Lead vs Lag Indicators
Classically, the unstructured sales development interview, as used today by over 90% of companies, concentrates attention on the Lag indicators - how well an individual has performed against target over the last year, the scope of their previous role, promotion history and so on. The problem with this data is that it is historic, and may have no relevance whatsoever to the world of their new employer, new customer set or even to the changing demands of their existing customers. The 'way business is done here' could be different; the new market the company is targeting could be different, even if an individual moves to another company in the same sector; the target customers the individual is given may be different - all of these factors can turn a previously high performing sales person into a low performer, or vice versa. There is no certainty with this approach.
Some organizations are making talent decisions based on Now indicators, i.e. What are the behavior patterns of their top performing individuals; and how do their current skills compare to the requirements of the role today. Organizations that do this will certainly get better performance, at least while the market conditions remain the same. The problem here is that this exercise can be very costly and only a few companies can afford this exercise. Also, often due to the cost, this becomes the role benchmark for some considerable time, even though the rate of change in their customer's markets often means that they are mapping current talent against an ever-evolving and rapidly changing panorama. 'Now' skills can easily become past skills very quickly. Lead measures look at how closely an individual's skills align with those of world-class top performers in the role today .These are the core dimensions that truly determine an individual's likely performance in a role, not just today, but also for the future.
The sales skill test report generates a focused view of the Lead indicators specifically relating to one specific role, and compares these with an individual’s Now competencies. This highlights how far adrift the individual's specific and individual skills are in comparison with the current best practice for the role. This offers the best of both worlds - a way of predicting future performance potential with a high level of accuracy, plus a development map for optimizing performance in a role today.
