a sales competency test. It is not a personality test. Prospecting is an emotional exercise. It takes emotional resilience and stability to consistently prospect for new business. How do you know if your candidate will prospect consistently? The SPQ/FSA allows your candidate to tell you how they experiencing prospecting. Prospecting has changed and it requires skill to engage prospects in a meaningful way that is creating value for them. The only assessment in the world that measures for Sales Call Reluctance is the SPQ Gold and the SPQ/FSA. Please call Connie Kadansky at 602-380-5431 to discover which assessment will serve your needs.

“You saved me from another bad hire.”

Recently an seasoned owner of an executive recruiting firm interviewed a candidate who seemed to pretty impressive. He invested in the SPQ*Gold assessment and the candidate’s impression management score was high (meaning heads up to embellishment and exaggeration.) Even though some salespeople may score high in this area, they can actually prove that in the past they have been above average producers. I encouraged this owner to request the candidate provide copies of W-2’s for the past two years in order to move forward.

Guess what? He never heard from the candidate again.

The owner called me and said, “The SPQ*Gold test did it again. It saved me from a bad hire.”

Very few assessments have measurements for response consistency, hedging and impression management. That is another reason to invest in the Sales Call Reluctance assessment.

exaggeration — How do you know if your candidate is exaggerating?

Engaged or not engaged?

sad person

In addition to assessing for Sales Call Reluctance, the SPQ*Gold assessment will also tell you whether the candidate you are interviewing is truly engaged and emotionally connected to their goals.

Someone can be good at what they do. However, if they are not emotionally connected to the “why” behind what they are doing. . . you may be hiring someone who takes a significant amount of management time to monitor and motivate.

Please call Connie Kadansky, 602-380-5431, to discuss the streamlined process to assess candidates prior to hiring them! Connie@Exceptionalsales.com

The SPQ Gold results will give you insight into how to coach and develop the sales candidate — IF you choose to hire them

Very rarely do we see “perfect” assessments. Why? Because we are all a work in progress and even the top performers are rarely “perfect.” If you choose to hire the candidate, we will assist you in using the information to design their coaching/training development immediately. Many sales mangers go through a honeymoon period with their new salespeople. They are optimistic and looking forward to the future. They are only seeing what they want to see.

When they start noticing behaviors or attitudes that they don’t particularly like, it’s easy to overlook during the honeymoon period. However, our experience is if you can nip behaviors and attitudes in the bud, the chances of developing a exceptional sales producer goes up.

Let us help you on-board your new sales recruits successfully by using the SPQ Gold results.

Connie Kadansky, 602-380-5431, SPQ Gold Authorized Representative

How do you know if your sales candidate is motivated and is "willing" to prospect?

In addition to measuring the 12 types of Sales Call Reluctance, the SPQ Gold sales test will tell you whether your candidate is willing to and wants to prospect. Willingness is directly related to your candidate’s buy-in and motivation. It is the “why” behind what is important to your candidate. There are salespeople who are not connected to “why” they want to sell and succeed. This usually means that they are short-term oriented. They are lacking the fire in the belly. With these type of salespeople we recommend that the manager check in daily and monitor activities if you choose to hire them.

"We have hired hundreds of salespeople using the SPQ Gold."

Listen how Michael’s company has used the SPQ as a tool in their tool box to find out whether the salespeople they are hiring have the fear of prospecting.

Can you afford another bad sales hire?

Even though, there is no assessment in the world that is 100% accurate, sales tests are valuable tools in a sales manager’s tool box.

There are over 100,000+ assessments for sale. There are a few credible assessments that have been psychometrically calibrated. However, there are some assessments that have not been thoroughly validated. There is no such thing as a “be all – end all” pre-employment sales test. The human psyche is complex!

If you are looking for salespeople who must proactively prospect on a consistent basis to succeed in their position, pilot the SPQ Gold assessment. It is the only assessment in the world that measures the 12 types of Sales Call Reluctance. We recommend you choose a few of your current producers, invest in them taking the SPQ Gold. You decide on its accuracy and validity. Connie Kadansky will advise you as to how to facilitate a pilot with great success. Your investment will pay off because Connie will give you coaching and training tips that will help you help your current salespeople improve, plus you experience what the SPQ Gold assessment can do for you in your pre-hire dynamic.

Call Connie Kadansky, 602-380-5431, or email her at connie@exceptionalsales.com.

Why in the world would a sales manager hire a salesperson who has toxic levels of Sales Call Reluctance?

The answer to the question is that a sales manager wouldn’t hire a salesperson if they knew the salesperson suffered from high levels of Sales Call Reluctance. So many sales managers do not know that there is a sales assessment test that will measure the 12 types of Sales Call Reluctance. Telephobia is just one type of call reluctance and the easiest to overcome. Yielder call reluctance is the most costly. The Yielder characteristics are salespeople who are friendly and folksy. They do not want to be pushy. They allow the prospects to push them around and then they deviate from their process. They often suffer from Close Reluctance — they back off when it’s time to close the sale.

There is no room for marginal players any longer. A salesperson who suffers from Sales Call Reluctance is a drain on energy and dollars.

If you sales position requires consistent prospecting, please give me a call and request a copy of a sample report and an interpretation guide. Connie Kadansky 602-380-5431 or connie@exceptionalsales.com