How To Test For Sales Aptitude

Organisation

Sales team members who score highly in this category will view selling as a process with the ability to create a systematic approach to sales leads. They can apply orderly structures to their work and are likely to possess a thorough follow-up system. They tend to manage their time well, with a high attention to detail.

Inhibitor: Applicants who achieve lower scores in this category tend to lack orderly structure and will often ‘reinvent the wheel’ unnecessarily.

Objective

Sales staff who score highly in this category tend to be strong-willed and strive for perfection. They are capable of separating facts from personal thoughts or feelings in their work.

Inhibitor: Applicants with lower scores in this category tend to allow personal thoughts and feelings to influence their judgement.

Attitude

Sales applicants who score highly in this category are strong in their opinions and are quite definite about where they are coming from. They have a high level of integrity often having an idealistic and optimistic view of their environment.

Inhibitor:

Applicants who score lower in this category tend to be easily swayed by others. This leads to their behaviour becoming inconsistent over time.

High Expectations

Sales staff who scores highly in this category are strongly goal oriented and often impatient with their own limitations or any restrictions placed before them. This characteristic allows them to remain on course on a given project, despite the pressures placed on them.

Inhibitor:

Low scores in this category suggest high levels of tolerance. These people have a willingness to accept flaws in their own performance or that of others.

Gaining Rapport

Members of your sales team with high scores in this category can connect with people on a level where they fully understand the other person and are able to be understood. This involves accurately processing of both verbal messages and body language.

Inhibitor:

Lower scores in this area tend to indicate an applicant who can be too talkative. They often have a ‘tell’ style of communicating, trying to convince others of their opinion rather than listening fully to other people’s views.

Communication

High scores in this area suggest the ability to successfully convey information to another person. These applicants can tailor their approach to best suit the message they are providing and to best fit the person they are dealing with.

Inhibitor:

A low score in this area indicates an inability to be forthcoming with their ideas.

Resourceful

Sales consultants who score highly in this category ie blue bar possess a strong degree of adaptability, with the skill of being able to supply what is needed in any given situation. These people tend to be able to maintain concentration while under pressure. They have the ability to work in a structured manner and are persistently backed by a natural drive. Rarely daunted by difficulties, they don’t give up while continuing searching out solutions. This attribute is important for hunters who will often be alone in new environments.

Inhibitor:

People who score lower in this category ie yellow bar often work best when given detailed instructions on how to complete a given task. They are likely to work in a traditional manner, preferring to follow established procedures. This means they are usually predictable and dependable in their mode of work.

Self Reliant

Job Applicants who score well in this category have a highly developed ability to depend on themselves, despite a lack of familiarity with their situation. They trust in their own judgment and possess the potential to lead others. These people prefer to work alone relying on their own judgments and decisions.

Inhibitor:

Applicants who score lower in this category tend to manifest a dependency on other people’s views and opinions. This leads them to prefer working in teams where they are able to make group decisions or defer to a higher authority.

Confident

Applicants with a high score in this category have a firm trust in their own abilities. They enjoy a freedom from apprehension and can naturally portray assurance in most situations. They are positive in their outlook on life in general.

Inhibitor:

Applicants who score low in this category tend to be negative about their own abilities. They require continual praise, support and backup from colleagues and management alike. Lower scores indicate the need for assistance and ego-strengthening from people in their field. Preferring the outward prestige and glamour attached to their position above the satisfaction of concrete results.

Job Focus

Applicants who score highly on job focus can apply a sustained effort to a given purpose until they have achieved the required result. These people are not usually striving for public accolades; they are trying to achieve a result that is important to them.

Inhibitor:

Lower scoring applicants tend to be patient and tolerant of other people’s flaws. They contemplate emotional issues rather than the given task, often avoiding competitive situations.

How To Test For Sales Aptitude