SalesDrive Blog

Get free education, tips, and inspiration to help you start hiring the best salespeople.

[formidable id=29]

No charge. Unsubscribe anytime.

SalesDrive Blog
Hiring manager reviewing candidate results with the message that broad personality tests do not reliably predict sales performance.
Sales Assessments

Why Personality Tests Often Fail at Sales Hiring (And What to Use Instead)

Personality tests like DISC and Myers-Briggs fail at sales hiring because they measure broad traits — communication style, temperament, how someone interacts with others — instead of the traits that actually drive revenue. They’re also self-reported, which means candidates can answer the way they think you want to see rather than how they actually behave. What actually predicts sales success is Drive: the combination of Need for Achievement, Competitiveness, and Optimism. Drive shows up in behavior — consistent follow-up, persistence through rejection, initiative — which makes it harder to fake than a personality questionnaire. I’ve spent over twenty years building
Read More

My Candidate’s Sales Personality Test Score was Lower than Expected . . . Should I Re-Test Him?

Despite our initial screening efforts, sales candidates occasionally score lower on the online sales test than expected on measures of Drive. For example, candidates with a history of success at a large company may have relied on its brand recognition and collateral materials. Similarly, some candidates are strong interviewees, and can look great on paper and interview well over the phone, but they may not have the internal motivation we need in a “hunter” salesperson. Nonetheless, when we are disappointed by a candidate’s test score, it can be very tempting to re-test the candidate, thinking that perhaps the first result simply
Read More

What Questions Should I Ask in a Salesperson Phone Screen?

After reviewing sales candidate resumes, hiring managers often add a phone screen to determine whether to move the candidate forward into the testing and interviewing process. This 20-30 minute phone call helps bring the candidate’s resume to life and provides some excellent clues about whether he or she has the characteristics the company is seeking. Since the time is short, hiring managers often wonder about the best questions to ask. Here is a salesperson phone screen protocol, we use and recommend, to help you determine whether a candidate is likely to be successful in the testing and interviewing process.  What Questions Should
Read More

Sales Hiring Simplified!

Hire top-performing salespeople with The DriveTest®.

Get started now with one free test.

footerblackswirl

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Consent
Name(Required)
Consent
[formidable id=34]