SalesTraining
Learning and development (L&D) professionals know that understanding employees’ personalities and preferences is incredibly important for building productive teams and motivating them to do their best work — and for delivering the most effective training.
Assessments for understanding individual behavior patterns, communication styles and hard and soft skill levels are especially helpful when it comes to sales training. That’s because assessments can help you overcome sales training challenges, target the right sales skills gaps and drive meaningful performance improvement.
In this article we’ll share eight ways validated sales assessments help diagnose and remedy individual and team strengths and weaknesses, pinpoint priority development areas and tackle industry-specific challenges to deliver more impactful training.
Because the life sciences sales environment is highly competitive and constantly evolving, L&D professionals face several significant obstacles when training sales teams. Complex products, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions and the speed (or lack thereof) of FDA approvals can make developing the right training really hard.
Training must be continuous in an environment of frequent product updates, new discoveries, technologies and treatment options. Not to mention the fact that life sciences sales teams are typically large and frequently operate on a global scale.
Conducting these assessments provides benefits that reach far beyond simply evaluating candidates’ selling aptitude. They are:
More objective than interviews.
Standardized and transparent.
Conducted at an individual level and/or are aggregated across teams.
More cost-effective and faster than in-person evaluations.
Able to be automated, freeing up time for other tasks.
There’s a lot at stake. Assessments can be a robust tool for diagnosing skill levels across your sales organization and remedying the greatest areas of need.
At their most basic level, sales assessments reveal individual capabilities and potential for sales success. These tools analyze competencies such as resiliency, teamwork, versatility and goal orientation as well as behavior, communication style, sales acumen and motivators.
Beyond the basics, there are eight specific ways sales assessments can add value to L&D initiatives.
Diagnose skill gaps: Assessments help pinpoint areas where sales professionals excel as well as where they may be lacking. By understanding these skill gaps, you can create role-based learning journeys and tailor your programs to focus on specific areas that need improvement, maximizing the effectiveness of training initiatives.
Customize training programs: With insights from assessments, you can design training programs that are highly targeted and tailored to the needs of individual sales professionals or teams. This customization ensures that training is relevant and engaging, leading to better retention and application of new skills.
Get data-driven insights: Using assessments provides an objective, data-driven approach to hiring, coaching and developing top-performing sales professionals. This can translate to better customer experiences, higher revenue attainment and improved talent retention.
Measure progress: Assessments provide a baseline for measuring the progress of sales teams over time. By periodically reassessing skills, you can track improvements and adjust training strategies as needed to ensure continuous development.
Set benchmarks: Sales assessments can establish benchmarks for what constitutes successful sales performance within an organization. These benchmarks serve as clear goals for sales teams and provide a standard against which progress can be measured.
Create development roadmaps: Assessments help identify high-potential sales professionals to groom for leadership roles based on such things as their behavior and motivation fit, competencies and selling skills.
Enhance coaching and feedback: Sales assessments can provide valuable data for coaching sessions with individual sales professionals. You can use assessment results to provide targeted feedback that addresses specific areas for improvement, helping sales team members reach their full potential.
Improve recruitment and selection: Assessments can also be used in the recruitment and selection process to identify candidates with the most potential for success in sales roles. By evaluating candidates’ skills and aptitudes before they join the organization, you can make more informed hiring decisions and select individuals who are likely to excel in the role.
Whether you use a single test or a comprehensive battery, sales skill and competency assessments can serve as a foundational tool for L&D professionals, enabling you to create more effective training programs, track progress and ultimately drive improved sales performance for your organization.
Michelle Richardson is vice president of sales performance research at The Brooks Group. You can reach her at mrichardson@thebrooksgroup.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-richardson-72b01a4/.
