Pre-Employment Tests For Sales Managers
Top Skills and Abilities:
- Oral Expression
- Oral Comprehension
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
- Active Listening
- Selling or Influencing Others
Top 3 Tasks:
- Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
- Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
- Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
Overview
Sales managers are crucial to the success of their companies. They are responsible for developing and executing a sales plan, as well as tracking the performance of a company's sales force. Sales managers are typically solid communicators and excellent negotiators. Successful sales managers have a proven track record of closing sales. Personality traits in this field that are often critical include a strong positive outlook, an aptitude for coaching, and competitive drive. A pre-employment test for these positions should therefore illuminate an individual's ability to manage, solve problems and think critically. These applicants will need to not only handle sales for the company, but also have the ability to develop sales talent within the company's ranks. The multi-faceted nature of the job requires that hiring managers have a qualified pool of candidates to investigate and interview.
Requirements
Sales managers' increased use of technology is another factor that must be taken into consideration. A reliance on tablet computers, smart-phones, and video conferencing software requires that sales managers need to not only be comfortable using these technologies, but they must be able to teach their teams how to use technology effectively. The Harvard Business Review also emphasizes the importance of examining successful salespeople, emulating some of their methods, and creating a formula for future success. (Read our whitepaper to learn more about how to hire top salespeople.)
Assessments for Sales Managers
Having a model for ideal sales managers can greatly assist hiring managers in making employment decisions. The insight gained from Criteria Corp's pre-employment tests expedites this process by giving human resource departments valuable job-related information on prospective employees. Criteria Corp customers screening sales manager candidates usually choose an aptitude test such as the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT), which measures critical thinking and problem-solving ability. Additionally, many companies choose to administer a personality test to potential sales leaders, to gain insights on a candidate’s behavioral traits, work habits, and likely job fit. Many Criteria Corp customer use the Employee Personality Profile (EPP), a personality test that provides specific benchmarks for several roles, including both sales and management positions.
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor