Groundbreaking Hiring Research on Top Sales Performers

Reg Gupton here,

I recently had a conversation with a client about reducing the turnover in his sales organization which he thought had to be in the 45% per year range.

As you can see from the article below, success leaves clues. Bill Bonnstetter, CEO of Target Training International, Ltd. completed this research where he found high turnover does not have to be the norm.

 "Research studies of top sales people in the United States proved that top sales performance can be predicted. The most successful organizations in the world already know that hiring the right people has the potential of becoming the most powerful "secret weapon" in their arsenal of competitive strategies. What they don't know is that hiring the right sales people can be as simple as following a recipe based on recent findings from a study conducted by Bill Bonnstetter of Target Training International, Ltd. in Scottsdale, Arizona.

As a result of twenty years of research, development and distribution of assessment tools to measure performance, we have been telling organizations that it is what's on the inside, not the outside, that counts, especially in sales performance. We are fighting the myth that hiring people who look and sound good leads to good performance. As global competition forces organizations to greater heights in key performance arenas such as customer service, quality and customization, aggressive organizations must be ever vigilant in the identification, acquisition, development and integration of innovative technology. This type of innovative technology is now available to select top sales performers.

Much of the research conducted in the past on top salespeople has been focused on behavior. Behavioral research has been popular because, like looking good and sounding good, behavior can be observed. Little, if any significant study has been focused on what goes on inside a top salesperson. Groundbreaking research now confirms that attitudes far outweigh looking good, sounding good or behavior in distinguishing top salespeople.

Two of our most significant assumptions were confirmed by the study. (1) Top performing salespeople are similar and, (2) Attitudes or values are more important than behavior in sales performance.

In the study, only top performing salespeople responded. Top performing salespeople responded to two assessments. One was based on the internationally validated DISC behavioral model and the other was based on the Personal Engagement, Motivation Version (PMEV), model.

Note that in the study of 178 United States firms, top sales performers tended to be spread across three behavioral dimensions. In view of these results, it is reasonable to conclude that salespeople can sell in most, if not all, behavioral dimensions.

However, when it comes to what is on the inside of top performing salespeople, the study confirm it is hands‑down, a Utilitarian Attitude.

There is help.  Contact me at gupton@growthseminars.com for your complimentary assessments  and to discuss how to save you and your company hassle and reduce your risk of more bad hires.