FAQs about the
Sales Temperament Assessment™
GENERAL INFORMATION: 
- What is the Sales Temperament Assessment (STA)?
- Why is temperament important?
- How can I use the STA to help hire the right person?
- How much weight or credence should I give to the STA as a hiring tool?
- How accurate is the STA?
- Can someone fake the test?
- What’s the difference between temperament and personality?
- How long does it take to complete the STA?
- Why would I want an employee to take the STA?
- Is a high score or ranking any guarantee of success in sales?
- Can I use the assessment for positions other than sales?
1. What is the Sales Temperament Assessment (STA)?
The Sales Temperament Assessment (STA) is an online instrument that assesses a person’s temperament. It is often used to determine whether a person is temperamentally suited for a particular selling situation.
Different selling situations require different temperaments. The same temperament that allows a person to naturally do cold calls, open new accounts, or pioneer new sales areas isn’t appropriate for a sales situation that requires retail selling, team selling, or a high degree of client service.
2. Why is temperament important?
If a person has the right temperament for a particular selling situation, it will be natural for the individual to do what is required to succeed. If the right temperament is combined with proper sales and product knowledge training, he or she can be a top producer.
However, if a person’s temperament is not well suited for a particular sales situation, he or she will find the job unenjoyable and a chore. The individual may succeed in the position, but it will take a lot of effort. It would be better for the person to find a sales position more suited to his or her temperament.
3. How can I use the STA to help hire the right person?
The STA can help you make a better fit between the candidate and the job and help avoid putting a square or oval peg into a round hole. We consider a square peg as someone who simply shouldn’t be in sales while an oval peg is someone who will probably do well in sales but not necessarily the specific type of selling you want done.
Some people simply shouldn’t be in sales. Their temperament is such that it’s unnatural for them to do what must be done to succeed in sales. Even with proper training, these people will succeed only by forcing themselves to do the job.
4. How much weight or credence should I give to the STA as a hiring tool?
The STA is an important hiring tool but it’s just one of the tools you should use when assessing a candidate. We feel the STA should account for no more than 20-25 percent of your final decision. Your other tools include a thorough interview process and in-depth reference checking. Never hire or not hire solely on the results of an assessment instrument.
5. How accurate is the STA?
It’s about as accurate as tomorrow’s weather forecast. Most of the time it’s dead on, sometimes it’s close, and occasionally it misses the mark.
The accuracy depends to a certain extent on how honest the person is in completing the assessment. It is difficult, if not impossible, for an individual to fake it, because he or she is simply being asked to rank a series of four words according to how close they describe the person. If a person lies, the STA will produce a number of red flags or result in an invalid assessment being generated.
In any case, the STA is only one of the factors you should be taking into consideration when hiring a salesperson.
6. Can someone fake the test?
First of all, the STA is not a test and there are no right or wrong answers. As noted in the answer to the previous question, the person completing the assessment is ranking a series of four words. Each of these words is presented in a positive sense. Some people will find some words more positive than others and that’s how they will rank them. This makes the STA very difficult, if not impossible, to fake.
7. What’s the difference between temperament and personality?
Temperament is similar to personality in that both are developed at a very early age and generally don’t change very much over the years. Think of personality as being the distinctive qualities or characteristics of a person, while temperament is a measure of how that person naturally responds and reacts to the world around him or her.
8. How long does it take to complete the STA?
Most people complete the assessment in 10-15 minutes.
9. Why would I want an employee to take the STA?
Sometimes the employee is applying for a sales position within the company or is considering moving from inside sales to outside sales. Or perhaps the company wants its current sales team to complete the assessment in order to create a profile of the type of temperament they should be looking for when hiring new staff.
10. Is a high score or ranking any guarantee of success in sales?
We wish it were a guarantee but there isn’t any. What the STA does is increase the odds of hiring a potential winner while avoiding hiring a potential loser.
11. Can I use the assessment for positions other than sales?
Yes, but our online service is strictly dedicated to sales positions. We still offer a paper-based version for sales management positions. Contact us for more information.
ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
- What do you mean by “Sales Suitability.”
- What is the difference between the “Temperament to Succeed in Sales” and the “Suitability for the Position.”
- What is the value of the Suitability Table?
- What are “Red Flags.”
- Why do you ask for a person's gender?
- Why is it that two people with the same selling style are ranked differently?
- How can two people who are fairly different in many ways have essentially the same results?
- What would be the cause for getting an invalid assessment?
- Can I discuss the results with a real person?
12. What do you mean by “Sales Suitability.”
The STA is one of very few assessments that will give you a rating as to the suitability of a candidate. This section of the assessment provides a rating on two factors: (a) the person’s suitability for sales in general and (b) the person’s suitability for a particular sales position. We rate the person on a scale of one to ten in both categories. We then combine those rankings to give you an overall suitability rating.
13. What is the difference between the “Temperament to Succeed in Sales” and the “Suitability for the Position.”
Some people will succeed in sales and some won’t. Of those who are likely to succeed, not all of them can sell everything.
The temperament to succeed in sales is a rating as to how successful, on a scale of one to ten, a person is likely to be in sales — any type of sales. The suitability for the position is a rating as to how successful the person is likely to be in the types of selling you want done (a job match).
A person with a high ranking (above 5) on both scales is likely to be successful to some degree.
A person with a high ranking for the temperament to succeed but a low ranking (less than 5) for success in a particular position may be successful.
A person with a low ranking for success in sales but a high ranking for success in a particular position has a low chance of success.
And finally, the person who ranks low in both categories is unlikely to be successful.
As a general rule, we recommend you look for people who rank above five in both categories.
14. What is the value of the Suitability Table?
The Suitability Table helps determine if you’re trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
The table indicates the types of selling that people with a particular selling style are best suited for. It also tells you what types of selling they are somewhat suited for and which types of selling they are not well suited for.
If you hire someone who is not well suited for the type of selling you want done, don’t be too surprised if he or she doesn’t perform well.
15. What are “Red Flags.”
The Red Flags section of the assessment brings to your attention any potential problem areas that may have an impact on the person’s ability to do the job. These red flags should be investigated either with the individual or by doing a thorough reference check.
16. Why do you ask for a person’s gender?
We ask this so the report will contain the proper pronouns such as he/she, his/her, etc.
17. Why is it that two people with the same selling style are ranked differently?
Basically there are varying degrees of temperament to succeed and they usually have to do with a person’s competitiveness. Two people may share the same selling style but one person ranked higher in the competitiveness category and therefore ranked higher overall.
18. How can two people who are fairly different in many ways have essentially the same results?
It would not be unusual for two individuals who are fairly different in many ways to have similar STA results. This is more a manifestation of their personality, which is different from temperament. As we’ve mentioned, temperament is similar to personality in that both are developed at a very early age and generally don’t change very much over the years. Think of personality as being the distinctive qualities or characteristics of a person, while temperament is an indication of how that person naturally responds and reacts to situations.
19. What would be the cause for getting an invalid assessment?
Invalid assessments are usually a result of the candidate having problems in his or her personal life. These problems have affected the results of the STA and made it impossible to get a true assessment of the person. We’ll be able to tell you if these problems are minor or major and whether they are affecting the person’s ability to do the job, but we can go no further.
You should consider an invalid assessment as being a red flag and investigate the situation with the candidate.
20. Can I discuss the results with a real person?
Certainly. If you have questions about a particular assessment, we would be happy to answer them at no charge. We’ll even pay for the call if you’re in North America. Contact us.
OTHER:
- How do I get started?
- What are Access Codes?
- How do I purchase Access Codes?
- How much does it cost?
- How does it work?
21. How do I get started?
You get started by creating an account, providing us with company and contact information along with information on your selling environment. Once that’s done, you can purchase Access Codes which are required to take an assessment.
22. What are Access Codes?
Access codes are basically one-time passwords that give your candidates access to the STA. You will need one Access Code for each candidate who takes the assessment.
23. How do I purchase Access Codes?
You can purchase access codes online with a credit card from within your account. Or, if you prefer, you can purchase access codes by contacting us.
24. How much does it cost?
It costs a lot less than making a bad hiring decision! Your investment is only USD$75 per assessment. Volume pricing is available.
25. How does it work?
Within minutes you can be using the STA to assess your candidates. Here’s the process in a nutshell:
- Create your online account.
- Log in to your account and complete the Selling Environment form.
- Your account is now activated and you can purchase Access Codes.
- You assign an assessment to your candidate.
- Your candidate either completes the assessment immediately at your location, or you email him the information that will allow him to complete the assessment from any computer.
- The results are emailed to you within minutes of completion. The assessment is also stored in your account for one year.
