What Percentage of Sales Candidates Are Hired?

Do you know what percentage of sales candidates eventually get hired?  I posed that very question to Google search and none of the results, that appeared on the first page, answered my question.  Two results pointed to my article from earlier in 2014 that answered the question, “How Many Sales Candidates are Worthy of Being Hired?”

That article addressed several classifications and roles and revealed that, on average, 28% of all sales, sales management and sales leadership candidates assessed were recommended using Objective Management Group’s (OMG) assessment.

It’s not quite as simple to figure out how many were actually hired, but we have our ways.  I’ll spare you our steps and calculations, but when all was said and done, the data showed that 6% of all candidates assessed were hired.

What Does 6% Mean for You?

In very simple terms, 6% means that 20 candidates must be assessed for each one who is hired.  With an overall recommendation rate of 28%, those 20 assessments will yield approximately 6 candidates who are worthy of your time.  But there is much more to consider.

In order for 20 candidates to take the assessment, you’ll probably need 40 to submit their resumes and at least 30 of them to complete an online application.

We instruct our clients to run a 5-step process where the first 2 steps are to follow a link to an online application, and after completing that, follow another link to the online sales assessment.  The most casual of the applicants will drop out at the online application.  Too much work.  If they can submit a resume and get an interview, they’ll take it, but any more effort than that and they’ll remain with the company for which they are currently working.  The least qualified will drop out at the online assessment.  Too role-specific.  When they begin to complete the assessment and have difficulty answering all sales-specific questions, they quit, knowing they aren’t qualified.

What if You Don’t Get 40 Resumes Per Role?

If your flow of resumes is poor, you are probably doing several things wrong.  It’s likely a combination of things including, but not limited to your ad title, the ad itself, the compensation, the geography, too much information, the wrong information, who you are targeting, where you are targeting them, etc.  The assessment is only as good as the pool of candidates you find and attract.  That’s why a lot of recruiters become frustrated with OMG.

Why Do Recruiters Get So Frustrated When Their Clients Use OMG?

Recruiters don’t want to work any harder than they need to and when an OMG Candidate Assessment is involved, they quickly learn that, of the candidates they send to their clients, the majority (72%) are not recommended.  Recruiting is a lot like real estate sales.  Recruiters tend to send candidates who have curb appeal and a relevant resume, as opposed to candidates who have the required skills and competencies, but might be a harder sell because they lack curb appeal or their resume doesn’t scream “hire me!”  The OMG Candidate Assessment differentiates between those candidates quite well, and its accuracy and predictive qualities are legendary.

What is the Most Effective Way of Using the Assessment?

The assessment is most effective when used very early in the process – as a first or second step prior to reviewing a resume or speaking with a candidate by phone.  Years ago, I observed that most employers used assessments incorrectly.  They were using personality and behavioral styles tests which are not in any way, shape or form predictive of sales success, and they were not being utilized until after they had narrowed the field down to the final 5 candidates.  Unfortunately for them, the 5 they identified were usually not the best 5 to consider.

Used early in the process, companies eliminate the candidates who won’t succeed, don’t waste time talking with them, and can invest all of their time speaking with and interviewing the strongest sales candidates.  Best of all, those top candidates are identified using a customized, scientific and objective analysis, not one based on resumes and industry experience.  As a bonus, companies who assess all of their candidates are EEOC Compliant, while companies who cherry-pick to assess are being discriminatory.

Isn’t it Expensive to Use That Many Assessments?

Several years ago, OMG moved to a subscription model that offered unlimited assessments, providing employers with a financial incentive to use the assessments correctly and efficiently at the beginning of the process.  Subscriptions control costs, get the actual per assessment price to a ridiculously low number, and allow companies to assess every candidate.

Companies, who use OMG for sales selection, enjoy incredible consistencies, reduce their turnover, improve their on-boarding time, and significantly increase their success rate.  That could be you…