Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









Identify the Perfect Salesperson for your Sales Force

Written by: Dave Kurlan

Article Overview: During 2008, we worked to make our sales candidate assessments even more customizable and predictive. We already had hirable and not hirable recommendations but we wanted to go even further...

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

Identify the Perfect Salesperson for your Sales Force

Several years ago I wrote a White Paper that described both the original research as well as the ongoing research that drives our world-class, incredibly predictive, customizable sales specific candidate assessments.

When it comes to our assessments, we strive for excellence, by venturing wider and deeper than anyone else. We can be aggressive for two reasons:

1. Sales Specific - Since it was built for sales we have the data points that other assessment companies don't have.
2. Accuracy - Our predictive validity is around 95% - unbelievably high for an assessment.

During 2008, we worked to make our sales candidate assessments even more customizable and predictive. We already had hirable and not hirable recommendations but we wanted to go even further.

We introduced Hirable - Ideal based on this article.

And we introduced Hirable - Perfect based on our ability to identify exactly what would make a perfect salesperson for a particular company. We have to evaluate the existing sales force first and there have to be bona fide top producers - salespeople who not only produce more revenue than the others, but who are also strong salespeople as evidenced by their assessment results. Then we can identify the exact requirements for our assessment to filter and produce a perfect candidate. Pretty Cool!

For one company, our custom settings will recommend perfect candidates that are as good as or better than 96% of their top producers.

For another company, our custom settings will recommend perfect candidates that are as good as or better than 90% of their top producers.

So it was already pretty cool that we could recommend a salesperson who would end up in the top half of your sales force within a year. And it got even cooler when we could recommend an ideal salesperson - one who would ramp up more quickly than normal. And now I think it's super cool that we can even identify the candidate who will rise to #1!

Related Articles
  Do I Have What It Takes to Succeed in Sales?
  Salesperson ROI - How Long Must They Stick to Pay Off? Part 1
  A SALES METHODOLOGY
  Call Reluctance - Causes, Factors and Predictors
  Expansion Plans

Home > Sales > Dave Kurlan > Identify the Perfect Salesperson for your Sales Force
Article Tags: accuracy, assessment results, candidate assessments, custom settings, deeper than anyone, exact requirements, ongoing research, original research, perfect candidate, predictive validity, salespeople, salesperson, top producers

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
Predict Sales Turnover
Salesperson Selection
Visual Pipeline


Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Re: SmartWoman seeks Fiesty Woman Writers Re: SmartWoman seeks Fiesty Woman Writers - @shri: Perfect! Yes, I'd be interested! I will email you privately as you described and follow up. Goodie! Vicki
Re: Does birth order influence the desire to start a business? Re: Does birth order influence the desire to start a business? - I am the eldest in a polygamous family. In Africa where I come from, we are allowed to marry many wives. My mother is the first wife among six others. I am the first born and I am into business and all my other 22 siblings are business people too apart from the second born who is in the Police Force.
Starting a New Business Starting a New Business - I think [b]magonaga [/b]identified one of the most important ingredients for starting a new business in its simplest terms...."[b]Sheer bloody tenacious determination[/b]". The only thing that I would add to this is the need for a plan. There are many methodologies for planning, but I believe that the most effective is also the simplest. [list=] Step back from the excitement and anxiety, close your eyes and visualize your goal Identify all of the ingredients (e.g. office/store, legal paperwork, contracts, products) that you need to make your vision a reality Identify all of the ingredients that you need to get the previous ingredients (equipment, training, partnerships, mentors, marketing materials) Prioritize all of the ingredients Sketch out a timeline for how all of these ingredients come together to achieve your goal Execute the timeline...with a liberal dose of magonaga's advice [/list] When all is said and done in the realm of planning, take heed of Dwight D. Eisenhower's advice "Plans are nothing. Planning is everything". Even though your timeline may not go as planned, the fact that you devoted the time towards planning will help you understand the impacts of changes to your plan and react more effectively to unforeseen events. May God bless you in your endeavors!


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
Share for a Cause












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

What is an Adaptive Organization

Induction – your first management job

Ten Things You Can Do To Be a Better Leader

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.