Dr. Dave Barnett
Editor's Note: In the previous issue, Dr. Dave Barnett introduced the concept of sales tests and the common objections recruiters have to them. In this issue, Dr. Dave discusses the number 4 objection to sales tests
Objection #4 ó "I Don't Believe Sales Tests Can Predict Success."
This objection is seldom expressed exactly this way. More often, it sounds like this:
"I used such-and-so Sales Success Test and it didn't really help."
Not all sales tests are universally helpful. Some are a complete waste of money. An assessment may be based on a faulty theory. For example, in the 1920's and 1930's a popular device used to predict performance was called a Phrenometer. It measured the bumps on a person's head. The size and placement of these cranial contusions, it was thought, held the secret to predicting success
In more recent years, personality assessments have become the accepted standard for estimating career productivity. Unfortunately, there are no scientifically verifiable links between personality variables and productivity. You might as well use a Phrenometer, or birth order theories, or a temperament analysis, or left-brain, right-brain typologies. None are any more predictive than a coin toss.
Tests can accurately measure all kinds of wonderful and interesting things. But if there's no proven correlation between what a test measures and one's ability to sell, it's as useless as a swizzle stick is to a teetotaler.
SalesMAP™ is not a personality test. It measures behaviors; specifically, behaviors that help or hinder contact initiation. If your salespeople do not initiate contact with prospective buyers or current clients, SalesMAP™ won't work for you. But in organizations where prospecting and client contact are important aspects of sales success (and our research indicates contact initiation is the most critical behavior to sales success), SalesMAP™ will help you forecast productivity with great accuracy.
Watch for future articles in which Dr. Dave will discuss the top 3 objections to sales tests.
