Online sales assessment

Guide: how to apply an online sales assessment for selecting sales personnel

Step 1: Determine the need

• Begin by identifying the specific sales roles and responsibilities for which you're hiring.
• Understand the qualities, skills, and behavioral traits you desire in a candidate.

Step 2: Choose the right assessment tool

• Select an online sales assessment that is scientifically validated, reliable, and has a track record of predicting sales success. TestGroup's online sales assessment meets all these criteria
• Ensure the assessment offers insights into different sales types and stages of the sales process.

Step 3: Set up the assessment

• Register your organization for a subscription at TestGroup or order the online sales assessment here.
• Purchase the required number of assessments based on the number of candidates you wish to evaluate.

Step 4: Invite candidates

• Send out assessment invitations to shortlisted candidates. This can be done via email, containing a link to the assessment and any necessary instructions.

Step 5: Monitor completion

• Track which candidates have completed the assessment. Send reminders if necessary.

Step 6: Review results

• Once a candidate completes the assessment, review the results. Look for scores on the different stages of the sales process and their alignment with different sales types (e.g., hunter, consultant, farmer, negotiator).
• Additionally, understand their personality traits, competencies, and potential strengths and weaknesses in a sales role.

Step 7: Conduct interviews

• Utilize the assessment results to shape your interview questions. For example, if a candidate scores high as a "consultant", ask them about times they've advised clients and influenced decisions.
• Challenge any areas where their self-assessment may not match your observations or other data.

Step 8: Make decisions

• Use the assessment results in conjunction with other selection methods (e.g., interviews, reference checks) to make informed hiring decisions.
• Remember, while the assessment provides valuable insights, it's one piece of the bigger picture.

Step 9: Onboarding and training

• Use the insights from the assessment to tailor onboarding and training processes. If a candidate has identified strengths in "planning & preparing" but weaknesses in "closing the deal", ensure their training emphasizes negotiation and closing techniques.

Additional tips:

• Encourage candidates to be honest in their responses; there's no "right" or "wrong" answer.
• Consider a debriefing session with candidates after the assessment to discuss the results and gather feedback.
• Remember that while assessments are valuable tools, they are most effective when combined with other evaluative methods.

Case study: using TestGroup's online sales assessment for recruitment 

Recruit salespeople who consistently deliver, eliminating the guesswork from your hiring process. Remember, utilizing TestGroup's online sales assessment can significantly enhance your recruitment strategy, saving money, effort, and time in pinpointing candidates who truly drive sales.

• Situation: A candidate applied for an executive recruiter position. A hallmark of an effective recruiter is one who takes charge, navigating both clients and candidates through the journey of job placements. TestGroup's online sales assessment highlighted the candidate's strong relational tendency with a high yielder score of, but a low problem-solving score of. Yielder tendencies, while important for building rapport, can sometimes be a detriment if one is too inclined to avoid conflicts. Given that recruiters often encounter differing viewpoints and potential conflicts between candidates and clients, this could pose a challenge. The low problem-solving score suggested the candidate may lack patience in navigating through intricate scenarios.
• Analysis: We advised the hiring manager to further probe into the yielding behavior and low problem-solving abilities using specific questions we provided. While our assessment offers insights, it doesn't dictate the final hiring decision. Many factors like cultural fit, track record, industry experience, management style, and more come into play.
• Conclusion: This candidate was onboarded into a high-energy, training-focused environment. Initial investment in his development saw moments of success. Yet, over time, it became clear that he struggled with navigating complex scenarios, often engaging with mismatched candidates and showing signs of impatience. Seven months into the role, he chose to exit the company.