- September 14, 2009
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
It’s not often that we get to compare the assessment results of an individual that took our assessment and another. Why? Because most companies don’t use multiple assessments that report on similar findings. Notice that I said “report on” and not “look at”. While other assessments report on findings similar to ours, they don’t look at or measure the same information to draw their conclusions. That’s why the reports I received today make for such an enjoyable comparison.
The candidate was assessed by Objective Management Group AND Devine, a company that produces behavioral styles assessments that are marketed and sold as sales assessments. Because their questions are not asked in a sales context, they get findings that, while likely accurate in social situations, are usually out of context, and less accurate for sales. That is why, as is often the case, the results between ours and behavioral styles assessments are contradictory.
Below, you’ll see how this candidate scored on ten of the key findings for each assessment:
| Variation |
OMG Finding |
Devine Finding |
| Conflicting Finding | Strong Desire | Questionable – Ambition & Drive |
| Conflicting Finding | Strong Responsibility | Questionable – Accepts Responsibility |
| Conflicting Finding | Strong Outlook | Questionable Outlook |
| Conflicting Finding | Is Trainable | Questionable – Challenge/Growth/Change |
| Similar Finding | Gets Emotionally Involved | Questionable Emotionally Objective |
| Conflicting Finding | 74% Hunter Skills | Poor Sales Prospecting |
| Conflicting Finding | Decision Maker | Poor – Resists Think it Overs |
| Similar Finding | Some Need for Approval | Poor – Lacks Need for Approval |
| Similar Finding | 75% Ambassador Skills | Excellent Relationship Effectiveness |
| Conflicting Finding | Ineffective Selling System | Excellent Process Orientation |
Seven out of ten findings shown here are in conflict. Knowing that our accuracy is legendary (95% predictive validity), which assessment would you rather base your decision on?
There are two more findings that you should know about:
OMG also measures commitment – the candidate’s commitment was weak and the finding was Lacks Commitment. Behavioral styles assessments can’t measure commitment to sales success.
OMG’s recommendation was “not hirable”. Devine’s recommendation was “Good Overall Job Fit”. Now which assessment would you rather base your decision on?
If you want to read more about the difference between assessments that were built for sales versus those that were adapted – and not too effectively – for sales, here are three on the subject:
This was the first in the series.
Then came this follow up with more detail.
Then came this article after certain PHD’s had their world rocked.
