How to Select Sales People More Effectively

If you’re looking for good salespeople, and particularly if you’re trying to qualify candidates by phone, there’s an emotional intelligence protocol you can use to better qualify them and save yourself time and money.

There’s been a lot of research on what makes people successful at sales. Sales success is related to EQ competencies more clearly than many professions, and almost directly related to optimism, which makes this a slam-dunk for you.

For example, sales agents at L’Oreal selected on the basis of certain emotional competencies significantly outsold salespeople selected by the company’s former selection procedure.

On an annual basis, salespeople selected on the basis of EQ sold $91,370 more than other salespeople did, for a net revenue increase of $2,558,360. Salespeople selected on the basis of emotional competence also had 63% less turnover during the first year than those selected in the typical way (Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spencer, McClelland, & Kelner, 1997).

There’s also a very impressive study done by Met Life, which was having trouble in the selection process and losing a lot of money in training. New salesmen who scored high on a test of one particular EQ competency sold 37% more life insurance in their first two years than those low in this competency (Seligman, 1990).

EQ relates to retention, as well. Sales reps at a computer company hired on their EQ were 90% more likely to finish their training, and sales people at a national furniture retailer hired based on emotional intelligence had half the dropout rate during their first year. (Hay/McBer Research and Innovation Group, 1997). [Source: www.eiconsortium.org]

Requiring candidates to take an online EQ assessment and having an EQ coach interpret results for you would give you valuable information. Credentials, work history and references are only part of the story, and, as you probably know, the lesser part.

For your professional development, and the success of your company, I would suggest working with a certified Emotional Intelligence coach on the selection procedure. Include the coach on your teleconference calls, then process applicants afterwards, going over the EQ assessment, and it will jumpstart your proficiency in this area. Coaches are particularly used to phone work.