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Sales Solutions

Industries are facing more and more competitive markets, more demanding customers, and an increasingly complex and changing environment.  This makes employing an effective sales team essential to growing business and continued success.  By using AAI’s sales solutions, organizations can identify problem areas within sales and develop a selection system that identifies top talent.

Select Great Sales People

Using the right assessments and asking the right questions ensure organizations are hiring the most effective sales people.  AAI has developed a custom personality assessment to specifically identify how individuals score across the three Selling Styles and predict how effective they will be overall.  AAI also produces tailored interview guides around the competencies important to success in your organization.

  • Selling Styles Inventory.  Heavily researched and utilized by organizations around the world, the Selling Styles Inventory (SSI) predicts effective sales people.  It gives organizations an overview of an individual’s primary selling style, personality, and job fit by assessing 15 personality dimensions around the three Selling Styles: Dynamic, Analytical, and Interpersonal.  More info.
  • Structured Interview Guides.  AAI’s Structured Interview Guides are tailored to your needs around the competencies important to your organization.  Questions are focused on behaviors exhibited in the past to best predict future behaviors in similar situations.  More info.
Sales Solutions
  • Selling Styles
  • Sales Success
  • Developing Sales Teams

Research at AAI identifies three primary Selling Styles people utilize to garner sales and generate business.  Each style can be very effective but depends on the organization, industry, and customer.  The three styles are:

  • Dynamic.  Dynamic sales people are typically very dynamic and energetic.  They use their enthusiasm and may appeal to people’s emotions to convince or sell people on their suggestions.  They are often highly competitive and typically enjoy competing against sales targets or other sales people.
  • Analytical.  Analytical sales people tend to use a logical, information-based sales approach.  They typically stress the features, advantages, and benefits of products or services, providing extensive details so the customer can make an informed decision.  They are relatively unemotional and may not push hard for potential customers to act.
  • Interpersonal.  Interpersonal sales people are inclined to build relationships with customers and then use personal influence to convince or sell them on their recommendations.  They work to establish trust and warm personal relationships in order to sway customers.

Whether a selling style is effective or not often depends on the organization, industry, or customer.  For example, many organizations have the objective of developing trust and relationships with their customers and therefore focus on hiring and developing more Interpersonal Style sales people.  Or, within more technical industries, it may be more important to use an Analytical Style.  Customers too determine which approach will be most effective and it can be beneficial for a sales representative to be able to alternate or adjust their approach and selling style based on the customer.  It is therefore important for organizations to define what the success factors, or competencies, are for their sales teams and to be able to identify individuals who will likely be effective.  For more information on defining success factors, see our Competency Modeling page.

Developing your sales team can be a vital improvement to your organization.  Many sales people are already successful but to reach the next level need to improve certain skills or behaviors.  Expanding the skill sets and Selling Styles of your sales people can help them generate more sales and drive organizational success.  AAI offers several solutions to help identify the strengths and potential development areas of your sales people:

  • Selling Styles Inventory.  The Selling Styles Inventory (SSI) identifies the strengths and potential areas for improvement for an individual’s Selling Styles.  It does this by providing percentile scores across 15 personality dimensions around each of the three Selling Styles: Dynamic, Analytical, and Interpersonal.  More info.
  • 360° Feedback.  AAI provided customized 360° assessments around the competencies that lead to success in your organization.  These assessments can identify the behaviors that individuals excel at as well as areas which through improvement, will drive their career further.  More info.
  • Coaching.  AAI offers one-on-one coaching to identify high-impact areas for development and create focused Individual Development Action Plans.  These sessions can help individuals overcome “blind spots,” recognize strengths, and enhance career potential.  More info.