In my journey through the ever-evolving world of sales, I have posted the question to CEOs, Founders and Sales Leaders: How many salespeople would you hire if you knew in advance that they would all succeed? The answer, unequivocally, is all of them! But why does this ideal scenario often seem like an elusive dream? The answer lies in the formidable challenge of recruiting the right salespeople.
In sales, emotions drive decisions. Our customers and buyers make choices based on emotion and then justify them with logic. However, these emotions can lead to costly biases and errors when recruiting salespeople. Did you know that approximately 20 different biases influence individuals’ recruitment and career progression? This revelation raises a crucial question: How can we secure a diverse, high-performing sales team equipped with the right sales competencies for success?
I have spent decades working alongside sales leaders, founders, CEOs, and talent acquirers. My mission is to challenge the status quo and provide data-driven solutions for revenue-generating businesses.
The stark reality is that 46% of new sales hires fail within the first 18 months, resulting in staggering costs and missed opportunities. This statistic is a wake-up call to the sales industry, where, for the last 30 years, sellers have consistently achieved less than 50% of their quotas. Continuing traditional approaches is nothing short of madness if we expect different results.
I invite you to join me in this three-part series of LinkedIn LIVEs, where I will explore the power of data and research in redefining the sales landscape. The underperformance of salespeople isn’t merely inconvenient—it’s an expensive mistake. The costs of time, money, and energy can range from $100,000 to $millions when you include lost opportunity costs. But how can we separate fact from fiction in the hiring process?
The key lies in data-informed, science-based assessments. Traditional methods like CVs/Resumes have proven disastrous in their predictive effectiveness.
- CVs/Resumes: 18%
- Traditional interviews (“gut feeling”): 20%
- Personality tests: 20%
- Referrals: 23%.
These claims are backed by meta-analysis research spanning 85 years called “The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology,” found on this link, among others.
Instead, Predictive Validity, which correlates findings to job performance, is the solution. It’s about identifying the right salespeople for the right roles and being able to answer, will this person do well in this role?
Our analysis shows that the Sales Competencies are harder to improve through training. This question can only be answered using structured skills-based assessments that measure drive, beliefs, and tactical selling ability. The Drive or Will to be successful in sales is primarily intrinsic. No amount of coercion, training or on-the-job practice can instil Drive if the salesperson is resistant to success, and many hidden beliefs may feed this resistance.
The Data-Informed Assessment Questionnaire is your starting point for any sales hire. Why wouldn’t you take the guesswork out of sales hires? With predictive validity, proven accuracy, and a track record of over 2.3 million salespeople evaluated across 158 industries and 200 countries. Removes bias and subjective judgement from the hiring process and sets the benchmarks based on decades of data collected from assessing sales professionals on the job.
Imagine a scenario where 91% of candidates recommended by assessments achieve top-quartile on-the-job performance within 12 months. Implementing a scientific and predictive approach saves you time and resources and ensures you’re hiring the right salespeople, managers, and leaders to execute your business plan.
It’s time to retire outdated methods and embrace sales-specific data in hiring and development. Doing so can generate an impressive 81% higher recurring revenue when your sales team is equipped with the right skills and empowered to achieve their full potential.
Join me in this journey to revolutionize your sales team. If you’re serious about saving time, energy, and costly mistakes, let’s schedule a time to discuss your specific needs and desires. Together, we can broaden your recruitment pool, eliminate biases, and let the assessment find you the cream of the below-average crop.
