Uploaded byInboundsales.net
Use of Sales Assessment Tools to Recruit Top Business Development Personnel
The document discusses the use of sales assessment tools to recruit top business development personnel. It summarizes findings from studies that show using competency and aptitude testing can significantly improve hiring rates and differentiate high performers. The document then provides examples of how one company, Thomas International, uses their assessment tools to identify important competencies for sales success, quantify top performers' sales behaviors and mental aptitude, benchmark sales talent, and correlate assessment outcomes with business metrics to improve strategic talent measurement and sales force performance.
More Related Content
Similar to Use of Sales Assessment Tools to Recruit Top Business Development Personnel
Use of Sales Assessment Tools to Recruit Top Business Development Personnel
- 1. Use of SalesAssessment Tools to Recruit Top Business Development Personnel Presenter Merle Ballaigues, President
- 2. 2011 Global SalesStudy – 2,000 companies Accenture & CSO Insights – 2011 Sales Performance Optimization Study Top three sales objectives in next 12 months: • 61.9% increase sales revenue • 41.9% increase sales force effectiveness • 41.7% capture new accounts Attrition can cost as much as four times the fully-loaded headcount cost for a full-time employee. 67.8% of respondents reported that it still takes 7 or more months to get the employee up to speed. This does not take into account the time it takes to hire a sales representative, which takes another 2 to 3 months. © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 3. Pressures Driving TalentAcquisition Increasing competitive environment Changing customer requirements and demands Zero tolerance for ordinary Discontinuous change © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 4. A-Player Chemistry © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 5. Impact of AssessmentTools Impact of competency/ aptitude testing on sales representatives success rate: 19.1% said it significantly improves hiring rate; 60.7% said it improves hiring. Accenture CSO Insights – 2011 Sales Performance Optimization Study Assessments, in both the pre-hire and post-hire, were not only among the top three enablers of success, but were also one of the biggest points of differentiation between high-performers and low. In fact Best-In-Class companies were 69% more likely to have assessments in use post-hire than all others (Industry Average and Laggard companies combined). Aberdeen’s HR Executive Agenda 2011 Report © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 6. A-Player Profile Quantify current A-Player characteristics against performance metrics Track Identify performance skills, attributes milestones and and behaviours of refine Talent A-Players Acquisition Process A-Player Job Benchmark Profile © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 7. Thomas Sales Study– Executive Summary 60 companies participated across 12 industries 522 top sales performers in B to B roles and 63 senior sales leaders (51% were VP Sales) Top sales performers and their leaders were surveyed Thomas administered two proprietary assessments to sales performers to quantify A-Player competencies (behavioural style and mental aptitude) Thomas International North American Sales Study 2010 © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 8. Identifying A-Player Characteristics Rank the competencies that you feel are most important to sales success Most Important Sales Leaders’ Top Sales Success Qualities Ranking Performers’ Ranking Achievement Orientation 1 1 Impact and Influence 2 2 Independent and Tenacious 3 3 Energetic and Initiating 4 4 Intellectual capacity 5 5 Thomas International North American Sales Study 2010 Survey question for 522 top sales producers and their Leaders (63 sales executives) © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 9. Quantify A-Players’ SalesBehaviours Top sales revenue producers’ work behaviours – as quantified by the Thomas Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) assessment. Thomas Description of Behavior Top Performer Top Performer Behavioral Group Group Constructs HIGHEST HIGH Influence Friendly, Positive & Persuasive 46% 71% Dominance Assertive, Driven & Self-starter 26% 66% Compliance Accurate, Logical & Systematic 22% 43% Steadiness Deliberate, Kind & Routine 6% 28% Oriented Thomas International North American Sales Study 2010 © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 10. Quantify A-Players’ MentalHorsepower Top sales revenue generators’ mental smarts - as quantified by the Thomas General Intelligence Assessment (GIA) • Average GIA for overall top revenue generators was 50th percentile • Overall highest scores were: Word Meaning - knowledge and vocabulary with an average score in the 67th percentile Reasoning - make inferences and draw correct conclusions with an average score in the 61st percentile. • Top performers with 1 to 3 years of sales experience scored 12 percentile points higher on average, than top performers with 5+ years experience. Thomas International North American Sales Study 2010 © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 11. Strategic Sales ForceBenchmarking Strong 1 Backbone/Maintainers for Role High Potentials to Advance Beyond Fit 25% of total group Role Tenure: 18% of total group 2 years or less 2 Jeff F Rob M Martin R Jennifer L 3 years or more 42% 18% Behavioural Fit - PPA Mike L Sara R Holly S 3 Limited Potential for this Role Potential for Alternative Roles 38% of total group 18% of total group 26% 14% 4 Nicole T Maria L Max R Craig B 5 Myra W Nassir M Sue R Sidney R Weak Fit 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 99% Low Learning Potential/Mental Aptitude (GIA) High © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 12. Strategic Talent MeasurementThrough Benchmarking Sample Role: Account Manager (B to B Outside Sales) • PPA Goodness of Fit: Rating scale of 1 though 5, where 1 is excellent • GIA Best Fit Range: Overall score: 65+percentile, Reasoning 70+ Goodness of GIA Date of Hire Interview Achieved first Quota Fit Score Overall Status at Status at 9 Name Month/ Score 6-months Attained Against Job Score/ 3 months months Day Year % milestones Year 1 Benchmark Reasoning Bill 10-Oct-10 85 1 65/ 85 110% R R 150% Jenni 10-Oct-10 80 1 70/80 115% R R 200% Michelle 17-Nov-10 70 4 40/60 40% R IT NA Brent 1-Jan-11 75 3 65/70 85% R R 85% Ted 1-Jan-11 85 2 70/50 85% R R 125% Frank 1-Jan-11 70 4 85/85 70% R VT NA Are you correlating assessment outcomes with business outcomes? © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 13. On Target toCompete! Competitive sales strategy Align sales talent management strategy Hire and keep - A Players Turbo-charge your leaders Measure what’s important Use metrics, with rigor, to drive results © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
- 14. 30 60 56 YEARS COUNTRIES LANGUAGES At the forefront of Presence in Assessments available assessment innovation 60 countries in 56 languages for 30 years We provide people assessments which empower businesses to transform and improve the performance of their employees. Our assessments provide insight on your people potential, what motivates them, their core strengths and limitations. Add a high level of certainty to all of your people decisions. Contact: mballaigues@thomascan.com or 289-291-1380 ext. 213 © 2012, Thomas International Inc.
Editor's Notes
- #3 In this overview, Accenture reviews the key findings from the 2011 SalesPerformance Optimization Study in our continued sponsorship with CSO Insights ofthis research. The study based on 2010 survey results represents CSO Insight’s 17thannual assessment of the challenges facing sales teams, why those problems exist andwhat organizations are doing to effectively address these issues. As part of Accenturesponsorship of this research, the analysis and insights of this paper focus on companieswith at least USD $1B in sales revenue.Despite these promising signs, whichseem to be driven by the economicresurgence, other data sets in thesurvey showed that organizationsare not getting better at executingfoundational sales capabilities toachieve high-performance sales organizations.One of the major indicatorsis that voluntary and involuntary salesrepresentative turnover still hoveredat more than 25 percent.Accenture, in collaboration withCSO Insights, a leading research andbenchmarking resource for chief salesofficers, recently completed the 17thannual study on sales performanceoptimization. The research surveyedmore than 2,000 companies worldwideto assess current sales performance,challenges facing sales teams,the reasons those problems exist,and what organizations are doing toeffectively address these issues.In addition, the Web-based surveycollected data on more than 100metrics related to sales performancefrom a broad base of enterprises acrossmultiple industries, including manufacturing,services, retail, governmentand many others. Several industries hadrespondents from more than 100 firms.In this year’s study, 231 (or 11.5 percentof respondents) were from enterpriseswith more than $1 billion in
- #6 When evaluating an assessment tool for use in your organization there are several considerations to be made and many questions to be asked and answered.First it’s important to take a strategic approach and determine what you want to measure, what is your business purpose and what are the business outcomes you want.Ask the questions: “Is the assessment tool appropriate for your intended purpose?” “How will the assessment results align with your intended business outcomes?”From a technical aspect there are psychometric considerations and then also technology questions.Is the assessment work-based and highly reliable and valid? Some of these considerations ensure you meet legal requirements and EEOC guidelinesIn terms of technology, most organizations today want a fast, reliable, online solution where their data is secure and their employees’ information is private. Ask about turn-around time and whether you can access the data easily.Training and Support from your supplier is critical. This usually ties in with price and quality as there is a cost to support and training, but well worth it if you are expecting the use the assessment as part of your OD or HR processes to deliver an ROI. Avoid providers that are selling a one-off event as this is a short term fix and tactical rather than strategic. Many good providers of assessment offer certification training for their products to ensure that users optimize on the assessments and use then responsibility. Also make sure to ask the supplier about their insurance coverage. Today it’s all about ensuring that a candidate or employee experience your brand and related products and services positively.Ask the provider for a complementary assessment for you and a few peers to test the process. If the assessment is too long it may contribute to candidate drop-off. The candidate expects to be able to complete the assessment in the language that he/ she will operate in. In the USA English and Spanish are the most popular languages we see, however more and more with the diverse population we see our clients using a wide array of the languages we offer to enhance the candidate’s experience. When using assessments internally for employees, communication is critical. Before asking employees to complete an assessment ensure that you have clearly articulated the purpose, explained why they are doing an assessment, describe the results they will get and who will see the results and how they will be used.
- #7 A-Player Profile-helps you define knock-out factorscompetitive, committed, willing to do what it takes it’s easy to do a job reasonably well. What does it look like to do it extraordinarily well? That the start of your A-Player profileThree levels of performance: do the basics or get fired; be proactive- take responsibility and do solid work; A-Player performance levels- see new opportunities; create solutions and perform at an elite levelOnce you’ve defined the A-Player job benchmark profile, use it to ID pools of individuals who have the foundational skills needed for the job. Expand the recruiting net beyond you industryIndustry may mean hiring people your competitors just fired- their C-Players You can clearly ID your knock out factors- to eliminate non-contenders quickly
- #14 What sales capability do we need to drive the sales strategy? Do sales managers know how to manage/ acquire/ train and support these skills?Achievement focus Influencing and relationship building Coping with intensive training Independent, creative and persistencePlan, Executeand Measure Acquire & select best fit talent Get them proficient quickly Leverage strengths Manage optimally Track and measure resultsBusiness Outcomes Exceed market share goals Improved retention Increased engagement scores Effective sales managersIf you’re a senior sales executive, nothing has a bigger impact on your business results and quality of your life than hiring A-PlayersA –Players have an exponential not incremental impact on your businessCan B-Players be moved to A – yes if the gap is skills/ experience based and the B Player has great integrity and excellent work ethicNew era of sellingGetting a few things rightSales strategy that is aligned with business strategy so that our sales efforts hit the bottom line quicklyAligning sales strategy with talent acquisition – find and hire superior sales reps Retention and engagement - leadership turbo-charged development that impacts the bottom lineExciting the customerGet this right and all would be well in the world.