Sales Test Blog: Sales Assesment Testing|Connie Kadansky

Salespeople cannot chase two rabbits at the same time!

Rick made a great first impression on his initial interview. He had the skills and experience to do the job. He said all the right things and answered the tough questions. Once he was hired, it became quite clear in the first week that he operated from chaos. He was not able to focus. He was constantly jumping from idea to idea in order to get moving. He fidgeted in meetings and was constantly on the phone to his family, friends, softball team, golf buddies, church group members, kid’s teachers, etc. etc.

The SPQ Gold has a goal diffusion measurement that will tell you how focused or scattered your sales candidate may be. This measurement may not make or break the “hire” if all other dynamics are in place, however, it is something you must know in order to coach and develop an individual to success.

Take the guesswork out of hiring salespeople and invest in the SPQ Gold assessment prior to hire.

Connie Kadansky helps employers hire salespeople who will prospect. connie@exceptionalsales.com, 602-380-5431

How do you know if a salesperson is plugged in?

A light bulb is nothing more than that unless it’s turned on! Every morning we all wake up with a certain amount of energy. Some salespeople have more than others. Some don’t have a full tank of gas. If they don’t have the physical and psychological energy to prospect — they won’t prospect. The SPQ Sales Call Reluctance assessment will also tell you whether the salesperson you are considering has enough energy to prospect consistently. It can be costly to hire someone who is “all talk and no action.”

Connie Kadansky, Sales Call Reluctance coach can help you hire salespeople who can and will prospect consistently. Call today 602-380-5431

Sales prospecting takes physical and psychological energy!

Many years ago I read an article about Mr. Huntsman, a commercial building contractor from Utah. He disclosed that part of his interviewing process was to take a walk with anyone he was considering hiring. If the person sauntered along. . . he knew that person would not be a good fit for his organization. If they walked briskly and energetically, he was pleasantly impressed. Now obviously, he had other criteria. . . however, this was his final “test.”

Sales prospecting takes physical and psychological energy.

How do you know if the candidate you are interviewing has sufficient energy to sustain positive activities throughout the day?

Every day we all wake up with so much “gas in our gas tank.” Someone people just don’t come with a full tank of gas. The SPQ Gold will tell you about the “motivation” level — which is how much psychological and physical energy they have.

If salespeople experience Sales Call Reluctance, they are in fear and fear is physical. They leak energy that could be used for proactive sales prospecting into unproductive activities, like surfing the internet, building their prospect list . . . you know what I mean!

Can you afford to hire someone who does not come with a “full tank of gas?”

Connie Kadansky helps CEOs, sales VPs, sales managers from diverse industries hire salespeople who will prospect consistently.

Validity of Sales Assessments

Sales assessments are tools in the tool box. They are NOT the silver bullet the some assessment testing companies want you to believe.

With that said, the SPQ Gold assessment is extremely helpful to assist in your hiring decisions of salespeople, executive recruiters, financial advisors, any sales position that requires prospecting on a consistent basis. It can help you take some of the guesswork out of hiring salespeople.

Before you invest in any sales assessment, I recommend you request their scientific research on validity and reliability. The following is from Behavioral Sciences Research Press, the developers of the SPQ Gold Asssessment.

There are three areas of validity when it comes to sales assessments: 1) Content Validity: Are the questions reasonably related to a career in direct sales. Some assessments ask whether someone is afraid of fire and then makes a judgment on their fear of fire and whether they would be successful in sales. The content validity is questionable because it relies on making judgments. 2) Construct Validity is the ability of an assessment to reflect the underlying theoretical trait or characteristic of interest — research proves that during construction of the assessment there is a high degree of interpretative meaning, i.e. people who are have fear of speaking before groups score high on Stage Fright Call Reluctance. 3) Criterion Validity focuses on the relationship to test scores to one or more outcome measures criteria. Outcome criteria most often refers to job performance measures. In other words, “how accurate is the test in predicting job performance.” This is based on statistical results and socio-work culture context in which decisions are to be made.

If an assessment has past the rigors of psychometric testing, the developers will be happy to provide you with their technical and scientific material upon request.

Sample SPQ Gold Test

An assessment is only one component of a thorough hiring process. I encourage my clients to assess their candidates after they have conducted a skill-based interview. Do they have the basic skills to do the job? Once the candidate has made it to second base — so to speak — then have them take the SPQ or the Sales Call Reluctance Assessment.

Many hiring authorities and sales managers use the SPQ as a coaching/training and development tool.

There are account managers and then there are account developers!

What exactly are you looking for in a salesperson? Someone who will consistently prospect? Or do you need a salesperson to work with your existing customers and keep them happy? If you truly are looking for an account developer — prospecting is paramount. You know that; right?

The fear of prospecting — or Sales Call Reluctance — is the fear of self-promotion. There are 12 ways that salespeople hesitate to prospect and self-promote. Some types are more costly than others. Yielder Call Reluctance is the most common and incredibly costly. Yielder call reluctance shows up in a salesperson who is not assertive in prospecting and/or moving the sale forward. They are the friendly folks who chit-chat and believe that the relationship is more important than the sale. Yielders do not control the process and they cave if a prospect pushes against them. How do you know if the candidate you are interviewing right now experiences Yielder Call Reluctance? Even if you are interviewing for an account manager — Yielder Call Reluctance can cost big bucks because they can also experience “Close Reluctance.” The SPQ test will shed light on the costly Yielder Sales Call Reluctance.

Notice if the candidate agrees with everything you say. . . that can be a small clue that they are approval seeking people pleasers.

Tell me about your first selling experience.

My favorite interview inquiry is: “Tell me about your first selling experience.” Go ahead ask someone who enjoys selling! They usually sit up and with great energy start talking about “selling rocks” or “selling newspaper subscriptions” or “selling girl scout cookies.” It is so much fun to hear the stories and their interpretation of early success.

When I was five-years old, my neighbor Irena who was a volunteer for Veterans of Foreign Wars, asked me to sell poppies on Veterans Day to “everyone” in the neighborhood. What a wonderful challenge. I remember knocking on doors and if no one was home, I would go back until they bought a poppy. When I gave Irena all the money plus tips, she was amazed and asked if I would sell more. Sure! I walked into the lobby of the car dealership in Coalville, Utah, and asked “who wants to buy a poppy?” I sold every poppy in one sales call. It was a thrill. Asking someone to buy and having them say “yes.”

On the other hand, ask someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy selling and usually their body language will say it all. Sometimes they take a deep breath or sigh and/or if not particularly disciplined — even groan.

Salespeople who enjoy the selling process are golden! They have what cannot be trained or coached into them — positive early memories that are wired into their brains.

Please start asking and share the comments! We want to hear from you!