​​Do Sales Assessments Really Help?

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One of the most interesting challenges I face when training and coaching people is when I encounter two kinds of people. The first kind I refer to as a “Yeah But”. Yeah But’s are people who when learning something new are stubborn and resistant and default to a fixed mindset. The Yeah But’s proudly exclaim why these new techniques and methods wouldn’t work as opposed to why they would. You know the glass-half-empty type. The second kind of person is the one who when learning instinctively responds or thie body language indicates “I already knew that”. The interesting question I propose back is, if you already knew it, how come you aren’t doing it, or how come you haven’t developed the habit to execute this strategy consistently?

This brings me to the importance of sales assessments and the critical importance of knowing how to gauge and properly self-assess where you need help and are falling short. The ability to be self-aware is something very few people know how to do, are inclined to do, or fear that they will be exposed. Sales assessments should be used in three ways. First, for hiring purposes. Second, to ascertain where people’s skills or competencies fall short. Third, to understand where salespeople have become complacent or need a refresher to remind them of what made them successful in the first place.

One thing that has always baffled me when assessments are used for hiring purposes, is when you identify the shortcomings of a potential candidate, yet still hire them, why a coaching plan isn’t developed and implemented as early as the onboarding process to address those development areas. If a candidate is worth the hire and has flaws, which they all do, why not capitalize on what you’ve identified and act on it.

When it comes to gauging skill or competency gaps, MindsetGo has developed custom assessments to gauge a salesperson’s verbal and written communication abilities, presentation skills, habit and goal development,  and sales emotional intelligence skills related to assertiveness and dealing with rejection.

Have your sales leadership and members of your sales team take the respective assessments below and receive a feedback session and a suggested plan on how to maximize the potential of your team and your investment in them.

Sales Leadership AssessmentSalesperson Gap Assessment

Make Rejection Comfortable

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Remember that motto we were taught growing up… “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”? Well, for those of us who have been rejected at one time or another, which is all of us, you wouldn’t wish that feeling on your worst enemy. Rejection is painful on a number of fronts. Aside from how it makes us feel emotionally, it often can cause a downward spiral in our self-confidence and self-esteem that can last for varying lengths of times. That downward spiral often seeps into other aspects of our lives causing us a variety of ways to second-guess ourselves. This can be devastating for salespeople who live and die by their commission checks.

 

So why do sales prospects and customers drag out sales cycles, not respond to emails and phone messages, and tell us what we want to hear? It’s never easy to give bad news, especially when you are affecting someone’s livelihood and delivering a message that says you’re not good enough. When a prospect declines to purchase your product or services, it isn’t necessarily an indictment of you, but the question is, do you see it that way? Frankly, many salespeople get angry and feel led on or that the prospect was disingenuous. They become further upset because they start to perceive the experience as time wasted.

 

Here are the multitude of reasons why you may be ghosted, temporarily ignored or pacified by a prospective customer:

 

  1. The contact person feels guilty based on how much time you have spent
  2. The person may feel you are going to become angry and they are conflict avoidant
  3. They don’t feel like they need to justify why they are not responding
  4. If they ignore this problem, long enough – you will go away
  5. They will lose face if they tell you the reason
  6. They view a sales transaction as having a winner and loser

 

Damn, those are a lot of motivating factors for prospects to avoid you! To protect your mental and emotional health and not pin your confidence to outcomes that are beyond your control, sales emotional intelligence (Self-awareness, Self-Control, Motivation, Empathy) will allow you to better navigate people’s fears. By being self-aware and empathetic to what may really be going on, you give yourself clarity and resiliency while allowing others to be themselves and share their true feelings without repercussion.

 

I often talk about how leaders and parents need to create a culture for safe, open, and honest communication to learn the truth. Salespeople need to do the same with their customers. Here are some proven MindsetGo coaching methods that have worked consistently. 

 

  1. Give People an Out – Quite frequently, I tell prospects early in a sales call that I have a thick skin and am okay if at any time they determine they aren’t interested, they can please let me know. Then I say, “I know your time is valuable and so is mine.” This allows me to advocate for myself and my time as a salesperson and sends the message we are in this together. 
  2. Share Your Process – When is decision time? – what are steps that clients typically follow when signing up with you? What do you provide so people involved in the decision-making process can feel like they can make a diligent and informed decision? 
  3. No Decision – Not the MLB pitcher version..the version where prospects say they are happy with status quo or current providers and even though it doesn’t make sense – you respect it and keep the door open for future business.

 

Sales Emotional Intelligence is a skill set that allows you to accurately recognize why someone may be acting the way they are, respond in a productive and effective way without overreacting, be motivated to treat each relationship separately, and empathize with why someone is withholding info and know how to influence them to do something differently. So the next time you feel rejected, realize that you can do something about it and truly understand how to learn from it.

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