Online sales test -- another review

In January, 2008, I posted this reference to salestestonline.com.

This image is from the website of salestestonline.com.

Some years ago, I posted a question on the now-defunct Google Answers service, inviting researchers to help me find an inexpensive test to evaluate potential sales candidates. Other services were charging $100 or more per test -- and the tests were cumbersome things. Clearly, if the test is too expensive, we won't be able to afford to administer it widely, and thus would have to screen out candidates who might otherwise qualify.

I ended up using salestestonline.com. This Toronto-based service has delivered the goods. The electronic test is so simple it almost appears dumb (and hardly worth the actual cost per test of about $35.00; purchased in blocks). But the report and rating system the test uses is crystal clear -- and the results are instant. We send the test results to all candidates who complete it. It is the perfect 'brush off' to people we don't want to hire (its the test, not us!), and is a great motivator for those we want. And, while the test has not been 100 per cent foolproof, we've found virtually total success if the score is 8 out of 10 or higher on "prospecting" and "closing" and low on "need for direction.

A few weeks ago, Chase and I decided to review our sales test practices to satisfy ourselves that the test we had been using is indeed the best. We surveyed the market, and discovered, in addition to the incredibly complex and (in my opinion overpriced) complex psychological profile tests out there, another test which, on the surface, appeared to be less expensive than salestestonline.com. We decided to compare the tests to each other, using ourselves, current employees and new sales candidates in the evaluation.

Right from the start, however, I knew the alternative test had some real problems. It took 20 minutes to complete and, most disturbingly, asked questions which anyone with a brain could 'game' to give the presumably correct answer. I could not see how this test could measure anything except whether someone had years of experience in sales, with lots of "training courses" and knows how to speak the language of corporate-speak.

Notably, Chase (our top producing representative) and I achieved perfect 10/10 ratings in the key indicators on salestestonline.com. Now I don't claim perfection in real life (you just need to read earlier posters to know this) but a person who has the drive to start and maintain a business for two decades, even if he is not a stereotypical salesperson, has to be somewhat effective at selling.

Chase posted the comparisons between the other sales test and salestestonlne.com on his blog. Then the fun began.

The representative of the competing test sent a sabre-rattling email using legal-type words saying it is against that sales test's policies to allow any comparison with competing products.

We of course removed all references to the other test and I am not naming it here (I really don't want to spend time with my lawyers).

After this abortive experiment, I ] sent an email to Dave Pearce, president of Salestestonline.com.

Pearce told me his company has about 1,400 clients and they indicate to him the test has about 90 per cent validity. He can't formally measure the success rate of individual clients, but the high-reorder rate is an indication that his test meets the needs of businesses and organizations seeking a reliable option.

He says about 75 to 100 of his clients are within the architectural, engineering and construction community. Most business is within the U.S. with some in Canada (salestestonline.com is based in Toronto), but the company has clients world-wide.

These range from small businesses who purchase the simple pack of five tests for $350.00, to a few large organizations who pay $20,000 for an unlimited licence.

So we're sticking with salestestonline.com. I think you should, too.

Editor's note: In January 2008, when I wrote the original posting, we received no compensation from salestestonline.com for the endorsement. We have just established an affiliate marketing agreement, but you should note that I was ready to recommend this test without any compensation or reward 18 months ago.

Meaningful evaluation -- fast results are important

This image is from the website of eskill.com, which offers a pre-employment screening test package for many positions. I haven't tested it myself, but will try their sample evaluation. We use salestestonline.com for our potential sales employees as a key screening resource. This type of testing gets you part of the way beyond the resume and somewhat staged interview; the challenge is however, to see how the potential employee really works on the job. And I've found no better, nor faster, solution than to put the employee on the payroll for a few days working evaluation. This is more helpful than multiple interviews and other expensive testing because the working evaluation performs these functions simultaneously -- you see the person at work, and how he or she interacts with other employees and clients, and you know the person well enough to get somewhat beyond the superficial mask. You still need to check references carefully, however, and that is our final evaluation stage.

One of our fundamental evaluation resources in assessing potential new salespeople is whether they actually sell anything during the one to four day working test. (We break the assignment into two components: One, a prospecting test to see if the candidates can assess and discover relevant potential leads, and the second, a "list working" challenge where the representative is given a somewhat qualified list of names for a specific project or theme, and is expected to convert some of that list to actual orders.)

If they don't sell anything during the test -- if they just claim they are "close" or "I'll get results with a little more time", we pay them for the few days work, and say goodbye. The reason is simple: Surely, if you are truly a salesperson, and want to prove yourself, you'll be able to show your stuff with a real demonstration order. If you can't you are possibly breathing the air of "maybe tomorrow", and the story will go on and on, with no results.

This evaluation stage, like others in our system, is not perfect. We may weed out good representatives with standards that some say are ridiculously high. Theoretically, with a little additional product knowledge; maybe some extra resources and training, the sales representatives can achieve their true potential. But are we better off declining that risk, and just working extra hard to find someone who really qualifies?

One thing we don't do is harp on this minimum standard because the last thing I want is a desperate salesperson growing even more anxious and forceful as he or she tries to meet the "sell anything, now" target. The reason is this goal is not likely to be achieved through desperate effort -- it requires a little smarts, thinking, and reasoning. I'll provide clues; and the potential employee is given the numbers and invited to communicate with our other salespeople for potential answers, but we want to see if the representative "gets it" without making a big fuss. So I deliberately lower the pressure ("You can have another day if you wish") and stay out of the potential employee's hair/space.

Effective selling, ironically, works on this principal: The harder you need to try to succeed, the less likely you are to succeed. But if you don't work hard, you will fail. In other words, blind, forceful effort, and repetitive rote thinking and behavior, is likely to result in a painful disillusionment. A little smarts will go a long way. But you have to work at it. Things 'fall in your lap' only when you set the stage with either enough laps for which things can fall, or you have a very big one to work with.

Linked to this is an intriguing observation that someone can be absolutely brilliant at one place, and totally dumb at another. I've seen enough examples of this quality-- including in my own experience. In business we should respect that the real abilities and talents lie in a variety of places and circumstances. I certainly respect that someone who fails the test here could very well succeed elsewhere.

The online sales test

This image is from the website of salestestonline.com. Yeah, this posting is an absolute, free, endorsement of their service.

Some years ago, I posted a question on the now-defunct Google Answers service, inviting researchers to help me find an inexpensive test to evaluate potential sales candidates. Other services were charging $100 or more per test -- and the tests were cumbersome things. Clearly, if the test is too expensive, we won't be able to afford to administer it widely, and thus would have to screen out candiates who might otherwise qualify.

I ended up using salestestonline.com. This Toronto-based service has delivered the goods. The electronic test is so simple it almost appears dumb (and hardly worth the actual cost per test of about $35.00; purchased in blocks). But the report and rating system the test uses is crystal clear -- and the results are instant. We send the test results to all candidates who complete it. It is the perfect 'brush off' to people we don't want to hire (its the test, not us!), and is a great motivator for those we want. And, while the test has not been 100 per cent foolproof, we've found virtually total success if the score is 8 out of 10 or higher on "prospecting" and "closing" and low on "need for direction.