What the Predictive Index Can Tell You About Your Salespeople

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While making the decision to expand your sales team is an exciting one, it’s only the first step. Next comes the taxing effort of recruiting someone. We all know that finding the perfect salesperson can be a hefty investment of both your time and money. So, how can you ensure that you’re making the right choice? By adding the Predictive Index® (PI®) into your recruiting process.

What is the Predictive Index®?

According to TechTarget.com the PI® is a “theory-based, self-report measurement of normal, adult, work-related personality that was developed and validated for use within occupational and organizational populations.” The scientifically-backed assessment measures four core behavioral drives—dominance, extroversion, patience, and formality.

What is it used for?

In addition to recruiting, the PI® is used for a variety of human resource management purposes, including executive on-boarding, leadership development, coaching, team-building, and culture. Ultimately, studying the four behavioral drives helps to provide a pattern for understanding workplace behaviors, and increasing productivity and retention.

How does it work?

The un-timed test is formatted so that individuals are presented with two lists of descriptive adjectives—which both contain 86 items—and are asked to select those which they feel best describe them, and then those which best describe how others expect them to behave. These are then summarized to provide an overview of probable workplace behavior.

Like mentioned above, the PI® measures four core behavioral motivators.

Dominance

  • The degree to which an individual seeks to control their environment
  • High score: independent and self-confident
  • Low score: cooperative and accommodating

Extroversion

  • The degree to which an individual seeks social interaction.
  • High score: outgoing and social
  • Low score: serious and task-oriented

Patience

  • The degree to which an individual seeks consistency in their environment.
  • High score: patient and deliberate
  • Low score: fast-paced and urgent

Formality

  • The degree to which an individual seeks to conform to structure.
  • High score: organized and precise
  • Low score: informal and casual

When it comes to a salesperson, you’ll want to look for a candidate that scores relatively high in dominance and extroversion. This type of team member can help steer cold calls in the right direction while also genuinely wanting to forge a connection with prospects. The ideal candidate will also possess a high amount of patience which will enable them to be tenacious when nurturing a lead. Lastly, a candidate who possess a high score in formality is more likely to stay on script and organize their thoughts in a database more so than someone who scores relatively low.

The takeaway

If you’re looking to ramp up your recruiting and hiring strategy, consider integrating the Predictive Index® into it. It’s proven to increase your productivity and retention tenfold.

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