This document outlines a sales talent audit methodology to help organizations optimize their sales talent. It discusses identifying the right talent early, screening out mismatches, retaining high performers, and developing talent for future opportunities. An audit provides tools to select, align, engage, develop and retain the sales talent needed to achieve strategic objectives. It can help identify trends, gaps, needs, compare individuals to roles, and target training. The document emphasizes that understanding customer needs and matching the right salesperson type to customers is critical to sales force success.

1. Sales Transformation Roadmap
With Chally’s World Class Sales and
Talent Audit Methodology

2. The GoAl oF SAleS TAlenT MAnAGeMenT
The GoAl oF SAleS TAlenT MAnAGeMenT For Any orGAnizATion
iS To idenTiFy The riGhT TAlenT eArly, SCreen ouT The
MiSMATCheS beFore They Are hired, reTAin The hiGh poTenTiAl
TAlenT you WAnT To keep, And idenTiFy And develop TAlenT
For FuTure opporTuniTieS WiThin The orGAnizATion. An
AudiT oF A SAleS TAlenT pool provideS orGAnizATionS WiTh
eASily ACCeSSible deCiSion MAkinG ToolS ThAT enAble TheM To
SeleCT, AliGn, enGAGe, develop And reTAin The SAleS TAlenT
neCeSSAry To drive STrATeGiC objeCTiveS.
FACTS: SAleS TAlenT AudiTS CAn help you:
• identify trends, gaps, and needs at the organizational, team,
and individual levels
65% of salespeople who fail could be successful in
other roles in the organization
• Compare individuals to multiple sales roles to identify best
fit roles and talent optimization
15% Fewer than 15% of “Superstar” salespeople
succeed in management • Strategically make decisions on sales promotions and
succession planning
70% of strong inside salespeople are good atwhen
maintaining client relationships, yet fail
• identify strengths and weaknesses of the sales organization
down to the competency level
asked to drive new business development
with outside accounts • Target specific sales training and development needs across
multiple levels of the organization
This document outlines what it takes to make a World Class sales force by understanding the types of
salespeople and how to measure their specific sales “dnA” to optimize performance.
2

3. WhAT MAkeS A GreAT SAleS ForCe ?
Chally routinely presents the World Class WhAT CuSToMerS WAnT CriTiCAl SAleSperSon
Sales benchmarking study. This study FroM SellerS SkillS
consists of businesses across a broad our initial tri-annual interviews with over having conducted extensive
industry spectrum to identify the criti- 1,000 corporate customers established research into customer purchasing
cal sales practices of exceptional sales three major needs customers expected behavior, we are able to enumer-
forces as measured by the customers vendors and sellers to address, even ate these new buying needs. This
they serve. For the 2006 benchmarking though customers were not confident list of expectations essentially
research, each salesperson was rated on they could get them. defines the role of the new sales
15 critical evaluation points. in addition, professional of the 21st century.
three consecutive years of purchase • Customers want to narrow their own
volume for each rated salesperson was focus to the few things they do best, in The CuSToMerS’
statistically correlated to identify the fac- and outsource the rest without the oWn WordS:
tors that drive buying decisions. These added overhead costs of supervising
their suppliers; • be personally accountable for
studies have been sponsored by major
our desired results
customers including: ACdelco, johnson
• Customers want sellers to know • understand our business
& johnson, The Mead Corporation, pepsi
their business well enough to create
Cola, reynolds & reynolds, Steelcase, • be on our side
products and services they wouldn’t
upS, ibM, Marriott, GM Fleet and Com-
have been able to design or create • design the right applications
mercial, ohio university and Advantage
themselves; • be easily accessible
performance Group.
The results of this research are organized • Customers want proof — hard • Solve our problems
into a comprehensive manual, the World evidence — that their suppliers have • be creative in responding to our
Class Sales excellence report. added value in excess of price. needs
The following are key findings of the Customers believe sales forces that
World Class Sales studies. excel at these seven factors will best
fill their three basic business needs.
by benchmarking the top 10 of
these sales forces, we identified the
critical success factors for “World
Class” sales, and the standards of
sales excellence. benchmarking
pinpoints how world class sales
forces manage customer satisfac-
tion, understand their customers’
businesses and deliver the other
benefits their customers want.
3

4. neW requireMenTS, neW CulTure
To be the “outsource of choice” forces a not only of the product but also in doing marking others, through partnerships,
seller to refocus the corporate culture. business with the seller. The outsource or coincidentally by just attacking their
Creative engineers or other technical of choice will take responsibility for man- own needs. Through a “total quality”
experts who invent new products are aging the relationship or, as sometimes styled approach, they are investigating
not enough to sustain a competitive defined, the “partnership” between and analyzing their customers’ needs
advantage. Too many new products do seller and customer. This will require and problems. They are reorganizing
not match customers’ priorities or are the role of the salesperson and, conse- their processes, developing new skills,
too difficult to understand or use; some- quently, the role of the sales managers creating new measures and new stan-
times they are simply not needed. who train and develop the salespeople, dards and, most of all, committing to the
to change. need for continuous improvement.
The focus must change from product
to benefit or business result. Grandi- Top sellers are changing from peddlers The most basic tenets of total quality
ose products and services with more to relationship managers, from order- management require the biggest invest-
capacity, features, or options are often takers to consultants. in some cases, ments to be in people and measure-
just seen as overpriced. Additionally, order taking, service, technical support, ment. in fact, the hallmark of how the
products and services must be simple and product expertise are not even world class selling companies can be
to use and manage, either in their own directly provided by the salesperson. recognized is in their approach to their
right or because the seller manages the people and their approach to informa-
While the requirements are changing
complexity as part of the sale. tion and its management.
and many of the solutions are new, the
The focus must also change from price approach top sellers use is remarkably
and delivery to utility and ease of use, consistent, either intentionally by bench
The bASiCS oF World ClASS SAleS
SiMply STATed, The The basic priority, therefore, is to add CorporATe expreSS starts
overridinG philoSophy oF value to the customer’s business. For with the customer. “our value
TheSe beST SAleS ForCeS iS: example, here are a few methods proposition involves really
“be The ouTSourCe oF implemented by current World Class surrounding our customers with
preFerenCe.” Sales winners: valued-added contacts.”
Applied induSTriAl GlobAl iMAGinG teaches its
TeChnoloGieS maintains a salespeople how its customers buy
Customer Advisory Council that meets its products and services. in doing
annually to allow existing customers so, the salespeople are again put
to discuss Applied’s areas of strength into the shoes of the customer and
and opportunities for improvement. see from the customer’s perspective
These sessions are conducted by a how their own selling behaviors are
third-party facilitator perceived.
inSiGhT’S enterprise Sales Force has
several selling roles with differing
responsibilities at various steps in
the sales cycle.
4

5. AddinG vAlue requireS AT leAST Three CriTiCAl eleMenTS:
Changes at all the world class sales seven. The process areas they have
1 MeASure
(identify the business needs of forces are still in process and will con- not focused on were either less critical,
customers); tinue to be. Customers did not credit due to the nature of their product or
these top sales forces with perfec- service, or, more likely, because they
tion, just being closer to it than their had first focused on the most critical
2 develop
the added services to wrap
competitors. but the spirit of kaizen processes, and they just haven’t gotten
(continuous process improvement) is to the others … yet!
around your products, which well-respected in world class sales force
will guarantee customers’ More importantly, because of the diver-
management. in essence, no matter
business improvement; sity of products, channels of distribu-
how good they get, they recognize
tion, and needs of customers across
they can always be better.
the best-in-class sales companies, an
MeASure AGAin
3 for both continuous improve-
While, in summary, people and infor-
mation are the major focus, we found
organized review of why and how they
approached each area establishes a
ment refinements as well as seven distinct process areas that could valuable decision analysis guideline
proof for customers that their be described as critical benchmarks. beyond the solutions established by
business was improved. All of the top-ranked sales companies any one sales force.
have rigorously addressed most of the
The Seven SAleS benChMArk proCeSS AreAS Are
1. CuSToMer-driven CulTure More importantly, and a greater source comprehensive set of criteria that es-
2. reCruiTinG And SeleCTion of error in sales management, is the sentially documents the “technology” of
3. TrAininG And developMenT choice of options to approach the need. market segmentation and sales force spe-
4. MArkeT SeGMenTATion For example, a seller who identifies a cialization. The same is true for each of
need to segment markets still must the other seven benchmark areas. now,
5. SAleS proCeSSeS
decide how to segment: by customer in- rather than intuit or deduce a solution
6. inForMATion TeChnoloGy
dustry, by customer size, by geography, based on previous and perhaps inap-
7. orGAnizATionAl inTeGrATion or perhaps by product or service offered. propriate experience, informed sales and
The difficult challenges include: Can we corporate executives can apply estab-
The priority and type of solution for
afford more than one salesperson in the lished guidelines that help analyze and
each of these seven process areas
same geographic territory? Will custom- prioritize the options evaluated. The best
varies according to the specifics of the
ers accept multiple contact from the same sales practice companies in aggregate
product and market. For example,
vendor, each representing a different provide a manual of best practice options
sales force segmentation or special-
product or service? Can a salesperson af- and appropriate application criteria.
ization is a priority when different
ford to specialize and still cover all the ac-
customers or customer groups require For additional details go to:
counts assigned? in how many different
specialized added values that are www.chally.com/research/white-papers.html
areas can a salesperson become expert?
not appropriate for other customer to download “how To Select A Sales Force That
groups. The more dramatically added by analyzing the very different options Sells” White paper for more details.
value needs vary, the more critical that the best sales companies selected,
sales force specialization becomes. and the rationale and effectiveness of
the solution, we can establish a more
5

6. hoW To MATCh The riGhT Type oF
SAleSperSon To your CuSToMerS*
The most successful sales managers recognize that all good salespeople must have certain vital skills and motivations. The
degree and type required, however, will vary according to what customers
Market and customer analysis by Chally has identified four distinctly different types of customers. They, in turn, respond most
positively to four different types of salespeople.
underSTAndinG MArkeT (purChASer) TypeS underSTAndinG The bASiCS
oF CuSToMer needS
Truly new products are typically purchased either by technical
experts (who must buy new technology to remain expert) or Customer need is largely driven by two factors:
(more frequently) by visionary “gateswingers” who have never • Complexity of using a product/service
used that product–for example, the state-of-the-art dermatolo- • experience or expertise in its use or application
gist who buys a new style laser for removing skin blemishes
in Chally research, we have found that intuitive gateswingers
but hires an expert to operate the equipment. even so, most
need an emotional appeal stimulated by “closing” salespeople
brand-new products must seem exciting yet be simple enough
in order to buy.
to understand the benefit. The gateswinger, then, doesn’t
want 20 different features from which to choose. inexperienced but real users have both substantial technical
and application support needs and purchase and delivery
The new “system” buyer is an inexperienced but real user. This needs that must be met by a “consultative” sales approach in
could include a financial services buyer who must select asset order to use their system.
managers. it could also be a computer system user. once this
experienced and demanding users no longer have high techni-
person becomes knowledgeable on usage, he or she becomes an
cal and application support needs. however, they continue
experienced and more controlling user of the established system.
to have pressing purchase and delivery needs that include a
Commodities buyers have become so totally experienced with a major personal component with a “relationship” salesperson to
product or service that the purchase and usage are completely help in the ordering process. Typically, only two needs predict
standardized and often delegated as a routine function ... when was commodity buying behavior from “display” salespeople: price
the last time you asked how to use an electric pencil sharpener? and convenience.
CUSTOMER NEEDS
MARKET PURCHASER TYPES CUSTOMER COMPLEXITY IN USING (BUYING) YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE
HI
TOUCH NEED TECHNICAL &
NEW SYSTEM BUYERS ESTABLISHED NEED PURCHASE
SALE APPLICATION AND
SYSTEM BUYERS PURCHASE & & DELIVERY SUPPORT
INEXPERIENCED AND
REAL USERS EXPERIENCED AND DELIVERY SUPPORT FROM FROM A RELATIONSHIP
(IN SELECT USAGE) REAL USERS A CONSULTATIVE SALES APPROACH
(IN BROAD USAGE) CUSTOMER SALES APPROACH
COMPLEXITY IN
USING (BUYING)
YOUR PRODUCT
COMMODITY OR SERVICE
NEW PRODUCT BUYERS NEED PRICE & CONVENIENCE
BUYERS NEED AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL FROM A DISPLAY
EXPERIENCED USERS FROM A CLOSING SALES (COMMODITY) SALES
EXPERTS OR INTUITIVE WITH STANDARDIZED LO APPROACH APPROACH
“GATESWINGERS” PRODUCT/SERVICE TOUCH
SALE
HI LO
The Product Market Lifecycle TECH CUSTOMER EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE WITH TECH
SALE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE SALE
* based on book by: howard p. Stevens and jeff Cox,
The quadrant Solution, American Management Association, 1991
6

7. deTerMininG CuSToMer needS
Actually identifying and analyzing customer needs, those that influence buying behavior and those that predict buying behavior,
is an emerging research science being pioneered by Chally.
it is a sophisticated process involving scoreable executive interviews that lead to quantifying qualitative, open-ended data. how-
ever, we have established key questions that can assist you in determining your customers’ basic needs.
CONSULTATIVE RELATIONSHIP
SALES SALES
MATChinG The riGhT SAleSperSon
Matching the right salesperson to customer needs, re-
quires an understanding of the four types of salespeople:
CLOSING DISPLAY
SALES SALES
queSTionS indiCATinG TeChniCAl And queSTionS indiCATinG purChASe And
AppliCATionS needS: delivery needS:
1. Customers are biased toward buying from a prestigious 1. your customers see less (or little) technical or
name partly because they lack the internal expertise to qualitative difference between your product/service
evaluate or critique our product or service and competitors, and therefore select on “service”
price?
2. Customers recognize that the quality of technical
assistance and follow-up is more important than price? 2. your customers are more bothered by late delivery
or poor follow-up than engineering” issues or new
3. your product or service is not so built into your
product development?
customers’ way of doing business that it is essential to
them? 3. your customers expect regular contact, not just
when you want to take their order?
4. you are perceived as one of only one or two sources
where customers could obtain product/service? 4. your products/services would be difficult to buy
from a catalog without someone to talk to?
5. your product or service must be custom ordered?
5. Customers tend to stay loyal to vendors they know
6. reliability and credibility (often an image) are more
and trust?
important than price?
6. Customers often develop personal relationships with
7. Follow-up orders will also require technical help to plan
salespeople (possibly even following them if they
or design the order?
switch to work with another vendor)?
8. price is not a major issue as long as the “benefit” seems
7. it takes customers a fairly long time to really trust
worthwhile?
and depend on a new vendor?
if you answered “yes” to five or more questions, 8. usually your customers will not just call in an order
your typical customer is in one of the two left without at least occasional face-to-face contact?
quadrants. if four or less, your typical customer
is in one of the two right quadrants. if you answered “yes” to five or more questions,
your typical customer is in one of the top two
quadrants. if four or less, your typical customer
is in one of the two bottom quadrants.
7

8. hoW To SpeCiAlize your SAleS ForCe To MeeT CoMpAny objeCTiveS
Companies emphasizing growth and specific business initiatives often find it appropriate to segment sales activities beyond recog-
nizing the four broad segments of customers. extensive Chally research of more specialized sales forces has identified 14 specific
sets of sales and service skills that are required to succeed in specialized sales roles. The sales specialist “map” below demonstrates a
SALES SPECIALTY MAP a sales executive to identify the one unique profile best suited to accomplish a specialized sales initiative. A
decision tree that allows Hunter Farmer Other
series of no more than five questions will lead to the best match.
Outside: Field Sales Inside: Telesales/Mktg.
Customer Service
Indirect Sales Direct Sales
Full Line Full Specialized Products/Services
Sales to Resellers or
Major Account Territory
through Distributors
Strategic
System Product/ Product/
Account
Specialist Service Transactional
Specialist Specialist
New Business Major Account
Development Management
(Hunter) (Farmer)
Consultive Relationship
(more Hunter) (more Farmer)
Product/System Product/System
Outbound Inbound Customer
Service
queSTionS
Q is this position field (outside) sales or inside (tele) sales?
Q is the position proactive (outbound tele or direct sales contact) or reactive (inbound tele or indirect field sales
through a distributor) or primarily customer service?
Q is the position primarily responsible for a full line or a specialized product or service?
Q is the sales effort account based (strategic or major accounts) or geographically based (territory sales)?
Q is the salesperson’s responsibility primarily to acquire new accounts (hunter) or maintain and grow existing ac-
counts (farmer)?
8

9. roleS And requireMenTS oF
SpeCiAlized SAleS poSiTionS
indireCT SAleS TerriTory relATionShip
(viA diSTribuTorS or reSellerS) produCT SAleS
Acquires skills at training customers (on sales and Calls for a disciplined and systematic approach
programs), making joint sales calls, sales motivation- to goal achievement and a focused response to
al and presentation techniques, product knowledge, customer needs in a service capacity, as well as
and the ability to maintain repeat sales effective communication skills and the ability
to work a sales plan in account penetration;
removes objections and gives permission to buy
STrATeGiC ACCounT MAnAGer
Strategic relationships are built with major custom-
ers through initiative, a willingness to work long TerriTory ConSulTATive
hours, proactive assistance and support, a willing- SySTeM SAleS
ness to further develop technical competence, and demands the skill to develop business through
an emphasis on sharing information that is perti- effective lead generation, qualification of
nent and will have lasting educational impact profitable prospects, and tailored presentations;
willing to work long hours to meet objectives,
sets ambitious goals and achieves them through
neW buSineSS effective selling, and understands sales strate-
developMenT (hunTer) gies and tactics
demands individuals who can develop leads, find
opportunities, penetrate prospects and customers,
and be willing to put in long hours as well as prob- TerriTory relATionShip
lem solve and close SySTeM SAleS
Adapts image to accommodate customers, gives
personal attention, and takes hands-on respon-
ACCounT MAnAGeMenT (FArMer) sibility for assuring continued customer satis-
requires excellent customer relations skills focused
faction; knowledgeable of sales strategies and
on working internal systems on the customer’s be-
pushes to set personal records in sales; comfort-
half, and effectiveness at explaining and clarifying
able with the recognition of a high-profile role
issues to the customer; this is driven by the desire to
increase business and the ability to work long hours
when necessary to accomplish that SySTeM SpeCiAliST
Focuses on assuming the leadership to learn cus-
tomer needs and goals, stays continuously aware
TerriTory ConSulTATive of the market and spends the long hours it takes
produCT SAleS to influence and train others
Focuses on establishing a credible image, develop-
ing new business through effective qualifying and
presentation skills driven by the motivation to be an
effective consultant
See additional on next page
9

10. produCT / ServiCe SpeCiAliST inbound TeleSAleS
Customers look for individuals who provide requires an image conscious vocal demeanor
reliable information, learn their business, know in a service oriented individual who is inter-
the market, and communicate effectively while ested in learning the customer’s needs, solving
remaining dedicated to their own sales results problems, and making the appropriate (and
profitable) recommendations
produCT / TrAnSACTionAl SpeCiAliST
demands initiative and perseverance to develop CuSToMer ServiCe repreSenTATive
leads, qualify, and close on an ongoing basis Calls for a focused commitment to take per-
sonal responsibility for satisfying all customers,
regardless of their attitude or style; solutions
ouTbound TeleSAleS must be intelligently thought out, often quickly,
Takes the initiative to present benefits and answer and presented with a positive attitude
objections in order to grow the business; willing to
learn the products and services; can persevere for
as long as necessary to succeed
HOW SPECIALIZED SALES POSITIONS FIT THE FOUR MARKETS
CLOSING CONSULTATIVE RELATIONSHIP DISPLAY
Pro/Re active Telesales Telemktg. (Customer Service)
Direct Sales
Indirect Sales
Product O ering Concept Sales System Sales Product & Service Product Only
Customer Size Strategic Accts. & Major Accts.
Territory Accts.
Growth Rate New Business Dev. (Hunter) Acct. Management (Farmer)
10

11. A STrATeGiC MeThod For More ACCurATe
SAleS TAlenT MAnAGeMenT deCiSionS
reSeArCh-bASed ASSeSSMenT Chally’s single online assessment is The Talent Audit is very different from
To pinpoinT SpeCiFiC unique. it captures 866 data points that “old school” employee assessments
STrenGThS And WeAkneSSeS each represent a potential marker associ- because it is:
Most organizations have identified Sales ated with habits, traits, competencies,
skills, aptitudes, and attitudes that influ- • designed to reveal predictive
Talent Management as a strategic prior-
ence an individual’s success on the job. results used for effective decision
ity. however, the methods they use to
The assessment can evaluate an indi- making—rather than to create merely
evaluate employees are typically flawed.
vidual on 156 unique work performance comprehensive or descriptive data
Making effective decisions about Sales skills that have been validated in more (which often have limited value)
Talent Management is nearly impos- than 200 studies of actual on-the-job • Standardized, with the same exact
sible when relying on methods that are performance. All of Chally’s capabilities measures across all positions—rather
subjective, inconsistent, not tailored to have been researched on a database of than using different measures for
specific job skills, or because the results over 250,000 salespeople, professionals, some jobs, which create skewed
are not meaningful enough to support and managers. results
objective and accurate decision making.
AGGreGATed vieW oF SkillS • Completely objective—rather than
however, an assessment that cre- To deTerMine job AliGnMenT colored by personal or political
ates truly predictive data is a priceless And TrAininG needS agenda
decision-making tool. That difference just as dnA is specific to a given indi-
is exactly what makes Chally’s assess- vidual, a Talent Audit can pinpoint the • Flexible, enabling key data to be
ment and Talent Audit a key differentia- “job skill dnA” of a given employee. it compared and cross-referenced in
tor for every organization. This unique, provides access to skill comparisons and endless varieties—rather than limiting
web-based assessment system for talent overall success potentials with a predic- access to a single individual, job
selection, alignment, and development tive accuracy similar to the way a dnA function, or group at a time
is truly the “next generation” of applying strand identifies genetic makeup of each
total quality management (TqM) to tal- • easy to interpret—free of complex
individual.
ent management. mechanisms that waste valuable time
in this manner, organizations are able without adding clarity or analytical
Assessment results are used for employ- to inventory a complete list of strengths value
ee skill gap identification, team building, and weaknesses for all key employees
career development, succession plan- even implementation aspects are very
across every important position, with
ning, talent deployment, training priori- different from typical employee assess-
every team, or across the whole organi-
ties, and many other critical applications ments. The online Talent Audit assess-
zation.
that can have a direct and immediate ment is easy to administer, requiring
impact on improving employee, team, it is instructive to differentiate between about an hour of an employee’s time.
and organizational effectiveness. this approach and the typical employee it is also currently available in over 20
assessment that may generate impres- languages to meet the needs of global
Chally’s ability to create predictive, rather sive numbers but not meaningful data. organizations.
than simply descriptive, results has been
honed for more than thirty years.
11

12. The TAlenT AudiT
WiTh The TAlenT AudiT, AverAGe vAlidATed proFileS
ClienTS CAn: The average score for the group per Across the top of the table in vari-
a given position. ous colors you see the titles of the 4
• identify trends, gaps and needs custom validated profiles.
at the organizational, team, and
individual levels CounT
• Compare individuals to multiple displays the total number of partici- CoMpeTenCieS
roles to identify best fit roles and pants. by simply clicking on the position
talent optimization column, dbl Click to open, the
• Strategically make decisions file expands to display the group
STrenGTh / CAuTion / of competencies for that specific
on promotions and succession
planning
WeAkneSS position. The view on this page is
The number of individuals who
• identify strengths and weaknesses expanded to show competencies for
represent possible matches per
of the organization down to the the business unit Manager role.
each position are indicated in the
competency level
Strength and Caution rows. Those
• Target specific training and who are mismatches are indicated in ColorS
development needs across multiple the Weakness row. A different color code, lighter shades
levels of the organization of green, yellow, and red, is used to
it is important to note this is just one reflect the scores for the individual
overvieW data point to be used when planning competencies. The darker shades re-
The Talent Audit displays the scores of career development. Although an flect the overall score per individual.
all participants across the positions by individual may score high, the scores
Client xyz. Scores are color-coded to measure the potential for success in There are many other fields that can
provide a visual depiction of an indi- a given position. Training, coaching, be used to segment the Talent Audit.
vidual’s potential success in a position. or mentoring would be beneficial to These views include position, busi-
increase the probability of success. ness unit, Manager, or Country.
Green indicates strong potential for
success.
SCorinG
Yellow indicates a good potential. individuals are scored against Spe-
cific roles, as well as competencies,
Red indicates a probable mismatch
for any given role.
with the position requirements.
12

13. The Talent Audit is an excellent instrument to see, at a glance, potential candidates for role alignment. A critical component when
making decisions to align individuals from one role to another is the information collected on the Talent Audit. however, this is
only one source. performance in current role, evidence of the ability to perform in different or positions with higher-level respon-
sibilities, and minimum organization requirements should all factor in the decision making.
CoMpAriSon by CoMpeTenCy CoMpAriSon by proFile / role
TAlenT AudiT exAMple
Talent Audit dbl Click To Close dbl Click dbl Click dbl Click
proMoTeS CuSToMer relATionS by
driven To produCe by inCreASinG
MAxiMizeS reSulTS by pArTnerinG
TerriTory ConSulTATive SySTeM
eduCATeS CuSToMer ThrouGh
overAll SuCCeSS probAbiliTy
SAleS To exiSTinG CuSToMerS
SAleS “ConSulTATive hunTer”
Copy visible rows to new Copy visible rows to new
overAll SuCCeSS probAbiliTy
ACCounT MAnAGer “FArMer”
neW buSineSS developMenT
WorkS The SySTeM For The
AS A CuSToMer AdvoCATe
reGionAl SAleS direCTor
Workbook Workbook
STruCTured TrAininG
SoliCiTinG FeedbACk
vAlidiTyC63
CuSToMer
“hunTer”
Your Company Name
last name First name Title Manager
blACk jerry Sales representative breaux 57 49 66 37 71 56 51 65 63 49
peTerS liSA Sales representative breaux 57 84 84 62 39 65 49 53 78 49
bACon rebeCCA Sales representative Marlow-hensel 84 81 84 82 39 74 41 51 52 86
klinGer kenny Sales representative Marlow-hensel 42 36 66 74 79 59 59 54 59 4
lAWSon john Sales representative breaux 66 81 84 87 47 73 55 51 67 49
dAviS SCoTT Sales representative breaux 64 10 96 46 13 46 67 40 34 30
diCkerSon STeve Sales representative hall 57 84 66 82 57 69 61 61 51 49
GoMez jill Sales representative hall 84 38 48 70 30 54 53 59 62 49
kenT ClArk Sales representative hall 57 49 84 70 47 61 58 60 57 49
Miller lindA Sales representative hall 53 70 84 54 64 65 52 68 75 14
kennedy dAve Sales representative Marlow-hensel 18 49 84 62 39 50 63 36 49 86
MArTin lynne Sales representative hall 66 38 66 30 30 46 58 44 46 96
puCkeTT bill Sales representative Marlow-hensel 46 43 84 28 27 46 68 41 47 30
burnS bill Sales representative breaux 57 8 84 62 98 62 69 50 32 96
AGneW FrAnk Sales representative breaux 27 78 66 59 75 61 51 47 77 30
roberTS MArk Sales representative breaux 82 75 84 21 16 56 57 38 43 30
elliS ToM Sales representative hall 72 86 26 86 75 69 53 86 76 30
SMiTh jACqueline Sales representative hall 48 81 96 70 23 64 57 47 46 86
Monroe Fred Sales representative breaux 82 43 96 73 61 71 47 72 71 30
pArker ArThur Sales representative hall 57 49 66 5 47 45 64 27 35 96
TAylor liSA Sales representative Marlow-hensel 66 38 84 42 76 61 69 56 54 70
rolAnd jerry Sales representative Marlow-hensel 70 38 99 56 64 65 46 41 38 14
Average 60 55 77 57 51 60 57 52 55 51
Count 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22
Strength 12 8 6 7
Caution 6 10 7 6
Weakness 4 4 9 9
13

14. TAlenT AliGnMenT And developMenT AppliCATionS
SAleS leAder deCiSion MAkinG While the Talent Audit is frequently used penetrating new markets, increasing
• identify incumbent salespeople most in management development and suc- productivity, launching new products,
adept at developing new business cession planning, it is especially suited reorganizations, and mergers
(“hunters”) versus those best suited for sales organizations, because the abil-
ity to predict - and therefore apply and • Strategically align human capital
to managing existing customer
augment salesperson job performance strengths to achieve organizational
relationships (“farmers”) or handling
is essential to improving sales force ef- needs and objectives
Strategic Accounts, or developing into
a sales subject matter expert or any fectiveness. • increase the ability to make more
of 10 other key sales roles that World objective decisions, with the
The underlying empirical database
Class Sales benchmarking research confidence of knowing those
derives from Chally’s World Class Sales
has identified decisions are based on predictive
excellence research which includes best
practices of the sales forces identified as criteria
• determine which salespeople have the
predictive skill strengths required to being world class. The research is based
on ratings from 70,000 customer inter-
An onGoinG
succeed in a sales management role
views, rating 210,000 salespeople across
deCiSion-MAkinG Tool
• identify salesperson skill gaps that can The Talent Audit assessment system and
7,300 sales organizations.
be remedied with training, coaching, tools are most effective for strategic de-
or other strategies cision making when used on a continu-
huMAn reSourCe deCiSion
ing basis. because data is predictive, its
• discover which salespeople have
MAkinG
value for both employee development
• Access and evaluate all incumbents
the skills to transition to new roles and career selection is unparalleled.
in any group, to understand what
(solutions sales versus transaction
areas are most appropriate for training After completing a Talent Audit, each
sales)
across the entire group or the entire organization has on-demand access to
• identify where sales talent might most organization its own employee assessment database.
effectively be deployed to support key once the database contents—the “job
• Create a corporate-wide profile of
account goals skill dnA”—is on file for all individuals,
strengths and weaknesses to prioritize
effective development initiatives, no further assessments of employees or
• determine which salespeople can play
candidates are necessary. From a single
a new role to meet the demands of an succession planning, and high-
assessment, a career’s worth of informa-
evolving customer potential identification
tion! And by continuing to assess new
• Ascertain the most critical training employees, the database remains current
and development needs by employee, exeCuTive deCiSion MAkinG and can be regularly updated by Chally.
team, and position • Apply accurate, predictive, “job skill
dnA” insights to the consideration
of strategic initiatives that have
top- and bottom-line impact,
such as increasing market share,
14

15. no oTher MeASure
prediCTS AS Well AS ChAlly
Statistical analysis of the Chally assessment confirms that it provides predictive results invaluable for effective decision making.
Chally’s predictive accuracy has been supported by comparison with the most comprehensive reports by independent research-
ers. A leading university confirmed that the Chally tools were substantially more effective and less discriminatory than all other
selection techniques.
Chally measures exceed the correlations for all of the other commonly used tests. Chally’s eeoC compliant predictive assessment
methods improve selection accuracy by 25% to 30% over conventional methods.
The Chally Assessment is so stable over time that a study of 1,000 individuals who retook the Chally up to five years later resulted
in scores that changed by only plus or minus 3 points on average. This shows why the assessment needs to be taken only once.
no measure predicts as well, has less adverse impact, or is as practical as the Chally Assessment.
More than 2,500 organizations, from small to large to global, have made the Chally assessment system a part of the way they
make strategic talent management decisions to achieve up to 30% improvements in employee productivity and up to 40% reduc-
tion in undesirable turnover of productive employees.
Results so stable that up to 5 years later, scores only changed +/- 3 points on average
The TAlenT AudiT …
A proven SoluTion
“We performed the Talent Audit because “What i learned by using the Chally “When i found out about the Talent
we had a team who was new to the re- Talent Audit was that we could see the Audit, i realized that this solution was
gion and we had no idea what their skill strength of the workforce (in a color- unequalled in the industry. i like all the
sets were. There are a lot of assessment coded way) that enabled us to review features of the Talent Audit, especially
companies out there but all of them the alignment of business strategy with being able to view the group all together
failed to provide an aggregate report like selection and with development. it is the and the ease of sorting the data any way
Chally does. Chally’s individual reports first time i have been able to accomplish you want - individual groups, locations,
were also amazing. We appreciated the this with the use of just one tool.” positions.”
coaching tips which allowed the super-
visors to work with the individuals on
elizAbeTh M. SMiTh, oWner MArCiA venuS, ph.d., oWner
specific development opportunities.” And MAnAGinG direCTor Venus leadeRsHip
HeRon Consulting gRoup, llC
jeFF pATTon, Group MAnAGer
SAleS perForMAnCe And
leAderShip developMenT
VeRizon
Cso insights research confirmed that companies using Chally’s assessment solutions can achieve over 10%
higher win rate over other pre-employment selection testing methods.
15

16. AbouT ChAlly
Chally Group Worldwide was founded in 1973 through a grant from the u.S. justice department
to develop a selection assessment to measure the skills and motivation of law enforcement
candidates and predict who would be most successful. our measurements had to be accurate,
statistically valid predictors, and legally defensible.
Chally’s success led us to our next goal (also in 1973) to adapt our assessment process to the study
of salespeople, managers, and other positions in business. Since that time, we have evaluated
over 250,000 individuals. our current performance database also includes over 400 sales force
validation studies and over 70,000 extensive interviews of our corporate clients’ customers. Today,
Chally is an internationally-recognized technology leader in assessing and predicting future
performance for sales, service, and management positions, evaluating developmental needs,
sales force benchmarking, and customer and market audits.
WOR L DW I D E
© Copyright Chally Group Worldwide 2011
Chally Group Worldwide
3123 research blvd
dayton, oh 45420
937.259.1200 800.254.5995 www.chally.com
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