Personality assessments, or “communication style” as I prefer, are highly valuable in the hiring process for one important aspect - communication.  How many office conflicts have you seen where poor communication was adding oxygen to the fire?  We see it in almost every office conflict.

One way to diffuse these situations is to assess candidates before they join your team.  Doing so allows the manager to know the preferred communication style of the new employee.  This knowledge can also predict potential conflict areas between two employees before any conflict develops.

However, there are still companies out there who harbor concerns about assessments.  One common concern is mentioned in this BusinessWeek.com article - Personality and the Perfect Job:

Isn’t there a danger that employers who use personality tests as part of the employment process stereotype individuals?

Enlightened employers consider personality as only one facet of the selection process. Finding the right “fit” between the job and the person should be a win-win proposition and should be a matter of discussion for any professional interview process.

Some of the personality traits to consider: Do you prefer a structured environment, or is a variety of tasks more important? Do you thrive in crisis situations or value consistent processes? Would you rather work primarily by yourself, or as a member of a team? Are you a big-picture thinker, or do you excel in making sure all the details of a job are completed? Knowing both your own preferences and the requirements of a prospective job can help you (and the employer) make a choice that will give good prospects for ongoing success.

The key point in there is to know what the job requires.  My concern with personality assessments is not that they stereotype individuals but rather that hiring managers think there is only 1 personality that can succeed in the position.  This reason is why I prefer to use the term “style” instead.  Personality is really more about style and how someone will approach people, problems, data, etc.  It is not indicative of skills, aptitudes and motivations.

This distinction must be made when hiring.  In the end, assessing solely for style is still better than not assessing at all.

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Today we wrap up our year-long Sales Traits Series with the final installment. This week’s trait is one that provides us insight into a candidate’s soft skills when relating to a prospect or customer.

Sensitivity To Others
The ability to be sensitive and aware of the feelings of others, but not to allow this awareness to interfere with objective decision making.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will respond to the concerns of others even if they do not relate to the situation at hand.

A weakness in this area is indicative of an inability to identify and relate with others on a personal level. Such a person has a difficult time empathizing with the needs and concerns of those with whom they deal.

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This week we look at a trait that ebbs and flows with salespeople. Typically, candidates have a lower level of role confidence (a driver in their reasoning for finding a new job). Established salespeople who are having success tend to have higher role confidence.

The lack of this trait usually reveals an indecisive, uncertain salesperson. This weakness unfortunately is most often revealed in front of a prospect.

Role Confidence
The ability to develop and maintain an inner strength based on the belief that one will succeed. Role Confidence is a combination of a salesperson’s ability to see their role clearly, positively, practically and functionally. They see themselves as valuable in that role.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will be willing to give their opinions in situations where they do not have a thorough knowledge of all the particulars. They will most likely not be overly stubborn or insistent about their opinions.

A salesperson with weakness in this area will not be very assertive in the majority of professional situations. They may also lack the security in their opinions about what it is that they are doing (or supposed to be doing) so that they become indecisive, unsure of how to proceed.

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This week’s sales management trait sports a word that I don’t particularly enjoy - “monitoring.” That isn’t a great description of this trait since it is far broader than that term. Nonetheless, in today’s world of remote salespeople, this trait will be in even greater demand in the near future.

Monitoring Others
This ability focuses on the actions and decisions of others in a practical, pragmatic way to identify both successes and mistakes. It is the ability to identify the causes of success and failure and to do so in an objective, accurate manner while not allowing personal feelings or biases to influence such decisions.

A sales manager with strength in this capacity will be able to accurately and effectively evaluate the performance of another. This objective evaluation is crucial in accurately leading, developing, and managing the salesperson being monitored.

A weakness in this area can indicate that the person does not place enough importance on systems and order. Therefore, they tend to discount the need to make systematic measurements in order to improve performance. They may allow too much subjectivity into their assessment and will instead tend to see what they €œthink€ the person is capable of as opposed to seeing how they are actually doing.

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Another sales management trait this week.  Have you ever worked for a tyrant?  Someone who had to have it his or her way only?  Did you have to adjust completely to them?

Understanding Motivational Needs
The ability to understand the needs and desires of employees enough that this knowledge may be used to motivate them to succeed. The ability to encourage a self-starting, active pursuit of goals and objectives.

A strength in this area is indicative of a manager who understands that everyone is unique and motivated by different things. They value individual desires and take the time to get to know an individual’s specific motivators.

A manager with a weakness in this trait will tend to discount the importance an individual€™s desires and needs play in managing or motivating that person.

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This week we focus on a unique trait in that it is usually low amongst jobseekers.  They are confused or unclear about their current role and looking to find clarity in their next role.  This fact is the reason why we stress a strong onramping program for all new sales hires.  A clear program immediately sets the parameters of their new role - something that was most likely missing from their previous position.

Role Awareness
The ability of a salesperson to be aware of their role in the world or within a given environment.  This is the ability to understand the expectations placed on a position and to clearly see how those expectations are to be met.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will understand what they are doing, what is expected of them and how they are suppose to be doing it. Having this understanding will allow them to utilize their other personal strengths and abilities to fulfill the role which they are in.

A weakness in this area indicates a lack of understanding for the role someone occupies.  They are either unclear as to what it is they feel they should be doing or they have not been informed adequately as to what the expectations are of their role or duties.

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Much of the filtering that occurs in sales hiring incorporates the all-too-familiar standards of industry experience and college degrees. The interview follows a step-by-step history of their career much like the old TV show This Is Your Life. The candidates have learned the proper rote responses to most of the questions. It is a dull process that leads to marginal results.

But what about creativity? Creativity often gets overlooked or ignored in sales hiring.

“Creativity belongs in marketing.”

“Salespeople should be money-motivated, driven hunters who complete one-call closes.”

Boring and antiquated. Creativity is the overlooked, undervalued aspect of selling that can be the differentiator between an above-average salesperson and a great salesperson.

Here are just a few areas where creativity can have a substantial impact on successful selling.

Cold Calling
The sales training company I used to work for would teach salespeople how to open a cold call:
“This may not be a fit…”
“This is a cold call so let me know if you want to hang up now…”
Nothing earth-shattering here, but the point was to sound different. I often think in sales the worst thing you can sound like is a salesperson. Think features/benefits.

Rapport-Building
I once had a competitor in the computer networking market who would provide one of those miniature baseball bats with his company info on it. He would tell the prospect that the next time they wanted to destroy the network hardware to call him before beating on the equipment with the bat. Different and memorable.

Solution Selling
This may be where creativity is most valuable in selling. Rarely is there a cut and dry solution offered by a salesperson that fits perfectly into a solution for the prospect. The solution is usually a “best fit” solution which means there is give and take. Creative salespeople can use their aptitude to craft a solution that marginalizes the competition and maximizes their own offering. This ability requires much creativity.

Next time you are looking for a new salesperson, pay attention to the candidates who don’t quite fit into your standard expectations. You may be looking at a creative superstar salesperson. And if you are not sure, contact us and we can assess them for you.

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Sales managers need to focus their team on specific objectives.  This requires the manager to gain commitment from each salesperson…on a regular basis.  It is an important aspect of successful coaching and empowering the employee.

Gaining Commitment
This ability develops and invokes a self-starting attitude in employees in their pursuit of goals. It is the capacity to motivate employees to do their best and to provide them with concrete, practical ideas and methods by which they can achieve their goals.

A sales manager with a strength in this trait will be able to effectively use empathetic ability, communication skills and leadership ability to create a sense of personal motivation to be successful in a given task. This motivation is instilled within the employee; therefore, they are acting on their own drive as opposed to simply responding to outside supervision.

A sales manager with a weakness in this area lacks the ability to effectively inspire another with the internal desire to succeed. They might fail to recognize the importance of such inspiration and rely instead on direct supervision to accomplish goals through employees.

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Another managerial trait this week that we measure when assessing sales manager candidates.  A critical aspect of successful sales management is the manager’s ability to hold salespeople accountable.  At times that can be like herding cats, but it is still mission critical to developing a top-notch sales team.

Correcting Others
This ability confronts controversial or difficult issues in an objective manner while having non-emotional discussions about disciplinary matters. This trait is directly related to the manager’s balance in their ability to evaluate others and be empathetic.

A manager with strength in this trait can usually provide constructive criticism to another in a way that it is not received as insulting or degrading. The balance they exhibit in weighing the needs of the situation versus the needs of the people involved allows them to address both adequately.

A manager with a low ability in this capacity could either tend to be too insensitive or harsh in such correction, or be too sensitive and not willing to provide the necessary criticism or positive discipline required to develop an employee. As to whether they tend to be too harsh or too sensitive, a correlation can be made based on their score in the empathetic ability trait. Over attention to their empathetic ability may tend to result in someone who is so sensitive to the feelings of others that they place that person€™s emotions over the needs of correcting a problem. Under attention to this same ability can result in a person who views others more as functional work units rather than  individuals. They tend to discount other€™s emotions in comparison to the importance of correcting a problem.

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This week we focus on another important sales leadership trait.  We’ve seen this trait firsthand have the effect of holding a sales team together during turbulent times.

Conveying Role Value
This ability draws upon a variety of traits (empathetic, interpersonal and leadership) to instill in an employee a sense of value for the task at hand. It is the ability to convey to another the value and importance that a given role carries with it. This is not a measurement of a person€™s ability to understand a role€™s value, but to communicate that value to another or group of others.

A sales manager with strength in this capacity will be able to effectively instill in an employee, or employees, a belief that what they are doing has value. They will be able to paint a clear picture of how and why that role is important€¦to themselves, to the company or to others.

A weakness in this area can be indicative of two things: Either the manager attempting to convey this value does not adequately appreciate the value in a role, or their ability to communicate ideas and concepts to others in such a way that they are perceived as valuable is lacking.

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