Posted by Craig Palmer on January 27, 2023.

As our clients are kicking off the new year with intentions of expanding their sales force, we are having conversations with the sales leaders to really assess their total needs. The Profiles Incorporated assessment technology to support recruiting efforts is the PXT Select. When we discuss this cutting-edge recruiting tool and how it measures an individual’s cognitive abilities, key behaviors and key interests, we often get the question “What is the value of knowing a person’s cognitive abilities?”

First, there is often a misunderstanding that IQ, or how smart a person is, equates to their cognitive capabilities. That is NOT true. Cognitive ability relates to how an individual learns, processes or assimilates information. All high IQ people do not process quickly nor do lesser IQ people process less quickly. Our brain is hardwired at birth to process and assimilate information a particular way. So, we generally have what we have, in terms of how we learn and assimilate information as we enjoy our life’s journey. Understanding how people learn and process information is important for all organizational roles and particularly important for sales people. Here are some examples:

• People have a tendency to share information the same way that they learn the information. In other words, if you learn and process quickly you have a tendency to speak and share information quickly. The audience you are sharing information with learns and assimilates that information best when it is shared with them the way their cognitive abilities work for them. By having the PXT Select cognitive results your sales people will know how their cognitive abilities work for them. This will allow sales to optimize their sales efficiency and effectiveness with any audience by speeding up or slowing down the speed of their delivery to customize their sales approach depending on their audience’s perspective.
• Sales people with higher cognitive abilities usually have a strong business acumen. This means these sales people absorb a great deal of information and have a tendency to just be curious. Their cognitive abilities allow them to quickly sort through all this info and determine what is relevant. When selling products in today’s world, sales experts must not only know their products, but also understand their business and their prospects’ business and tie all that together to create a broad-based needs-oriented buying environment for the client.
• Sales people with higher cognitive abilities can build a stronger pipeline with new product introductions more quickly. A successful sales team will be able to learn and assimilate the new product information faster, and better strategize on which accounts they should approach and turn into more efficient and quicker closing opportunities.

Do not underestimate the value of understanding the cognitive abilities of your sales organization. The PXT Select Sales Comprehensive Selection report will not only provide key insights to the verbal and numeric cognitive abilities of your people but it also provides key behavior-based interview questions to help you assess your candidates. Get the FULL picture about your sales candidates and know their cognitive abilities, their behavior tendencies and key work interest.

Call Profiles, Inc today and let us guide you in recruiting top sales talent. Our employee solutions are designed to help executives, managers, and human resources professionals select the right employee for the right job, enhance their performance and build their leadership skills. Connecting with us will support your organization’s sales force expansion with the PXT Select Sales Talent Management System. Contact us today to gain access to the resources your company can use to be successful.