By Michael Mercer, Ph.D.
Sales Reps are your company’s most important employees. As Henry Ford wisely remarked, “Until someone sells something, no one else has a job.”
So, what motivates highly productive Sales Reps? Research using pre-employment tests of magnificently productive sales reps reveals the answer.
OVERVIEW of RESEARCH on SALES REPS’ MOTIVATIONS
Employees might do five categories of work on-the-job: (a) make money, (b) help people, (c) do creative work, (4) exert power or control, and (5) increase their knowledge and learn.
The personality pre-employment test used in this sales rep research measured the rank-order given by highly productive sales reps to doing these five work activities.
This sales rep testing research discovered that most companies’ most productive sales reps overwhelming get high test scores for (1) Money Motivation and (2) Power Motivation.
ON-THE-JOB MONEY MOTIVATION + POWER MOTIVATION
Money Motivation, the highest motivation test score translates into productive sales reps feeling super-enthused to run after making many sales and, thus, big sales commissions, bonuses, and incentive pay.
Power Motivation for sales reps means following-up. For example, a customer may say to the sales rep: “I’ll think about buying such-&-such from you, and call you in one week.” A sales rep whose personality test score is high on Power Motivation really will follow-up, e.g., make follow-up appointment with customer or phone customer a week later.
In contrast, a rep whose sales pre-employment test score is low on Power Motivation will (a) hallucinate the customer will call in a week and (b) not bother to make appointment nor phone customer a week later.
MYTH ABOUT ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION = WIDESPREAD HALLUCINATION
Managers often ask me about whether a pre-employment test can measure a job applicant’s “Achievement Motivation.” But, as a Ph.D. industrial psychologist, I can tell you that an applicant’s achievement motivation is based on how much or how little the person wants to do specific activities.
For instance, one job candidate may have high achievement motivation to excel at playing computer games, but low achievement motivation to achieve sales results. In contrast, a second job applicant may feel be both (a) achievement motivated and (b) get high sales test score on Money Motivation to achieve big sales results to earn commissions, bonuses, and incentive pay. But that second applicant may have no achievement motivation to excel at computer games.
STEPS TO HIRE PRODUCTIVE SALES REPS USING PRE-EMPLOYMENT PERSONALITY TESTS
In effect, you want to “clone” your company’s most productive sales reps. So, hiring sales reps requires you assess job applicants to see which ones possess the same job-related qualities as your company’s most productive sales reps.
Start by having your most productive sales reps take the personality or sales pre-employment test that includes measures of work motivations, interpersonal styles, and personality traits. Your superstars’ pre-hire test scores become the benchmark test scores for sales rep job in your company.
Then, have job candidates take the same personality or sales pre-employment test. If a candidate gets same test scores as your most productive sales reps, then you can seriously consider that applicant. For example, if your best sales reps get high test scores on Money Motivation and Power Motivation, make sure you hire job applicants who also get high test scores on Money Motivation and Power Motivation.
But, if sales pre-employment test scores reveal an applicant got low scores on Money Motivation and/or Power Motivation, then I recommend you take a match and burn that applicant’s resume!
Then, find candidates whose scores on motivations, and other sales and personality measures, include high pre-employment test scores on the two strongest motivations of productive sales reps: Money Motivation and Power Motivation.
COPYRIGHT 2014 MICHAEL MERCER, PH.D.
Michael Mercer, Ph.D., helps managers assess job applicants so companies (A) hire productive employees and (B) avoid expensive hiring mistakes. He created 3 pre-employment tests: the 3 FORECASTER(TM) TESTS. These tests are used by many companies to assess job applicants. Dr. Mercer authored the book HIRE THE BEST & AVOID THE REST(TM). He conducts seminars and also custom-tailors pre-employment tests for companies. You can call Dr. Mercer at 847-382-0690 or see info on his tests and seminars at www.Pre-EmploymentTests.com.
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