BY Kathy Crosett
Are you using a sales personality test when hiring for sales? At least 26% of sales managers still use personality tests when recruiting sales personnel according to our research. They could be making much better hires by changing their approach. They could ask candidates to take sales acumen or psychometric assessments.
What Is a Sales Personality Test?
A sales personality test is an assessment used by recruiters and hiring managers. The purpose of the test is to determine the key traits possessed by candidates who apply for a sales position. The test measures and scores traits such as resilience, openness and confidence. With this information, managers will understand a person’s innate tendencies and the best coaching style to use.
What is a sales acumen assessment?
A sales acumen assessment is designed to reveal what a candidate knows about selling. These assessments serve as a situational judgement test. When answering questions, candidates reveal how they will respond in typical sales situations. The objective data points in these assessments give hiring managers a clear understanding of a candidate’s abilities. The sales acumen assessments show hiring managers the kind of training and coaching a candidate will need to effectively do the job.
Sales Personality Test vs. Sales Acumen Assessment
A sales acumen assessment delivers a wider range of information than a sales personality test. In a sales personality test, a candidate’s answers to questions reveal specific qualities. For example, a hiring manager will learn whether the candidate is competitive or empathetic. But they won’t learn about motivation or how well the candidate will fit with the team. That information will come from the sales acumen assessment. In addition, sales personality tests have been found to sometimes lead recruiters to hire for the wrong qualities because of poorly designed questions.
Why should you use assessments when hiring for sales?
Using assessments when hiring for sales helps hiring managers find candidates who are best suited for the position. Well-
Hiring managers should use these objective results in addition to other hiring tools to make the best decision. These additional hiring tools may include interviews and an audition — such as requiring a candidate to make a sales presentation.
Using these tools reduces the chances of making a bad hire.
The challenges of a bad hire
Sales managers tell us they experience an average turnover rate of close to 30%. In a sales department of 10 reps, the manager faces the prospect of replacing at least three reps every year. Every separation involves significant time and expense.
The trouble usually starts long before a sales rep departs, either on their own or because they were terminated. Managers say it takes them around six months to off-
Managers can avoid some of this expense and disruption by making better hires.
What is a psychometric assessment?
The best way to make a better sales hire is to use a psychometric assessment. These assessments are standardized and objective. They measure factors ranging from a candidate’s personality traits to likely workplace behavior and leadership potential.
How does psychometric testing expand upon a sales personality test?
A sales personality test delivers limited information about a person’s innate traits. A psychometric assessment delivers a comprehensive candidate profile and indicates which sales role they’re best suited for. On a platform like TeamTraitTM, recruiters also receive interview questions. These customized questions are based on the candidate’s profile. They’re designed to help interviewers dig deeper into specific areas of concern.
How to Choose the Best Sales Personality Assessment
Recruiters should look for specific features as they evaluate sales personality assessment platforms. They should ensure that the assessment has been validated on salespeople. In addition, the platform should allow customization to the specific sales role. The top candidate for a customer service job will have a much different profile than the best individual for the top new business hunter position.
While a sales personality assessment is a good start, recruiters may want to take the extra step of having candidates take a psychometric assessment. The results of these assessments pinpoint which candidates will fit best in the position and with the team. Recruiters will also learn which candidates will demonstrate the most desirable on-
How will you know if your sales candidate is a good fit?
Poor fit can contribute to sales reps not thriving in their roles. A sales personality test will not consider the topic of fit. However, TeamTrait’s Four FitsTM tool helps managers understand how well a candidate will fit with the following critical aspects of the sales role they are hiring for:
Manager — Some of the 30% sales department turnover rate stems from reps’ unhappiness with their sales manager. This unhappiness is often about poor fit.
Company/
Job — The sales role encompasses a range of different jobs. Your top candidate may do well as a business development rep. But if you’re hiring for a customer service role, you’ll want to know how well they’ll fit that job.
Customer — Your ideal customers are accustomed to working with a specific type of sales professional. Is the candidate you like able to serve your ideal customer?
Sales Personality Test vs. Psychometric Assessment Comparison
| Sales Personality Test | Psychometric Tests |
| Measures how an individual behaves related to the sales profession | Measures psychological characteristics, sometimes including personality |
| Appropriate for sales positions | Appropriate for all positions |
| Used for hiring and coaching | Used for hiring, coaching, team development |
| May measure traits like assertiveness and confidence | Typically measures cognitive abilities, motivation and aptitude |
Conclusion
The high rate of turnover in sales departments means that recruiters, at the very least, should use a personality test for salespeople when hiring. Their outcomes would improve significantly if they went a step further and used a psychometric assessment platform that includes a sales personality test. The additional results show how well candidates will fit the position and the manager. Sales managers will also learn what they’ll need to train their new hire on and how to adjust their coaching to ensure success.
Image by RDNE Stock Project on Pexels.
What is the difference between a sales personality test and a sales acumen assessment?
A sales acumen assessment is designed to reveal what a candidate knows about selling. These assessments serve as a situational judgement test. When answering questions, candidates reveal how they will respond in typical sales situations. A sales personality test may indicate whether a candidate has specific personality attributes associated with success in sales.
What is the best personality test for salespeople?
The best personality test for salespeople is TeamTrait. The test is part of a complete psychometric assessment that will reveal which candidate has the skills and the will to sell. And the results also explain the best way for managers to coach their new hire.
Do personality tests predict sales success?
Personality tests reveal which candidates have high scores in specific traits that sales managers find desirable such as resilience and confidence. But additional assessments, such as psychometric, are necessary to point to which candidates have the best potential to fit with the job, team and company.
Should hiring managers use personality tests for salespeople?
Hiring managers should start with personality tests for salespeople. But their decision should be based on a broader assessment that measures and scores factors such as motivation, leadership potential and workplace behavior. In addition, hiring managers should also review resumes, hold interviews and check references to ensure that they get a complete picture of a candidate.
What should be included in a sales hiring assessment?
A good sales hiring assessment should include several components. First, a skills test will indicate a candidate's sales acumen and how well they understand the sales profession. Additional parts of the test should include objective and verified questions designed to reveal a candidate's main motivations in the workplace. These questions can also explore how a candidate is likely to respond to specific workplace situations that involve both co-
