Assessing the Sales Force

Do you know what skills your sales force have and perhaps what they are lacking?
One area of consultancy that seems to be a growing requirement even in recessionary times is that of Sales Force assessment. I have had a number of clients requiring this support over the past 18 months and it has given me the opportunity to trial a number of products on the market place and identify what to use and when for maximum success. This blog discusses some of the products that I have used and where they have brought the best results in my experience, I have kept it brief so you can contact me for more info but clearly it is based on my own opinion and may not represent the views of any proprietors!

Psychometric evaluation:

Can you measure sales ability on paper? You can get close to it if you find the right tool. I recently used a suite of psychometric assessments called the Fit4 series specifically designed for sales by Sales Assessment.com http://www.salesassessment.com/ .They developed them in conjunction with Saville and Holdsworth http://www.shl.com/, the well known psychology house so the profiles are rigorous and robust. My experience with these are that they are highly credible and well received by participants and the best results can be achieved using these in conjunction with behavioural assessment of sales skill which I will discuss later.

Top tips:

• Use the helpful in-house team to make absolutely sure you have selected the right profile
• Warn people to set aside up to 3 hours to complete the tests
• Invest in proper feedback and development plans as a result to get the most out of the investment

Skills Assessment

This is where the sales person is observed 'in action' and given feedback on strengths and development areas. I have extensive experience of the critical hour assessment tools that Silent Edge provide http://www.silentedge.co.uk/  and they are developing a really powerful presence in the market place. In my experience this is a good solution for organisations with a large sales force (and budget) and who can provide very strong internal sponsorship from HR or L&D to drive the process through and maintain momentum. It then takes 12-18 months to get this process fully embedded but after that the potential for ROI is high.

For those that want quicker results and with 80 sales people or less, a pragmatic approach that I have developed is to run bespoke Sales Skill Assessment through simulation in house using actors http://www.advancechange.com/ - benchmarking.  As a psychologist experienced in running all types of assessment centre, I have been able to refine a sales competency framework which can be used to objectively measure sales performance within this simulated environment.  This results in a full report that highlights the strengths and any gaps and can be used with an individual to coach for high performance and at an organisational level providing a training needs analysis.

Top tips for Skills Assessment

• Choose the right approach for your size of business
• Ensure proper sponsorship and drive for momentum
• Consider whether you want a benchmark followed by development plans (simulation) or a longer term investment (Silent Edge)

My recommendation?

Obviously it does depend on the specific requirement of the business, however the most effective solution for my clients has been a combination of the psychometric assessment and the bespoke in-house skill assessment followed by 121 feedback, development plans and addressing any skills gaps that have been uncovered. Value, is visible immediately after the coaching and feedback and ROI can start to appear within 3 months when rolled out effectively

Common to all of these and surprsingly uncommon in practice is the importance of good communication around the role out, positioning the assessment positively and following up with development plans and actions in the shortest time possible post assessment. This removes the natural fear of the consequences of being assessed and encourages sales people to address any development areas positively.

What really engages people?

Just out a CIPD study about the locus of engagement by the Kingston (Link below)

As we all know, engagement is not some fluffy term thought up by HR gurus but in fact a real tough, measurable way of increasing the productivity and profitability of a company. Some interesting findings and again just reinforcing the huge importance of effective line managers working within a best practice performance management framework.

• The most important factor: engagement – with the job: variety, autonomy and meaningfulness, all of these can and should be directly affected by a creative line manager
• Next, engagement with line manager and colleagues – high: ability to voice concerns and working with good colleagues; managers need to step out of personal task focus and remember that being available for individuals and teams and getting their results done through others is a more effective way forward
• Thirdly: Engagement with the organisation  this was a moderate factor,  being well treated and company reputation were positives, but for some money was seen as important. does this meant that performance related pay is engaging? 

Not sure that this study shows us anything new but it certainly does reinforce the critical importance for companies who want to get ahead in this down turn to get managers engaging their people

 

 

 

Consortium...http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/Locus%20of%20Engagement.pdf

 

 

 

Austerity mentality and the risk to Gen Y effectiveness

The more time I spend working with line managers, especially since the "austerity mentality" kicked in, the greater my concern that the progress in terms of engagement and sustainable best practice management behaviours has been lost to the real detriment of potential Gen Y productivity.

Peter Drucker in his 1999 book ‘Management Challenges for the 21st Century identifies 6 requirements for knowledge worker productivity and they are the tip of the iceberg for Generation Y requirements, yet less and less common as many managers forget the primary purpose of their role - to deliver high performance through their staff.

I have expanded Drucker's work in the model below to provide a clear framework for organisations and managers that are serious about getting the best out of this very different workforce demographic.

8 principles that drive Gen Y productivity

1. Task clarification/clear goals – with two way involvement when goals are being established

2. Empowerment & self management – requires a consultative and coaching management style with regular feedback to ensure learning, growth and focus is retained

3. Opportunity to innovate – requires the freedom and ability to take risks coupled low blame culture and support and guided reflection to learn from mistakes

4. Continuous learning and development – As well as investment in L&D, this requires managers to develop coaching skills to make this an active rather than a passive activity.

5. Focus on quality and quantity – less emphasis on visibility and doing the hours, more on achieving the goal in the right way. Requires clear objectives and regular progress checks.

6. A requirement to be treated as an "asset" rather than a "cost." – In times of recession, with reduced ‘perks’ the onus again is on the manager’s ability to make the individual feel valued by taking a genuine interest

7. An active desire to work for the organisation - also termed as ‘engagement’ and driven strongly by the relationship with the line manager and their ability to communicate the importance of the individual's role within the organisation

8. Recognition and feedback – particularly positive, definitely constructive and frequent, again counter to the culture that most babyboomer or Gen X managers have been used to.

It is clear from these principles that the line manager’s role is absolutely imperative in achieving full productivity from the knowledge worker, yet so few managers seem aware or inclined to take on this primary responsibility. Are they being channelled in the wrong direction from above? Are we still really thinking that best practice people management is soft and fluffy and a nice to have?  My concern is that our ability to grow out of the recession could be severely hampered by this blinkered and retrograde practise.