Psychometric Tests for Sales Job
Psychometric tests for sales job has quickly become one of the most prevalent trends in the industry. These tests can be used to measure the attitude, behavior and personality characteristics of the candidates to map it with the culture of the organization and requirement of the sales job. For a sales role, the individual needs to be self-motivated, competitive, good at rapport building and interpersonal skills, have an ability to influence customer decisions. This fit, the presence or absence of these skills, predicts the individual’s performance style on the job.
Application of Psychometric Tests in Recruitment and Training
Psychometric test for a sales job can be done during recruitment or for the purpose of training. These tests can be used during the hiring process at a level before the face-to-face interview in order to record the level of skill that the candidate has the potential to exhibit. If the candidate has a low score on any of the critical competencies(job-specific), they can be let go before investing time in the interview process.
Candidates that have a mix of average and high scores are a good fit for the role but those who have high scores in all the competencies may be high performing in the Sales role. If the candidate is inducted into the organization, these moderate scores can be used as a reference to provide appropriate training to them while additional psychometric tests of higher level can be used for employees. Care must be taken to note the social desirability scores in these tests since some candidates may have answered in a way that ensures them to be selected in the next round; the test scores are not valid if the social desirability score is high.
Psychometric tests for a sales job are usually designed for specific roles; usually the two tests are segregated into those for managers and for executives.
The psychometric test includes:
1) For managers
Sales managers must drive performance from the sales teams by motivating and coaching them while also recruiting the right people in order to improve the business outcomes. This individual needs to have good managerial skills, sales knowledge and have the attitude and behavioral competencies that add value to the sales team and the organization. A Psychometric test used for a Sales Manager can include the following competencies: customer focus, business acumen, critical thinking, sales knowledge and effective communication.
2) For executives
In today’s business world sales executives need to reach out to customers across the globe and have good knowledge, skills in business communication. This involves the sales executives to have good skills, aptitude and behavior to establish rapport with customers over various modes of communication, over the phone or email, and build a good enough relation with them to ensure successful closure of the sales. A Psychometric test used for a Sales Executive can include the following competencies: sales knowledge, customer orientation, effective communication, interpersonal effectiveness, reasoning ability and influencing skills.
Conclusion
Psychometric tests for a Sales job, essentially measures the alignment between the individual’s abilities, skills and behavior and those that are required for the job. Investing in Psychometric tests ensures that the recruitment and training assessment processes are accurate and effective.
