Assessment Tips

Some believe that success in sales is achievable by anyone—that it only requires a good product and a touch of charm to transform prospects into loyal customers. However, as an HR professional, you understand that true sales success demands candidates with a robust set of competencies and skills to enhance the organization’s performance. With TestGroup's sales assessment, you can pinpoint these crucial qualities and choose the right person for the position.

Many competencies are required for success in sales

The ideal sales candidate should have strong product knowledge, but social skills are even more important. A good sales professional should not just list product features; they should find out what the customer needs and respond accordingly.

This means the ideal candidate must be a good listener, truly listening. Your next sales champion needs to hear not only what is being said but also what is left unsaid. Reading between the lines, showing empathy, and creating a genuine connection are essential. In practice, this often means being able to switch between different communication styles, such as red, blue, yellow and red, depending on the customer. Moreover, the sales professional must avoid selling empty promises. Being able to provide realistic solutions and manage expectations is crucial to building a long-term relationship with the customer.

TestGroup's sales assessment

TestGroup's Sales Assessment helps you quickly identify whether your candidate or employee is a hunter, farmer, negotiator, or consultant. By assessing essential sales skills, personality traits, and motivators, it reveals whether someone excels in acquiring new clients (hunter), nurturing and growing existing relationships (farmer), or providing expert guidance in complex sales scenarios (consultant). These valuable insights empower you to make informed decisions and enhance your sales strategy.

Don't get overwhelmed

Finding that one sales riser is a real challenge, especially in a tight job market. Still, it remains essential to stay selective when you want to build a sales force that actually performs. Even if you only have one candidate, proper selection is necessary. A bad hire will ultimately cost the organization far more than leaving the position open a little longer.

After a few interviews, you should already know a lot more about the candidate. During the first round you get a gut feeling, while the second round (with future colleagues) gives a deeper insight. Still....

Someone who performs well in job interviews is not necessarily the best sales professional. Only when you spend more time with someone can you truly understand their personality and behavior. Especially when someone is smooth-talking and confident, it is easy to get a little overwhelmed. That is why using a structured assessment like the 4 colour test adds real value. It gives objective insight into communication style, behavior, and how someone is likely to perform in a sales role, beyond first impressions.

But is this person really as well organized as he or she (or them) claims? Is creating a fine working relationship really an innate natural talent, or has the candidate exaggerated this a bit? Can the candidate really deliver on the promises?

Quick insight into sales competencies

How nice it would be if there was a tool that allowed you to test someone on the competencies, talents, and skills essential for success within sales. A number of HR professionals thought so, too. They sought collaboration with scientists and experts in the field of online testing.

The result is TestGroup's online sales assessment. The online sales assessment can draw on a rich scientific foundation, but is based on practice in the workplace. The online assessment is based on the six steps of the sales process:

• Planning and preparation: How good is the candidate at analyzing the market and formulating SMART goals? Can the candidate prepare a plan based on their product knowledge and market analysis?
• Making Contact: Does the candidate know how to really make contact? Does he or she (or them) break the ice? Does the candidate proactively dare to network?
• Building Desire: Does the candidate know how to highlight the unique selling points of the product? Does he or she succeed in linking the customer's needs to the solutions the product can provide?
• Presenting the Options: Does the candidate succeed in presenting the solution briefly, engagingly, and concisely? Does the candidate come across as enthusiastic?
• Closing the Deal: Is the candidate good at negotiating the price? Does he or she (or them) know how to overcome any objections and actually close the deal?
• Relationship Management: Does the candidate know how to keep the relationship warm, even when no transaction is expected to occur for a while? Does the sales professional have the competencies necessary to identify new business leads?

Quick answers to your questions about your sales team

TestGroup's The Bridge sales assessment is an online test. This means that the candidate can answer the questions at a time and place of his or her choosing. Moreover, this scientifically-developed online sales assessment contains some of the most modern techniques that allow you to really build on the results. Thanks to smart algorithms, the answers are translated into a personality report immediately after submission. This sales assessment report clearly shows how the candidate performs in each phase of the sales process. The online assessment also tells you something about the personality. Is this sales professional a hunter or consultant? A farmer or a negotiator?

With The Bridge online sales assessment, you get clear answers about your applicants. You know exactly who you are hiring and what your new sales professional will bring to your team. It’s quick, easy, and surprisingly affordable.

Ordering assessments for sales selection

You can easily order assessments to build a strong sales force, such as the 4 colour test, via TestGroup. Organizations can choose for a single assessment per candidate or an annual subscription with unlimited use. This way, you always have the right tools available to select sales professionals objectively and make better hiring decisions.