With the proliferation of the Internet, it’s become quite common now for people to use online testing or profiling tools in order to further test the skills and abilities of potential sales candidates as they go through the hiring process. Many people ask me whether or not these tools are valid, and what they’re utility is.

Here are my thoughts: First of all, there are lots of different tools out there and we’ve experimented with several of them. Some of them work and some of them don’t, so you need to be careful when you’re evaluating online sales tools. What you’ll find is that not all of them are up to snuff. Generally, using an online sales test or profiling tool is a best practice for recruiting sales professionals. Many people go through the interview process solo and fail to diversify the sources of information they are obtaining as they interview sales candidates. The online sales profile or test is a great way to counteract this, by bringing another source of info the picture, as you evaluate a person’s sales capabilities.

What do online sales tasks and profiles typically accomplish? My feeling is that they should accomplish three things: First, they should tell you whether the salesperson can sell. “Can” really refers to whether or not they have the ability or skill necessary in order to perform a sales job. Second, will the person sell? “Will” is really an issue of whether or not they’re motivated. There are a lot of people out there who actually can sell, but won’t. It has nothing to do with their ability or skills, but everything to do with their motivation. A good sales test will tell you not only whether the person can sell, but whether are they motivated to sell for your company, e.g. that they have they possess the key traits, skills and motivations in order to be able to sell. The third and equally important element which good online sales tests measure, is whether or not a candidate’s sales skills, style, and system of selling matches up with your company needs. This relates to the kind of market you’re in, the number of competitors you have, the type of the sales cycle, whether or not the salesperson is going to maintain current accounts, only hunt for new business, or both. All of the different attributes of your particular job should get profiled by the tool, and then match experience and skills of the person against your particular requirements and selection criteria.

When do sales tests work? The people who sell them would advocate that you should use them as a screening tool prior to ever considering a candidate. I advise against that. I typically use the tool if I suspect that a candidate is viable and I’ve interviewed them and developed my own sense of their profile and achievement history. Wait until you have enough evidence to justify investing in the online sales test.

Is a sales test a panacea? Absolutely not. Oftentimes we’ve overruled the conclusion of the sales test and made a different decision than the conclusion that was given to us. What the sales test does do, is give you another set of objective information and another view of the candidate. Typically what I do, is use it to catch any blind spots or expose other issues that we may have missed as a team through the sales interview process.

If you’re thinking about using online sales profiling tools or tests, my suggestion is that it should become an integral part of your sales hiring process. The one that we like the most is the Express Screens from the Objective Management Group at www.objectivemanagement.com. It’s not the only one…there certainly are others, but it’s the one that we’ve used with good results.