Assessments:  So Many Choices

by Cindy Stradling

When I meet with clients and they are interested in conducting an assessment for their organizations I am very careful to find out why they want to conduct and assessment and what information they intend to  obtain.  There are so many choices, I could write blogs for the next six months and still not have explored all of them.  For the month of April I am going to share with you my experience of  four of the assessments that I have personally taken. 

Week Two – Insights Discovery Personal Profile

I took the Effective Selling Chapter assessment to better understand my personal sales skills and abilities.  It also provided me with insights (no pun intended) regarding my communication style.  The Insights assessment is a personal development tool which gives individuals an engaging, reinforcing transformational insight in themselves and others.

It identified my personal style as friendly and supportive.  I am imaginative and creative visionary who is a source of inspiration to others.  It explained that I prefer to focus on positive, harmonious and uplifting aspects of people and human relations.

Some of my strengths included being intuitive, optimistic, easy going, fun, enthusiastic, adaptable.

It also indicated some of my weakness included being easily distracted, de-motivated with routine tasks, can procrastinate on longer term tasks, may not dot all her  “i”s and cross all her “t”s. 

I found both the strengths and weaknesses identified were in fact a good representation of me.  I am consistently improving the way I do things and this assessment helped me to focus on the areas that need the most attention.  Since doing the test I procrastinate less, am more focused and still working on getting excited with routine tasks.

The Effective  Selling Chapter  is used to develop strategies for improved customer relationships, greater self-understanding and more and greater sales.  It assessed me in six stages:

Before the sale begins

Strengths:  positive attitude, adaptable in prospecting, builds connections and long term relationship

Areas for improvement:  avoid procrastination, prioritize more effectively, research competition more

Identifying needs

Strengths:  easy to be trusted, fascinated by other’s motivations, needs, fears and problems, has strong relating skills

Areas for improvement:  probe more, spend less time with people who are not key decision makers, gather more details for complex processes

Proposing the solution

Strengths:  maintains high standards in telling it like it is, is fluent and reassuring in articulating customer’s goals, presents in a fast-paced vocal manner 

 Areas for Improvement:  stick to the point, ensure fully knowledgeable about every aspect of the product/service, have relative business cases available

Dealing with buying resistance

Strengths:   is constantly alert to customer’s concerns, uses intuition to uncover any hidden blockers to the sale, maintains professionalism always

Areas for Improvement:  be less sensitive to tougher objections, provide more detailed information when needed, pause and reflect before moving on

Gaining commitment

Strengths:  makes the process FUN!  Focuses on the long-term benefits, reduces loss to client by ensuring their needs are met

Areas for improvement:  pay more attention to details, refrain from over-assuming, at times take smaller steps

Follow-up and Follow through

Strengths:  maintains regular contact with her clients, sees customers as friends to enjoy time with, remains aware of new development opportunities

Areas for improvement:  confirm details, ensure action is always taken for customer requests,  check levels of satisfaction more frequently.

I took a great deal of value from this assessment and have made many positive changes as a result of the information outlined in the Insights report.  I recommend this assessment for any salesperson who wants to identify their own blind spots and improve their performance.

The  Insights Discovery Personal Profile also has chapters for Communication, Teams and Management

Next week: My results from taking the Kolbe Assessment.

Listening for More Holiday Fun

by Carrol Suzuki

The holiday season brings more opportunities to practice your listening skills.

Whether it’s at the office party or the family dinner, you just might find yourself sitting next to someone you don’t know well or someone you see only once a year.

Why not make every conversation more enjoyable for you and the person beside you?  The two key words are ENGAGE and FUN.

Eye contact – show the person they have your undivided attention

Name – use the person’s name in the conversation to give it a more personal feel

Guest – make the person feel like a special guest by really listening

Ask questions – that encourage the person to tell you more about something that interests you

Good host – focus on the person speaking, not on bringing the conversation back to you

Echo and ask – ask a question based on something the person has just said

Forget advice – avoid saying anything that sounds like advice.  It’s not appropriate with someone you don’t know well (and tricky even with those you do know well)

Unbelievable – feel free to use short responses to show you’re listening, like “unbelievable” or “That’s amazing”.  Make sure your comments are sincere.

No judgment – avoid any response that sounds judgmental (“I would never do that” or “Why would you think that?”).  Give praise or a compliment instead.

When you really engage someone in conversation by using your listening skills, you’re giving the best gift anyone could receive this holiday season.