How to Coach Salespeople: Personality Extremes & APQ Aptitude Assessment
One of the more frustrating challenges for sales managers is dealing with the salesperson who, while productive, could be so much more productive if he could handle that ONE little flaw in his personality which hurts sales.
This flaw could manifest in different ways. Perhaps he has difficulty showing empathy, driving away business. Or perhaps he pays so little attention to detail that mistakes on the paperwork annoy prospects. Whatever it is, addressing it would surely result in a better close rate – but how do you do that? And how do you properly identify the root cause of a personality problem that isn’t addressed in sales training workshops?
The answer is the APQ sales aptitude assessment. The APQ helps test takers discover personality extremes and provides coaching tips to help mitigate them.
Here are some typical sales challenges with likely blind spots identified and a coaching tip to correct:
Not enough follow up with top prospects
Top prospects, which can keep a business in the black for years with just one deal, can take longer to close due to competing bids and bigger bureaucracies for purchasing approval. These accounts need some nurturing, and for salespeople with a HIGH INTENSITY DRIVE, this can be annoying. They are achievement-minded, and want results NOW. However, as it takes at least 12 contacts to close a typical B2B deal, they need to be coached to hang in there.
COACHING TIP: Slow down and avoid trying to rush deals through. Patiently keep following up. The APQ sales aptitude assessment will provide more tips for handling this personality extreme as well.
Not closing deals
Conversely, sellers with a LOW INTENSITY DRIVE are okay with keeping in touch with prospects over the long haul. The problem is that they may enjoy these interactions so much they become the end game – rather than closing the sale. Salespeople with this personality extreme have a low sense of urgency, so they fail to move buyers along in the sales process.
COACHING TIP: Once the APQ sales aptitude assessment has identified this extreme, the simple solution is to set deadlines for each step in the sales process and have a manager monitor them.
Has trouble figuring out solutions for prospects’ issues
This is usually caused by a LOW NEED TO ANALYZE. The salesperson likes to keep everything high-level without getting into the nitty gritty of the buyer’s problems. This makes it tough to identify and sell the proper solution(s). She can also make mistakes with paperwork or CRM software, causing customer service issues.
COACHING TIPS: The APQ sales aptitude assessment goes more in depth with coaching points, and here are two good ones: 1) establish habits to double check work 2) focus on listening and taking detailed notes at prospect meetings. Just these two will go a long way towards fixing this personality extreme.
The APQ sales aptitude assessment is a godsend for managers faced with training salespeople with bad habits, as it identifies where they come from in the first place and provides tips to remedy through coaching or business sales training. I’d love to get your firm started with a free demo, so you can see how quick and easy it is to set up the APQ. Just drop us a note or call us any time.
