Vs. Benchmarking
Behavioral Scientists and some testing companies believe that you should benchmark before you test candidates. We don't. Behavioral Scientists would say something like, "We studied 3,000 salespeople for 10 years and have determined that the top performing salespeople have the following 12 common traits." That would be true, but the lousy salespeople may have those traits as well. Back in the 80's we began to look at the difference between top salespeople and their unsuccessful counterparts, and we learned how they were different instead of what top performers had in common.
When a testing company suggests benchmarking, they apply the same theory as the behavioral scientists but to a smaller group: your group. They want to know what your top performers have in common and then they look for those same traits from among your candidates. At first glance this probably makes sense, but there are several reasons as to why it does not consistently net companies strong, successful salespeople.
- This process is only as good as your top performers who might not be all that strong and successful to begin with.
- Most companies misidentify top performers, confusing them with top account managers, salespeople who live off their extensive existing business but who do not go out and find new opportunities, grow their account base and their revenue.
- Traits that these people have in common may not have anything to do with what makes salespeople successful.
At Objective Management Group, Inc., we already know what makes a salesperson successful, and when we marry our criteria to your criteria, we are able to recommend, with 95% accuracy, sales candidates who will achieve great success selling for your company.
