PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SALES APTITUDE CRITERIA FOR SELECTING

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SALES APTITUDE: CRITERIA FOR SELECTING SALESPEOPLE www. Assignment. Point. com

THE WAR FOR TALENT Using the Employee Turnover Cost Calculator, it is possible to determine, position by position, the cost of turnover in an organization. To calculate the cost of turnover, the follow information is needed: • • • Number of employee who hold the position. Annual percentage of turnover within the position. Annual compensation within the position. Average tax and benefit cost (as a percentage of salary). Average number of candidates interviewed per opening. Average number of candidates assessed per opening. Based upon this information, three categories of cost are combined to estimate a total cost of turnover. • Separation costs, such as those associated with exit interviews, separation pay, increases in unemployment taxes, and administrative expenses. • Replacement costs- consists of the funds a company commits for attracting new applicants to fill the vacancies, then interviewing, assessing, and checking backgrounds of the candidates. While the costs associated with these two categories can be significant, even combined they are usually far less than those associated with the final category. • Training costs. Typically, while new employees are being trained, they are not making a direct contribution to the company's business. www. Assignment. Point. com

THE DETERMINATIONS OF SUCCESSFUL SALES PERFORMANCE Variables Affecting Performance Management Action Aptitude Native abilities and enduring personal traits relevant to the performance of job activities (e. g. , mental abilities, personality traits) Recruitment and selection policies Personal characteristics Physical traits, family background, education, work and sales experience, lifestyle, and so forth Recruitment and selection policies Skill levels Learned proficiencies at performing job activities Training and supervision Role perceptions Perceptions of job demands and the expectations of role partners Training and supervision; account management policies Motivation Desire to expand effort on specific job activities Compensation and reward systems Organizational and environmental factors Sales potential of salesperson's territory, salesperson's autonomy, company's competitive strength, and so forth Sales force organization; territory design; marketing programs Variables that cause differences in performance across individual salespeople and the actions management can take to influence them www. Assignment. Point. com Continued…. .

THE DETERMINATIONS OF SUCCESSFUL SALES PERFORMANCE Due to the nature of the analysis, it is important to remember that specific conclusions should be drawn carefully. With this in mind, however, the following can be implied from the analysis of the determinants of sales performance: • While all six categories of personal and organizational variables account for some of the variance in performance across salespeople, no single category accounts for more than about 8. 5 percent of the variance in performance. This means that no single category does a very good job of explaining performance and suggests the performance of a given salesperson is a function of a variety of influences, including both personal traits and organizational factors. • The strengths of the relationships between some categories and sales performance vary according to the type of customer and the kind of product or service being sold. This suggests that different personal traits, aptitudes, and skills are required for success in different kinds of sales jobs. • On average, factors that sales managers can control or influence- such as role perceptions, skills, and motivation- account for the largest proportion of the variance in performance across salespeople. But enduring personal characteristics- such as aptitude, personal background, and personality traits- are also related to individual differences in performance. These conclusions suggest that successful salespeople are both born and made. Selecting recruits with personal traits and abilities appropriate for specific selling tasks is an important determinant of their ultimate sales performance but, how those salespeople are managed is even more crucial to their success. www. Assignment. Point. com

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE A number of variables are related to salespeople's psychological traits and abilities. The exhibit defines seven subcategories of personality traits, five groups of other enduring aptitude factors or mental abilities, and five groups of skills. • • • Demographic and physical variables Gender and Race Social Changes Have Improved Employment Opportunities Cultural Diversity and Changing Attitudes Physical Characteristics and Customer Similarity Background and Experience Current Status and Lifestyle Variables Aptitude Variables Personality Variables Skill Variables Note that the aptitude, personality, and skills variables must be measured explicitly during the selection process through the use of formal, scored tests or assessment techniques. www. Assignment. Point. com Continued…. .

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE Summary of the effect of variables on salesperson performance Variable Percentage of Variance in Performance Explained Demographic and physical characteristics-physical traits Age* Less than 5% Gender* Less than 5% Physical appearance Less than 5% Height, weight, neatness, and general appearance Background and experience- developmental education and work experience Personal history and family background* Almost 21% Father/mother occupation, number of siblings, family responsibilities Level of educational attainment Less than 5% Years of school, degrees earned, grade average Educational content Less than 5% College major, number of business courses Sales experience Less than 5% Years of sales experience, number of types of sales jobs, promotions Non-sales work experience Less than 5% Work history, including military service, length of time in past jobs www. Assignment. Point. com Continued…. .

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE Summary of the effect of variables on salesperson performance Variable Percentage of Variance in Performance Explained Current status and lifestyle-present marital, family, and financial status Marital/family status * Almost 12% Current marital status, number and ages of dependents Financial status Approximately 6% Past and current income levels, family income, home ownership Activities/lifestyle* Less than 5% Church attendance, club memberships, hobbies, interests Aptitude- enduring personal characteristics that determine an individual's overall ability to perform a sales job Intelligence Less than 5% Measure of mental abilities, score on intelligence tests Cognitive ability Almost 7% Mental flexibility, ideational fluency, spatial visualization, inductive and logical reasoning, associative and visual memory Verbal intelligence Less than 5% Comprehension and manipulation of words, verbal skills Math ability Less than 5% Comprehension of quantitative relationships Sales aptitude Less than 5% Enduring personal characteristics and abilities thought to be related to the performance of specific www. Assignment. Point. com sales tasks Continued…. .

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE Summary of the effect of variables on salesperson performance Variable Percentage of Variance in Performance Explained Personality- enduring personal traits that reflect an individual's consistent reactions to situations encountered in the environment Responsibility Less than 5% Dependability, emotionally stable, punctual, adjusts well to frustration, keeps promises, and follows plans Dominance Takes command, exerts leadership, pushes own ideas, wants power versus being submissive Sociability Less than 5% Enjoys social activities and interaction, likes to be around other people, and is talkative and gregarious Self-esteem Less than 5% Physically, personally confident and can stand criticism, believes others have a positive attitude toward him or her Creativity/flexibility Less than 5% Innovative, flexible, ready to entertain new ideas and ways of doing things, individualistic Needs for achievement/intrinsic reward Less than 5% Motivated primarily by desires for money or advancement, has strong need for security, desires increased power and authority www. Assignment. Point. com Continued…. .

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL SALESPEOPLE Summary of the effect of variables on salesperson performance Variable Percentage of Variance in Performance Explained Skills-learned proficiencies and attitudes necessary for effective performance of specific job tasks (these can change with training and experience) Vocational skills Almost 9. 5% Job and company specific skills, technical knowledge, knowledge of the company and its policies Sales presentation Almost 5% Skills related to identifying and evaluating customer needs, presentation style, ability to handle objections, close the sale Interpersonal Less than 5% Skills related understanding, persuading, and getting along with other people General management A little over 9% Skills related to organizing, directing, and leading other people Vocational esteem Less than 5% Degree of preference for the tasks and activities associated with the sales job *These areas are considered inappropriate or illegal in selecting a job candidate www. Assignment. Point. com

JOB-SPECIFIC DETERMINANTS OF GOOD SALES PERFORMANCE Selling Different Types of Products and Services Overall the following variables have been shown to be different across different kinds of selling environment: • Personal history and family background • Marital and family status • Sales aptitude • Dominance • Self-esteem • Sales presentation skills • Interpersonal skills Continued…. . www. Assignment. Point. com

JOB-SPECIFIC DETERMINANTS OF GOOD SALES PERFORMANCE Characteristics related to sales performance in different types of sales jobs Types of Sales Job Relatively Important Characteristics Relatively Less Important Characteristics Trade selling Age, maturity, empathy, knowledge of customer and business methods Aggressiveness, technical ability, product knowledge, persuasiveness Missionary selling Youth, high energy and stamina, verbal skill, persuasiveness Empathy, knowledge of customers, maturity, previous sales experience Technical selling Education, product and customer knowledge-usually gained through training, intelligence Empathy, persuasiveness, aggressiveness, age New-business selling Experience, age and maturity, aggressiveness, persuasiveness, persistence Customer knowledge, product knowledge, education, empathy www. Assignment. Point. com

Several sets of personal factors are thought to affect a salesperson's ability to perform, including the following: 1. Demographic and physical characteristics-such as age, sex, and physical appearance. background and experience factors-such as a person's personal history and family background, educational attainment, and sales experience. 1. Current status and lifestyle variables- including a person's marital and financial status and activities outside of the job. 2. Aptitude variables- enduring mental characteristics such as intelligence, cognitive abilities, and sales aptitude. 3. Personality traits- including such characteristics as sociability, dominance, and self-esteem. 4. Skill levels- learned proficiencies, such as vocational skills (e. g. , product knowledge), interpersonal skills, sales presentation skills, and general management skills. www. Assignment. Point. com