Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header about About Home Profiles articles Tools forums inspirational quotes About facebook Twitter YouTube Blog
Share for a Cause











10 Reasons - Don't Worry When Sales Candidates Don't Take the Test

Guest post by: Dave Kurlan

Article Overview: We instruct clients to have their sales candidates take the Sales Candidate assessment very early in the recruiting process. It's the first step after the client receives their resumes. Clients carefully spell out exactly how the entire process will work and explain that the assessment is simply the first step. Recent statistics show that only 34% of the candidates are taking the assessment without additional prompts. Isn't that awful? Maybe - let's explore it further. We should consider that the following ten scenarios are all possible reasons why candidates fail to complete the assessment:

Free Download - Sales Courage and Resilience By Dave Kurlan
Name: Email:

10 Reasons - Don't Worry When Sales Candidates Don't Take the Test

We instruct clients to have their sales candidates take theSales Candidateassessmentvery early in the recruiting process. It's the first step after the client receives their resumes. Clients carefully spell out exactly how the entire process will work and explain that the assessment is simply the first step.

Recent statistics show that only 34% of the candidates are taking the assessment without additional prompts. Isn't that awful?

Maybe - let's explore it further.

We should consider that the following ten scenarios are all possible reasons why candidates fail to complete the assessment:

  1. RISK AVERSE - they think it's a scam and they're afraid to click the link
  2. NARCISSIST - they think they are above such nonsense as having to take an assessment
  3. POOR ATTENTION TO DETAIL - they suck at following directions
  4. LACK OF CONFIDENCE - they do click the link, take one look at the questions and realize they are over their head
  5. NOT QUALIFIED - individuals are not a salespeople so this prevents them from pursuing the opportunity
  6. POOR FIT - they don't have the background you are looking for so they won't pursue the opportunity
  7. CAN'T MULTI-TASK - they begin taking the assessment, get called away and never return to complete it
  8. LONE RANGER - they didn't take the process you laid out seriously
  9. POOR NOTE TAKER - they intended to take the assessment and forgot to do it
  10. REACTIVE - They were waiting for you to call and ask them to take the assessment
I would be the first to say that 34% is a terrible completion percentage. But considering most of the reasons, would you really want to waste one minute of your time reviewing their resumes, talking with them on the phone, interviewing them face-to-face or even considering them for the position? If you are doing the hiring, is the 34% completetion really such a bad thing?
Instead, the 66% who don't complete the assessment simply become the victims of the first filter. The assessment itself is the second filter - recommending only 25% - 50% of those who do take the assessment. The variation is a direct result of the configuration of the assessment and how strong you need your salespeople to be, based on the challenges they will face.
The next filter is a phone call with the the recommended candidates. Clients learn that of those recommended, they don't all sound great and some don't fit. The best of the candidates who survive the first 3 filters get interviewed, the first time in the process where the hiring manager really has to invest any time. Interviewing skills are extremely important for this step, where the hiring manager must determine if the candidate owns what is written on their resume or they simply penned a work of fiction.
Is your sales recruiting process this efficient? Do you have and use the skills necessary for being able to conduct a thorough, intensive, challenging 30 minute interview and know at that point whether you have found your next salesperson?

Related Articles
  What is the best way to develop my sales skills?
  Profitable Online Business Ideas and the Recession Part 2
  Contribution
  How can you make more of your customers open your emails?
  Know your magic numbers
  Social Networking or Social Distraction
  How do I find a passionate and purposeful mentor?
  More crazy customers!
  Get better results from email newsletters and promotional emails
  Are you a Star?
  Are you Hard, Scrambled or Soft?
  STFU! Then Make Money...
  Hacking Facebook Password with the help of free hacker tools for everyone
  Can you afford to make your email marketing more targeted? Can you afford not to?
  Real Work at Home Jobs - Why Cant You Find One?
  How to generate referrals
  Spam: You probably hate it but can you define it?
  Online Business and Freedom in America
  Can you use webmail for email marketing?
  Top 5 Tips For Successful Blogging

Home > Sales > Dave Kurlan > 10 Reasons Dont Worry When Sales Candidates Dont Take the Test >
Article Tags: assessment, line height, padding

About the Author: Dave Kurlan
RSS for Dave's articles - Visit Dave's website

Dave Kurlan is a best-selling author, top-rated speaker and thought leader on sales development.  He is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling (Dan Seidman), Stepping Stones (Deepak Chopra and Brian Tracey) and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2 (David Riklan).

Click here to visit Dave's website Dashed Line

Understanding the Sales Force
More from Dave Kurlan
Visual Pipeline
Salesperson Selection
Predict Sales Turnover


Related Forum Posts
Re: How to Promote Your Blog – The Definitive Guide to Promoting Re: How to Promote Your Blog – The Definitive Guide to Promoting - Great Post! Dont forget to put your blog in Anchor Text For SEO purposes for the keywords you want when getting backlinks (for example with article marketing)...Very important. You can conquer quite a few small Niches and get your site on the number 1 spot in Google!
Re: Due Diligence, Market Research.. Ahead of the curve. Re: Due Diligence, Market Research.. Ahead of the curve. - Congrats! A few months ago I wrote extensively on market research. Check in the Inventors corner for the posts. Let me know if I can help further! Dont spend a dime on a protype or advertising until you do some research! Jude
Re: Who hates cold calling? Re: Who hates cold calling? - I saw this and had to chime in. I HATE COLD CALLS. lol its terrible and a wast of my time. Something i have done is gotten online and found all the networking event happening in my area for the next 2 months and i try and go to about 3 a week. Even just for an hour. Dont bring any business cards. Just meet new people ask them alot about what they do, not too much about what i do and follow up the next day or 2. Has worked well
Re: How to Promote a MLM Business? Re: How to Promote a MLM Business? - In MLM a lot of it is hype. I know you like your product but you have to get people in like a circus does. Draw people in with attraction. Depending on your budget you should setup a tent in the parking lot of a mall/grocery store(with their permission or rent the space) and cook-out hotdogs and hamburgers, have a clown doing magic for the kids, make a nice presentation on projection screen. Show your prospects that you are larger than life. Sales is 90% attitude and 10% aptitude. With MLM it is usually simple to understand so make it so simple they cant resist. They should feel dumb if they dont sign-up on the spot. When you have a crowd it is like a feeding frenzy. They will sign-up just because other people are...especially if you have a relatively cheap MLM. You are not going to make any sales if your product in MLM is over $200. I know this part is self promotion but get a wireless credit card machine so you can take payment right on the spot. Dont give them any reason to leave without buying/signing up.
Re: Businesswomen in the news Re: Businesswomen in the news - [quote="TheRainmaker":2susnvqs] Dont forget that the media is out for the media and scare tactics and bad news gets the coverage.... J[/quote:2susnvqs] This is true....


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article

Bottom Footer



Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Four Secrets to Earning Income as an Author

Fighting the Saw-Tooth Affect

Mistakes Made by New or Inexperienced Sales Staff
Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.