{"id":1497,"date":"2017-08-15T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.comblog\/sales-assessment-tests\/"},"modified":"2023-04-11T19:39:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T19:39:25","slug":"sales-assessment-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/sales-assessment-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Use Front-End Sales Assessment Tests to Improve Quality of Hire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/picture>\n\n

\"salespeople\n<\/picture><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the talent on your sales team that will determine your fate when you\u2019re working to hit aggressive targets and achieve your company\u2019s future goals. And finding top performers is the difference between your company\u2019s victory or failure in competitive markets.<\/span><\/a>
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\"topTo find these top performers faster, you need to incorporate quantitative and objective candidate assessment tools into your recruiting process. <\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, sales assessment tests represent a unique and effective way to inject objectivity into your screening process and improve quality of hire rates. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we explain why sales assessment tests are effective recruiting tools and how they improve the screening process.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n\n

Skip to section:
\nWhy use sales assessment tests<\/a>
\nNegative impacts of traditional screening processes<\/a>
\nWhat is a sales assessment test?<\/a>
\nReducing hiring bias<\/a>
\nSuccess from the frontlines<\/a>
\nSales assessment options<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Why You Need to Use Tests When Recruiting Salespeople <\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Salespeople are driven individuals, who are competitive in nature, resilient, and have strong desires to influence others. Because these traits are common in top performers, \u00a0yet are commonly misjudged, they challenge an interviewer\u2019s ability to distinguish between <\/span>A-players<\/span><\/a> and average or below average sellers. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\"jason\n<\/picture>\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jason Cummins, Owner of <\/span>All Hours Air<\/span><\/a>, states: <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cSales assessment tests, are a good way to pick out the candidates who are best for the job. We use these tests to figure out what kind of person they are in the workplace, how much time they put into a task, and how smart they are in real life situations. Using these tests has helped us tremendously and since implementing them, we consistently end up with our ideal candidates.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"badWith executives admitting to making the wrong hiring decision 25 percent of the time, additional steps must be taken to ensure only the highest quality salespeople are hired. <\/span><\/p>\n

Assessment tests help interviewers overcome implicit and unintended recruiting challenges and their negative implications, such as a involuntary turnover rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why is it that great salespeople are so hard to identify? Here\u2019s two simple reasons:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Salespeople are difficult to assess.<\/b><\/span>
\nThey\u2019re skilled in presenting themselves in the way the interviewer expects. Their sales careers have depended upon their ability to quickly develop relationships, find common grounds, and persuade prospects to buy what they\u2019re selling. Applying and interviewing for a new role is no different. They are simply selling a product they are the ultimate experts in, themselves.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s common for organizations to often be unclear about what they want.<\/span>
\n<\/b>They understand they want top performing salespeople, however, they don\u2019t understand what top performance means for the specific role. Having a generalized understanding causes <\/span>bad sales hires<\/span><\/a>. Having a thorough understanding of the specific skills, experience, and DNA required for success, improves quality of hire ratios.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"salesBut the task of objectively evaluating the performance potential of a candidate poses unique challenges for Human Resources (HR) Leaders due to <\/span>50 percent<\/span><\/a> of sales reps today consistently below their targets. With an annual quota for an outside sales rep averaging <\/span>2.7<\/span><\/a> million dollars, the costs of bad hiring adds up quickly. If they\u2019re generating 50 percent of their quota, the lost revenue is 1.35 million dollars per rep annually.<\/span><\/p>\n

The average percentage of salespeople that achieved one hundred percent of annual quota last year varied by type of industry:<\/span><\/p>\n\n<\/picture>\n\n

\"cloud\n<\/picture>\n \n<\/picture>\n\n

\"computer\n<\/picture>\n \n<\/picture>\n\n

\"software\n<\/picture>\n \n<\/picture>\n\n

\"telecommunications\n<\/picture><\/p>\n

The Negative Impacts & Costs of a Traditional Screening Process <\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"emotionalIt\u2019s common for companies to leverage their market experience when making sales hiring decisions. This decision involves using gut feeling, which is a subjective and emotional form of assessment. It is often used to examine candidates and find similar qualities to their other top performers. However, using gut feeling to find these similar qualities results in identifying similar emotional traits based on bias, versus identifying objective, skill-based qualities. <\/span><\/p>\n

With methods like this being subjective and unstandardized, they are unreliable and unable to accurately predict an employee\u2019s potential success.<\/span><\/p>\n

PredictiveHire<\/a>, a SaaS analytics solutions provider, observed that one of their clients could have saved 1.1 million dollars by using an assessment tool. This client had hired 80 people over 12 months. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Without using a sales assessment test, it cost them an additional 800,000 thousand dollars for time required to screen and interview the 80 candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"\"\n<\/picture>\nBut only 29 percent of business leaders today are leveraging these emerging technology options. An even smaller 6 percent think their hiring process works well for them. These statistics show missed opportunities to accurately assess and hire top sales talent. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sales assessment tests stop companies from merely checking credentials and move them towards confirming a candidate\u2019s skillset and psychological preferences, in turn increasing quality of hire.<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a Domino Effect When Bad Hires are Made\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Making a bad sales hire is a domino effect. Making one bad sales hire can lead to many more, in turn costing your company millions. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, estimated that his own bad sales hires have cost Zappos over <\/span>one hundred<\/span><\/a> million dollars. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The effects of a bad sales hire trickles into other aspects of an organization; not just top-line revenue. Having a \u201cbad apple\u201d in your organization is contagious and causes top performing sales reps to feel disengaged. There is also the risk of causing employee burnout due to top performers having to pick up the slack and compensate for \u201cbad apples\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"instagramAn organization who successfully focused their efforts into only bringing in the greatest talent is Instagram. In <\/span>2013<\/span><\/a>, Instagram had 13 employees, yet they sold their company to Facebook for 1 billion dollars. <\/span><\/p>\n

While their product wooed Facebook, Instagram\u2019s success underlines the impact \u201chomerun\u201d employees have on a company\u2019s success.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Sales Assessment Test?<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sales assessment tests are an objective, data-driven evaluation technique removing intuition, gut, and heart driven decisions from the talent acquisition process. In other words, it\u2019s a simple and easy way to avoid making bad sales hiring decisions and increase your quality of hire.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"salesExperts agree that measuring quality of hire is needed both pre and post-hire. Since recruitment quality measures directly correlate with post-hire performance metrics, sales assessment tests used pre-hire aid in determining quality of hire measurements post-hire. <\/span><\/p>\n

These tests properly calculate pre-hire metrics, which talent acquisition leaders can later use to hone in on specific hiring problem sources and eliminate them. <\/span>
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\n\"online<\/span>Based on the data gathered from hiring and case studies, and by analyzing employee data, sales assessment tests come in many forms and can be customized to suit your specific environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Assessments are typically done via online portals and are delivered to all candidates who apply. Employers then decide on the candidates that will come in for in-person interviews.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some assessment types include:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

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Psychometric Assessments
\n<\/b>Examines a candidate\u2019s sales DNA and unquantifiable traits to gauge their odds of being successful. Here at <\/span>Peak Sales Recruiting<\/span><\/a>, we leverage a software called <\/span>DISC Profile<\/span><\/a>, which is a non-judgmental psychometric assessment to give us insight into candidates\u2019 behavioral differences. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cognitive Tests
\n<\/b>Measures a candidate\u2019s reasoning, memory, reading comprehension, and knowledge of a specific role function.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simulation Tests
\n<\/b>Includes performance tests, role-playing, moral judgment, work samples, and job previews. It tests candidates in real life work environment situations. <\/span>Unilever<\/span><\/a> is known for using this software in the last step of their recruitment process. <\/span><\/p>\n

The sales and talent leaders who have a thorough understanding of the vacant role they are looking to fill, obtain the most use and value out of their evaluations. <\/span><\/p>\n

Having an understanding of the vacant role ensures that the assessment results you gather from prospective candidates will be in line with your <\/span>ideal candidate profile<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"hiringKeep in mind the assessment results you receive from candidates should account for 20 percent of your overall hiring decision. Your decision should also include data from their application, resume, in-person interview, reference checks, etc.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>These tests do not function as an all-encompassing recruiting tool used to replace other stages. It is an additional measure to save you time and assist in making accurate sales hires.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales Assessment Test\u2019s Potential Impact on Reducing Hiring Bias \u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Sales assessment tests help HR Leaders predict a potential sales hire\u2019s on-the-job performance and retainability. Additionally, these tests reduce hiring risk factors like implicit <\/span>bias<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"neuroleadershipThis concept refers to people\u2019s ability to harbor bias outside of their awareness or control. <\/span>NeuroLeadership Institute<\/span><\/a> refers to the mind as an iceberg and while our conscious mind seems to command our brain activity, in reality the vast majority of what\u2019s going on in our brain is below the surface. This is where the following biases can occur:<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Halo Effect:\u00a0<\/b>When the interviewer lets a positive fact overshadow everything else the candidate says and\/or does.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Horn Effect:\u00a0<\/b>When the interviewer lets a negative fact overshadow everything else the candidate says and\/or does.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Stereotyping Bias:\u00a0<\/b>Forming a snap conclusion about someone based on their specific characteristics, such as race, religion, age, gender, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Contrast Effect:\u00a0<\/b>When you interview a stronger candidate after a weaker candidate, causing them to appear more qualified than they are.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The \u201cSimilar to Me\u201d Effect:\u00a0<\/b>The interviewer developing a positive opinion of the candidate due to the candidate having a similar mindset or personality. <\/span><\/p>\n

With many HR Leaders relying on human judgment in their recruitment process, sales hiring biases have become common. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\"lauren\n<\/picture>\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lauren Riviera, a professor of management and sociology at Northwestern University,\u00a0says:<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cHiring now resembles choosing a romantic partner more than an employee.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A bias that has had startling effects on the tech market is motherhood. A recent <\/span>study evaluated two equally qualified candidates, one of which was a mother in the tech market, and found the following results:<\/span><\/p>\n\n<\/picture>\n\n

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Women who did measure up to these higher criterion were considered bad mothers for being dedicated to their work.<\/span><\/p>\n

An example of the success behind confirming skills through tests and avoiding hiring bias is within symphony orchestras. Orchestras were traditionally dominated by white men. Women accounted for less than 5 percent of the musicians in all top five symphony orchestras in the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is until the <\/span>blind audition<\/span><\/a> policy was implemented in the 1970s. To counter bias and avoid missing out on top talent, they put up screens to conceal the musician\u2019s appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Results: Women were selected 25 to 46 percent more often\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Applying the symphony orchestra\u2019s success story to sales recruiting, unconscious bias is filtering out top salespeople. Removing hiring bias can increase the number of top performers hired by 25 to 46 percent. Comparable to the symphony orchestra increasing their count of female musicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"removeTo further see what kind of unintentional biases you harbor, <\/span>Project Implicit<\/span><\/a> developed a study to provide further insight. With over 17 million implicit biases measured, they have participants answer questions about different words and phrases. This helps them determine the negative and positive connections people have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Success From The Frontlines <\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

One company in particular has reported success through using these assessments and technologies. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unilever<\/span><\/a> \u2014 a global consumer products organization \u2014 is combining video interviewing and gaming to create a digital, four-step, recruiting process.<\/span><\/p>\n

These four steps include: <\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

1. Candidates complete a short online form associated with their LinkedIn accounts. There is no need to upload or provide a resume. There is no waiting process, as they\u2019re sent an SMS almost immediately after completing the form.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"gamification2. Candidates spend 20 minutes playing a series of 12 games. These games give Unilever insight into different capabilities, including personality, communication style, and problem-solving. After completing these games, candidates get a report with feedback within 48 hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe level playing field provided by anonymous gameplay also reduces the potential for unconscious bias among the recruiting team.The fact that candidates can play in their own time, in their own space, and complete the entire process in 20 minutes cuts back on time and costs too. In fact, the whole pr<\/span>ocess is more agile,\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

3. \u00a0This step is for candidates the <\/span>Pymetrics<\/span><\/a> program selects as eligible to move forward. The candidates go through a video interviewing process, which Unilever does through <\/span>HireVue<\/span><\/a>. The software assesses the video interview and ranks the candidate based on their fit for the role. The highest ranked candidates then move to the fourth \"unilever\"and final step in the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. They are then invited to the Discovery Center for an in-person simulation of a \u201cday in the life at Unilever\u201d. They work through real-life business situations to indicate how they will respond to quickly changing markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Result:<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Their digital recruitment platform <\/span>decreased<\/span><\/a> their time-to-hire to under two-weeks, and as short as one to two days. Unilever\u2019s recruiters are now screening two candidates and putting one through the four steps. Versus screening six candidates to put one through for an in-person interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hilton<\/span><\/a> has also started using data-driven assessment methods and has cut their recruiting cycle down to five days from six-weeks. They found their sales assessment test trimmed the number of interview questions from 200 down to five. It also increased the chance of hiring someone after one in-person interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some Assessment Options <\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Below are sales assessment test options, which were selected based on the successes other organizations have seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Predictive\n<\/picture>\nPredictive Hire<\/a> is<\/span>\u00a0a cloud-based, predictive analytics, solutions company offering customized AI based on data gathered from your specific company. They fuse your specific KPIs with the results from the questionnaire done by your existing workforce. The AI asks candidates questions to evaluate their likely success, and provides 90% accuracy. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"disc\n<\/picture>\nDISC<\/a> is<\/span>\u00a0a psychometric assessment that examines candidate\u2019s behavioral differences. Candidates register on their website and answer a series of sentence based questions. Their answers produce measurements of their dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness. They provide the pros and cons of a candidate\u2019s results, so in-person interviews are tailored accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"hiring\n<\/picture>\nHiring Simulations<\/a> is an<\/span>\u00a0organization providing job simulation assessment software, <\/span>which is either licensed in-house or outsourced through their team. They offer options based on your specific needs and have been proven to help increase hiring success rates.
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\"pymetrics\"\n<\/picture>\nPymetrics<\/a> o<\/span>ffers games for candidates to play in order to test diverse aspects of their capabilities. The global neuroscience community developed these games over decades of research. They use blind auditions to mitigate conscious and unconscious biases. The candidates move through their platform completely anonymously. The prediction algorithm does not use demographic information, race, gender, etc, to assess career fit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Increase Your Sales Hiring Success <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"top<\/p>\n

These sales assessment tests help HR Leaders make more effective sales hiring decisions. By using an assessment you ensure all potential candidates are measured in the same objective way and based on what they need to be successful in the role.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>It\u2019s hazardous to rely on gut feel or in-person interviews to make sales hiring decisions \u2013 with 50 percent of sales reps not hitting their sales targets. These tests weed out the pretenders and make sure you are interviewing the true top sales talent.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>The more candidates you put through the objective sales assessment tests, the higher quality the sales hires, and the stronger your team will perform.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back to the top<\/a><\/p>\n

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