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Sales Assessments vs. Personality Assessments Episode III - The PHD's Strike Back

Sales Assessments vs. Personality Assessments Episode III - The PHD's Strike Back
Free Download - What Should You be Telling your Salespeople in this Economy? By Dave Kurlan
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Are PHD's more sensitive to criticism than the rest of us?

I heard from a few over the past week and they weren't happy with what I wrote here and here. I rocked their world and they couldn't cope.

Their problem is that they are so brainwashed by what they learned about testing in school that they refuse to see something as obvious as the context for their questions and the relative limitations of their findings. They simply don't understand that they can't predict how a salesperson will perform without understand the dynamics of the challenge and asking questions that take place within a sales context.

Do you think a question like, "would you rather build something or sit at a desk?" will help you predict sales success at any level? I do not have a PHD. But I have been either selling, training, managing, developing, writing about, assessing or researching salespeople professionally for 35 years. Who knows more about what makes a salesperson tick? A PHD...or me? They just don't think I should have the ability to develop professional assessments - that's supposed to be their domain.

I have nothing against PHD's. I have friends and colleagues that are PHD's. We have resellers who are PHD's. I have clients with PHD's. I have a relative with a PHD. I sit on a board with a PHD. It's just that the PHD's in the HR and testing arenas believe that you must be a PHD in order to develop, administer or deliver an assessment. They become self righteous about it.

Over the past 20 years we have helped companies in more than 200 industries. Of all the assessments out there, the only one that companies who believe in assessments seem to rely on more than ours is Caliper. Caliper is probably the most reputable personality assessment of them all. If a client needs to assess a key employee that wasn't in a sales role and wants to know about how they would fit into the culture, what they may or may not like and how their personality might help them or hinder them, I would suggest that they use Caliper.

However, if I wanted to understand why their salespeople weren't selling as effectively as they should be, the kind of development they might require, whether they were in the right role, whether they could execute my strategies, whether and how much they could improve, Caliper could not accurately provide that information. I would use Objective Management Group's (OMG) sales assessment.

That explains why, in a sales recruiting scenario, when companies use both ours and theirs, we get the call that says, "How come Caliper likes this person and OMG doesn't recommend him?" Or, "Why does the Caliper say he has strong Drive but OMG says he lacks Desire?" Or, Why does the Caliper say that one of his strengths is that he is social but the OMG says that his Need for Approval is a weakness?" Or my favorite; I got this call last week. "Wow, now I can see the difference. You guys really go out on a limb, don't you! You actually show what will happen to them in the field and explain why that will either help them succeed or cause them to fail."

The PHD's refer to their years of research, data and validation. I go back to their inability to be predictive. The disagreement is not likely to fade soon.





Sales Assessments vs Personality Assessments Episode III The PHDs Strike Back - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.

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Dave Kurlan
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 and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website


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Dave Kurlan
(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 and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2.


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