1) Scandinavian Search Group is a sales recruitment firm founded in 1997 that uses a tool called the SSG SalesGauge to identify top sales performers. 2) The SalesGauge benchmarks candidates against the top 3 performers at a client company to determine fit. It analyzes their ability to deal with mental demands, comfort in the sales environment, and motivation to sell. 3) Case studies showed the SalesGauge identified candidates that significantly outperformed non-matched candidates, translating to increased sales of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The tool helps recruit and coach sales teams to maximize effectiveness.

1. Scandinavian Search Group
The SSG SalesGauge
Presentation
2009

2. Some Facts about
Scandinavian Search Group
• Founded 1997
• 4th largest MRI Network office in Europe 2008
• 120 placements in 2008
• Scandinavian Search Group Baltic established June 2008

3. Some Facts about
MRINetwork
Established 1964
Nearly 1,000
offices, in
more than 35
countries

4. Our services

5. Pulling together for
increased sales…
…maximizing sales team effectiveness
The SSG SalesGauge

6. When you pay for six salespeople you get six
pulling sales in, right?

7. What if you pay for six but get five pulling sales
in and one pulling sales out?

8. ‘Normal Distribution’
These pull sales Top Performers
out of the produce 32%
organisation and put more than the
pressure on everyone ‘Average’ producers
These take up
Bottom Performers the slack for the
produce 32% Bottom Performers
less than the – but are highly mobile
‘Average’ producers

9. These all looked the same when hired…
32% more
than average
sales
Average sales
32% less
than average
sales

10. What do you miss?

11. If traditional approaches work
- you wouldn’t have an issue…
…but traditional approaches do not work
consistently well!

12. 360,000 salespeople followed through
sales careers over 20 years
“It’s not experience – or college degrees
or other accepted factors…
…(it) hinges on fit with the job.”
Source: Herbert M. Greenberg and Jeanne Greenberg,
“Job Matching for Better Sales Performance, ” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 58, No. 5.

13. “Six months after hire persons who had been job
matched outperformed those who had not been matched.
“Moreover, the differences widened after 14 months”
Percentage of
Top Performers
in sales force
– Job Match vs.
Non Job Match
Source: Herbert M. Greenberg and Jeanne Greenberg,
“Job Matching for Better Sales Performance, ” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 58, No. 5.

14. Shield your targets!

15. Interviews: Less than perfect...
• 100s of questions to get necessary information
• Which are the right questions?
• Analyzing and comparing candidate responses
• What if they exaggerate?

16. The SSG SalesGauge...
...How it works

17. The SSG SalesGauge...
1. Test your Top 3 Sales People
2. Receive a Benchmark Profile for
- Organizational reengineering
- Future Hirings

18. The
JobMatch
Pattern
Shaded areas indicate
the JobMatch pattern
The JobMatch patterns
show requirements for
the sales positions in
your company

19. “...(it) hinges on fit with the job…”
‘Superior’ sales producers fit their jobs and:
• Can deal with the mental demands of their sales cycle position
• Are comfortable with the demands of the sales environment they work in
• Enjoy selling and are motivated to do it

20. The SSG SalesGauge...
3. Benchmark against the Top Performers
- Current Team
- Future Hirings

21. Good
Match
Grey areas indicate the
JobMatch pattern
Red boxes show the
candidate’s scores

22. Questionable
Match
Grey areas indicate the
JobMatch pattern
Red boxes show the
candidate’s scores

23. The Report
Internal Recruitment
and Coaching

27. “In these days of Talent Wars, the best way to keep your
stars is to know them better than they know themselves
- and then use that information to customize the career of
their dreams”
-Source: Timothy Butler & James Waldroop: “Job Sculpting” Harvard Business Review - September-October 1999

28. The Report
External Recruitment
of new Top Performers

29. New Candidates
Benchmarked towards
Top Performers

34. Real Life Case 1:
Novartis Ciba Vision
The Challenge
– 37 salespeople - averaged 109% of target
– Top 10 averaged 125% of target (111% to 139%)
– Bottom 7 averaged 92% of target (82% to 99%)
What they did
– Profile Identified the Key Characteristics of the Top (& bottom) Performers
• Provided a framework to identify top performers at the point of hiring
• Provided a framework to raise everyone’s performance to Top Performer level
Results
– Took product line from $1M p.a. to $1M per month
– 2nd year total sales: $10.5M
– 3rd year total sales: $22M

36. Real Life Case 2:
Data Service Organization
14 Account Executives
• Dramatic performance gaps
– Average sales of 3 Top Performers: $1.25M
– Average sales of 3 Bottom Performers: $850K
Benchmark pattern created of the top three performers
All 14 reviewed against pattern and ‘the bar’ set at 87%
Big difference between matched / non-matched people:
Matched: Average sales: $1.31M
Non-Matched – Average sales: $ 840K
Average difference between selected and non-selected: $ 470K
…Which would you prefer to hire?

37. What Next?
…We’ll help you develop the profile, produce the reports and track the
results to keep you on line – we’ll support you all the way

38. Pulling together for
increased sales…
…maximizing sales team effectiveness
...and headhunting the right people
Scandinavian Search Group
together with
Profiles International and MRINetwork