A stereotype exists that the best salespeople are Type A, dominant, straight-talking individuals. Perhaps this used to be the most effective sales style. Nowadays, vast arrays of products and services call for different types of sales styles and people. Technical products and services require salespeople who can recall lots of detail and be confident in their product knowledge. In contrast, relationship selling requires salespeople, who can quickly form long-lasting bonds with clients who make repeat purchases.
Unfortunately, a great salesperson who fits your exact needs can be challenging to find. In many situations, businesses will spend time and money interviewing, recruiting, and on-boarding the wrong person for the role. They don’t realise until weeks later when the person is hired and not made a single sale. Various industries and companies require salespeople with different skills and abilities. So, how can you uncover a person’s natural sales style and evaluate whether they will be the best fit for the role?
Sales personality tests are one of the most effective ways to evaluate a person’s natural sales style and the sales skills in which they excel. Sales personality tests allow businesses to sort through applicant pools quickly and identify people with the potential to be top performers.
What Are The Most Common Sales Personality Tests?
Thousands of businesses use sales personality assessments to help recruit and develop top sales talent. Sales personality tests evaluate a person’s sales style. A sales style is an archetype that describes the general nature of how a person sells and conducts themselves in a sales environment. A sales personality test provides insight into a person’s natural approach to selling, including their behaviours, motivators and personal skills.
Several sales personality tests exist in the market that assesses a combination of sales skills and sales personality. The most common sales personality tests are Extended DISC® sales assessments.
The Extended DISC® Sales Assessment is a behavioural assessment tool based on Carl G. Jung and William Moulton Marston’s behavioural theory. The questionnaire measures four primary styles, each associated with behaviours and observable characteristics. These styles also apply to sales and help inform businesses of the type of selling to which respondents are most naturally suited. Some products require technical selling, and some roles require cold calling, while others require a personal touch. Every business has particular needs in its approach to sales. Some may even require a variety of sales methods. Understanding the traits needed for a sales role and product or service enhances the chances of hiring the best candidate for your sales job. The DISC assessment identifies applicants’ sales personality style to ensure you hire the right person for the role and don’t waste time on non-performing candidates.
The DISC sales assessment goes beyond informing businesses of respondents’ sales personality types. Knowledge of DISC sales theory supports salespeople to better interact with their prospects and clients. Top salespeople have a strong sense of self-awareness and can communicate their sales pitch with little stress or pressure to various people. Their ability to effectively communicate and present is essential when selling and creating relationships. They understand how they need to influence and motivate prospects to win a sale successfully. Salespeople aware of the DISC personality types can effortlessly adjust their sales pitch to suit their prospect by identifying C personality types and providing them with more detail or identifying D personality types and making them feel in charge. Knowing your DISC personality type and your prospects’ personality types will help guide your interactions as a salesperson and increase sales.
How To Pass Sales Personality Tests
Employers use sales personality tests during their recruitment process to filter their list of candidates. Employers request applicants to complete a DISC personality test for sales jobs to evaluate whether they are a good fit for the role. The tests determine if there are some critical sales skills and behaviours that the candidates lack or need to improve. Ultimately, companies are trying to predict whether your behavioural or personality style is a good fit for the position and product or services the company sells.
So, how do you pass a personality test for a sales job? One of the biggest misconceptions about sales personality profiles is that you can pass or fail. A DISC sales personality test is not like a traditional achievement test. The sales personality test questionnaire does not have correct or incorrect answers. One of the most significant benefits of a sales personality profile is that it is non-bias. A personality profile does not differentiate between the DISC personality types as better or worse. The DISC types are just different. The best sales personality tests aim to provide employers with objective data to make more educated hiring decisions and better understand who they are recruiting.
If your future employer requests you to undergo a personality test for a sales job, your best approach is to relax and honestly answer the questions. Try not to pick answers you think the employer may be looking for as an attempt to influence your responses won’t get you anywhere.
How to pass a sales personality test for job applications:
- Complete the questionnaire with your current role in mind.
- Complete the questionnaire without interruptions. Do not do anything else or talk with anyone during the process.
- Answer the question as you see yourself – not as you wish others to see you.
- Select the answer that first feels right. There are no “right/wrong/good/bad” answers.
- Always answer both components (‘What describes you the best?’ and ‘What describes you the least?’) before moving to the next question.
- Remember, the questions ask what is most and least like you, not exactly like’ and ‘exactly not like’.
- Complete the questionnaire quickly, but not hastily. Don’t think about the questions too much.
- Do not attempt to influence the results. You will only confuse yourself and invalidate the results.
Related Questions
What are the most popular sales personality tests?
There are numerous sales personality tests available in the market. Some of the most popular sales personality tests include the Objective Management Group Sales Assessments, Caliper Profile Assessment, Myers Briggs, DISC Assessments, and FinxS Sales Competence Assessments.
Are there cheap sales personality tests? OR Are cheap sales personality tests accurate?
Sales personality tests analyse everything from your sales strengths and development areas to inherent biases, mindsets, and unconscious motivations. Not all sales tests are created equally, and some are cheaper than others with minimal accuracy. Some of them have been tested rigorously in academic research environments, while others are fun quizzes with little to no validity or accuracy. Whatever sales personality test you use, it is essential to keep in mind how it will help you understand yourself or those you are evaluating.
