Sales Aptitude Tests

Sales Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at a consumer goods company. Two jobs are outstanding on your shift: a stock check the site manager wants finished today, and preparing an area for tomorrow’s early start. You have people for one of them. The site manager is about to leave and asks you directly whether both will be done by the end of the shift. Tomorrow’s early start cannot begin without the preparation. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him the stock check will be done and say nothing about the preparation, since he asked mainly about the check and tomorrow is not his shift in any case.
   2. Promise the site manager that both jobs will be finished before the shift ends, then decide later in the evening which of the two actually gets done.
   3. Tell him you have people for one, say which you would do and why, and ask him to decide if he wants it the other way round.
   4. Split the shift between the two jobs so that both are half done, and tell him the position when he asks about it in the morning.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him you have people for one, say which you would do and why, and ask him to decide if he wants it the other way round.

   Least effective: B. Promise the site manager that both jobs will be finished before the shift ends, then decide later in the evening which of the two actually gets done.

   A: Answers half a question and lets the rest stand: he leaves believing both are in hand because you did not correct the impression.

   B: Commits to something you know cannot happen: he leaves the site planning on two finished jobs, and finds out tomorrow which promise was real.

   D: Divides effort so neither is usable: tomorrow's early start cannot run on a half-prepared area and the stock check has to be redone.

   The most effective response is to tell him you have people for one, say which you would choose and why, and let him decide otherwise if he wants: he learns the position while he is still standing there, the judgement is offered rather than hidden, and the decision rests with the person who owns the site. It beats answering only about the stock check, because his impression that both are in hand goes uncorrected. It beats splitting the shift, because a half-prepared area stops tomorrow’s start and a half stock check has to be done again. The least effective response is promising the site manager that both jobs will be finished: he plans on two finished jobs, and which promise was real is discovered the next morning, which is a different kind of wrong from answering incompletely or from dividing the work badly. The principle: when asked whether you can do two things you cannot, say so at once and bring a recommendation.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a supplier quality assistant at a consumer goods company. A supplier has emailed you twice asking when a decision will be made about a change they have proposed. The decision belongs to the buyer, who has been in meetings all week and has not replied to either message. The supplier needs to book production time and says he will lose his slot on Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply that the decision sits with the buyer and that he has been in meetings all week, so the supplier knows the delay is nothing to do with the quality side of the work.
   2. Reply that you have his question and will come back once the buyer is out of meetings, and chase the buyer once more today.
   3. Reply today with what you do know and say the decision is the buyer's, and put the Friday deadline in front of the buyer now so that he can see what turns on it.
   4. Pass the supplier straight to the buyer's inbox with a one-line note, and leave the two of them to sort the date out between themselves.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Reply today with what you do know and say the decision is the buyer's, and put the Friday deadline in front of the buyer now so that he can see what turns on it.

   Least effective: D. Pass the supplier straight to the buyer's inbox with a one-line note, and leave the two of them to sort the date out between themselves.

   A: Explains the delay instead of moving it: the supplier learns why he is waiting and is no closer to the Friday date that his production slot depends on.

   B: Chases without raising the stakes: the buyer gets a third message that does not mention Friday, which is the one fact that would move him.

   D: Hands the problem on without owning it: the supplier is redirected to the person who has not answered twice already, and nobody has told the buyer that Friday is the date that matters.

   The most effective response is to reply today with what you know, say the decision is the buyer’s and that you will come back by Thursday, and put the Friday deadline in front of the buyer: the supplier gets a person and a date, the buyer gets the one fact that makes this urgent, and you keep the thread rather than dropping it. It beats explaining that the buyer has been in meetings, because that is an account of the delay rather than an attempt to end it. It beats replying that you will come back once the buyer is out of meetings, because a third message that leaves out the production slot gives him no reason to move. The least effective response is passing him straight to the buyer’s inbox and leaving them to it: the supplier is sent to the person who has not answered him twice, and the deadline that makes it urgent is still not in front of anybody, which is a different kind of wrong from explaining too much or writing too little. The principle: when you cannot give the answer, give the timetable, and make sure the person who owns the decision knows what turns on it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at a consumer goods company. Two people you work with, a planner and a site coordinator, have been arguing for a week about who caused a double order. The planner has now started sending you her messages to the coordinator to read. Both need to agree next week’s volumes with you by Thursday, and the argument is stopping that conversation happening at all. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say to the planner that you are not the right audience for the messages, and ask both of them to a short meeting on next week's volumes so that the double order is aired there.
   2. Agree next week's volumes with each of them separately before Thursday, so that the deadline is met without either of them having to sit in a room with the other while the argument is live.
   3. Ask the coordinator's team leader behind his back what really happened with the double order, so that you know which of them you are dealing with before Thursday.
   4. Reply to the planner that the messages are between the two of them, and wait for the argument to burn out before raising Thursday's volumes with either of them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Say to the planner that you are not the right audience for the messages, and ask both of them to a short meeting on next week's volumes so that the double order is aired there.

   Least effective: C. Ask the coordinator's team leader behind his back what really happened with the double order, so that you know which of them you are dealing with before Thursday.

   B: Works around the conflict rather than through it: Thursday is met, and the two people who have to plan together every week are further apart than they were.

   C: Investigates a colleague behind his back: it turns a disagreement about an order into a private judgement about a person, formed from one side and without his knowledge.

   D: Waits for a deadline to solve itself: the boundary is right and Thursday arrives with next week's volumes unagreed.

   The most effective response is to tell the planner you are not the right audience for the messages and to put both of them in a short meeting on next week’s volumes with the double order on the agenda: it declines the role of a private audience, and it makes the one conversation that has to happen the place where the argument gets aired. It beats agreeing volumes with each separately, because Thursday is met while the working relationship the next order depends on is left worse. It beats setting the boundary and then waiting, because nothing then moves the deadline forward. The least effective response is asking the coordinator’s team leader behind his back what really happened: it turns a dispute about an order into a private inquiry into a colleague, conducted from one side and without his knowledge, which is a different kind of wrong from avoiding the conflict or from working around it. The principle: refuse the private audience, and put the disagreement in front of the people who have to agree.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a stock control assistant at a consumer goods company. A weekly count shows three hundred units fewer than the system expects on one line. The trading team needs a figure this afternoon to decide what to order for next week, and they have asked you whether the count can be relied on. Investigating the gap properly means pulling the movement history, which takes about two hours. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it, say the cause is not yet known, and start on the movement history straight away.
   2. Assure the trading team that the counted figure is sound and the gap is a scanning error, and look at the movement history later in the week if anybody comes back to you.
   3. Hold the figure back until the movement history is finished, and tell the trading team they will have something reliable by the end of the day.
   4. Give the trading team the figure the system holds rather than the counted one, since the system is what their ordering tool reads from in any case.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it, say the cause is not yet known, and start on the movement history straight away.

   Least effective: B. Assure the trading team that the counted figure is sound and the gap is a scanning error, and look at the movement history later in the week if anybody comes back to you.

   B: Gives an assurance you have not earned: nothing yet distinguishes a scanning error from three hundred missing units, and next week's order is placed on a cause that was invented to close the question.

   C: Delays the decision: the order has to be placed this afternoon, so a reliable number tomorrow is worth less to them than an honest one now.

   D: Substitutes the convenient source for the checked one: the count is the only evidence anybody has looked at, and it is the number being set aside.

   The most effective response is to give the trading team the counted figure with the gap stated alongside it and start on the movement history at once: they get a number in time to order, they know exactly how much weight it carries, and the work that settles the cause begins immediately. It beats holding the figure until the history is finished, because the decision is this afternoon and an honest number now beats a certain one tomorrow. It beats handing over the system figure instead, because the count is the only thing anybody has actually observed. The least effective response is assuring them the count is sound and the gap is a scanning error: no work has been done that could support either claim, and stating a cause you have not established is a different kind of wrong from being slow or from choosing the wrong source. The principle: report what you know and what you do not, rather than supplying the certainty the person asking would prefer.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a trading assistant at a consumer goods company. An account manager has asked you three times today whether a reconciliation is finished. It is not: it needs another hour. You also have a supplier payment file that must be submitted by three o’clock or it waits a week, and it is half past one. The reconciliation has no deadline other than his patience. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do an hour on the reconciliation now to get him off your back, then submit the payment file with whatever time is left before the three o'clock cut-off.
   2. Ask the account manager to take the reconciliation question to your manager, since being chased three times in a day is not something you should have to work around.
   3. Tell him the reconciliation needs another hour and that he will have it by half past four, then submit the payment file before three so that it is not held a week.
   4. Tell the account manager the reconciliation has been done so that he stops chasing, and finish it properly once the payment file has gone at three.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him the reconciliation needs another hour and that he will have it by half past four, then submit the payment file before three so that it is not held a week.

   Least effective: D. Tell the account manager the reconciliation has been done so that he stops chasing, and finish it properly once the payment file has gone at three.

   A: Lets the loudest voice set the order: a file that waits a week if it misses three o'clock is given the time left over by a task with no deadline at all.

   B: Escalates a question rather than answering it: he has asked a reasonable thing three times and still does not know when he will have it.

   D: Says a piece of work is finished when it is not: he may act on a reconciliation that does not exist yet, and the peace it buys lasts exactly until he looks.

   The most effective response is to tell him the reconciliation needs another hour and give him a time, then submit the payment file before three: the deadline with a week riding on it is protected, and the person chasing gets the one thing that will actually stop him chasing, which is a time. It beats doing an hour on the reconciliation first, because a task with no deadline is then funded out of the one with a hard cut-off. It beats sending him to your manager, because he has asked a fair question three times and still has no answer. The least effective response is telling the account manager the reconciliation has been done so that he stops chasing: he may act on work that does not exist, which is a different kind of wrong from ordering the day badly or from deflecting him. The principle: manage a chaser with a date, never with a false completion.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an insight assistant at a consumer goods company. You and a colleague share the monthly customer survey write-up: she pulls the data and you write the commentary. In last week’s team meeting she said the commentary was what had held the report up, which is not how you saw it. The next report is due on Friday and her data has just landed in your inbox. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Write the commentary and put a note at the top of the report setting out how long each stage took this month, so that the team can see where the time actually goes.
   2. Write the commentary and let last week go, since Friday matters more than a remark in a meeting and there is nothing to gain from picking it up now.
   3. Write the commentary for Friday, and ask her for ten minutes today to agree who needs what by when, so that next month's timings are not a matter of opinion.
   4. Stop drafting the commentary after that remark and leave her to write this month's herself, since she has a clear view about which part of the work takes the time.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Write the commentary for Friday, and ask her for ten minutes today to agree who needs what by when, so that next month's timings are not a matter of opinion.

   Least effective: D. Stop drafting the commentary after that remark and leave her to write this month's herself, since she has a clear view about which part of the work takes the time.

   A: Answers a private remark in a public document: the timings are accurate and the report becomes the place a disagreement between two colleagues is conducted.

   B: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the deadline is met and the same account of who slows the report down is left standing for next month.

   D: Withdraws your half of a shared job after a disagreement: Friday's report is put at risk to make a point, and the point is made to a colleague rather than about the work.

   The most effective response is to write the commentary for Friday and ask her for ten minutes to agree who needs what by when: the report still goes out, and the thing the two of you actually disagree about, which is where the time goes, gets settled in advance instead of in the next meeting. It beats putting a note about this month’s stage timings at the top of the report, because that argues with her in front of readers who have no part in it. It beats letting last week go, because the account she gave stands and the same thing happens next month. The least effective response is stopping the drafting and leaving her to write this month’s herself: the shared deadline is put at risk in order to answer a remark, which is a different kind of wrong from arguing in public or from staying quiet. The principle: a complaint about how shared work runs is fixed by agreeing how it will run, never by removing your part of it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a supply chain graduate at a consumer goods company. A business customer’s order was due yesterday and has not arrived. The tracking shows it left and then nothing. The customer has emailed once, politely, asking where it is. Deliveries occasionally turn up a day or two late without anybody intervening. Chasing it properly means ringing the carrier and waiting on hold. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply to the customer that the order has left and that tracking will update when it moves, which is all the information the system currently gives you about it.
   2. Ring the carrier now and say nothing to the customer until you have an answer, since a reply with no news in it will only invite another email.
   3. Wait for the order to arrive in its own time, since deliveries often turn up a day or two late and the customer has only written once so far.
   4. Reply today to say you are chasing the carrier and when you will come back to him, ring the carrier, and update him either way so that he knows a person has it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Reply today to say you are chasing the carrier and when you will come back to him, ring the carrier, and update him either way so that he knows a person has it.

   Least effective: C. Wait for the order to arrive in its own time, since deliveries often turn up a day or two late and the customer has only written once so far.

   A: Passes on the screen rather than the situation: he can read tracking himself, and nothing about his order has actually been chased.

   B: Leaves a waiting customer with silence: the chase is right and he does not know it is happening, so his next email arrives anyway.

   C: Waits out a customer who has asked a direct question: nothing is checked, nothing is answered, and the outcome depends entirely on the order turning up.

   The most effective response is to reply today saying you are chasing the carrier and when you will come back, ring them, and update him either way: he knows a person has his problem, the chase actually happens, and the commitment is one you control. It beats telling him tracking will update when it moves, because he can see that himself. It beats saying nothing to the customer until the carrier answers, because his second email arrives while you are on hold. The least effective response is waiting for the order to turn up in its own time: a direct question goes unanswered and nothing is checked, so a good outcome depends entirely on luck, which is a different kind of wrong from being unhelpfully literal or from being quiet while you work. The principle: a customer who has asked where something is gets an action and a time, not a probability.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at a consumer goods company. A customer is asking for a refund that is larger than you may approve. Refunds above your limit need a manager, and the manager is in a meeting for another hour. The customer is polite, has waited a long time already, and says he needs to know before he leaves for work. The refund itself looks reasonable to you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Approve the part of the refund that is inside your limit now, and tell him the rest will need a manager's decision that you will chase this afternoon.
   2. Tell him it is fine to expect the full refund and that nobody senior needs to look at a case as clear as his, which you have not actually checked.
   3. Tell him the refund is above what you can approve, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as her meeting ends, and give him a time you will ring back.
   4. Interrupt the manager's meeting to get a decision on the refund now, since the customer is leaving for work shortly and has already waited a good deal longer than he should have had to.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him the refund is above what you can approve, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as her meeting ends, and give him a time you will ring back.

   Least effective: B. Tell him it is fine to expect the full refund and that nobody senior needs to look at a case as clear as his, which you have not actually checked.

   A: Settles the easy half and leaves the substance: he gets part of an answer and still has to wait for the decision he actually rang about.

   B: States as settled something nobody has decided: he leaves for work believing the money is agreed, and the manager may see the case quite differently.

   D: Escalates by interruption: an hour's wait for a call back is a smaller cost than pulling a manager out of a meeting for a case that is not urgent in that sense.

   The most effective response is to tell him the refund is above your limit, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as she is free, and give him a time you will ring back: he knows exactly where his case is, the decision goes to the person who owns it with your view attached, and the call back is a commitment you can keep. It beats approving the part inside your limit, because the decision he is waiting for is the rest. It beats interrupting the meeting, because an hour is a smaller cost than that. The least effective response is telling him it is fine and nobody senior needs to look at it: he leaves for work believing the money is agreed and nobody has decided anything, which is a different kind of wrong from half-answering or from escalating clumsily. The principle: say what is decided, by whom and when, rather than what the person in front of you would like to hear.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a trading assistant at a consumer goods company. A large account has queried a charge on last month’s invoice. You have pulled the figures and can see the charge is correct, but the reason it changed is a contract term you do not fully understand. The account manager is out today. The customer wants an answer before the end of the week, and it is Wednesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply with the figures you have checked and what they show, say that the contract point needs the account manager, and book time with him for tomorrow morning.
   2. Explain the contract term to the customer as best you understand it, and say you will confirm it with the account manager tomorrow.
   3. Send the query on to the account team without the figures you have already checked, and let them start the contract point again from the beginning.
   4. Reply to the customer that the charge is correct and leave the reason for the account manager to explain when he is back in the office tomorrow.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Reply with the figures you have checked and what they show, say that the contract point needs the account manager, and book time with him for tomorrow morning.

   Least effective: C. Send the query on to the account team without the figures you have already checked, and let them start the contract point again from the beginning.

   B: Answers outside what you actually know: an approximate account of a contract term is the thing most likely to be quoted back at the business later.

   C: Passes the problem on stripped of the work already done: the account team starts from nothing, the day you have spent on it is wasted, and Friday is two days away.

   D: Answers the easy half only: the customer did not ask whether the charge was right, they asked why it changed, and that is the part being deferred.

   The most effective response is to reply with the figures you have checked and what they show, say the contract point needs the account manager, and book time with him for tomorrow: the customer sees progress and an honest boundary, the checking work is used, and Friday is still comfortably reachable. It beats explaining the contract term as best you understand it, because an approximation about a contract is exactly the sentence that gets quoted back later. It beats replying that the charge is correct and leaving the reason to the account manager, because the reason is what was asked. The least effective response is sending the query on without the figures you have already checked: the next person starts from nothing, a day of work disappears, and the deadline is two days out, which is a different kind of wrong from over-reaching or from answering only half. The principle: escalate the part you cannot answer, with the part you can attached to it.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a stock control assistant at a consumer goods company. A recount you asked for turned up a mistake in your own figures, and the colleague who did it said, in front of two others, that he had wasted an afternoon on your arithmetic. It stung and he was largely right. The next count is due on Thursday and it needs two people, one of whom is normally him. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Ask your supervisor to put somebody else on Thursday's count, since working alongside him this week would be uncomfortable for both of you after what was said.
    2. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.
    3. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.
    4. Say nothing about it, do Thursday's count as planned, and let the remark fade rather than reopening something that was fair comment anyway.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Acknowledge to him that the figures were wrong and say what you have changed, and do Thursday's count with him as planned since the count needs two people.

    Least effective: B. Refuse to work with him on Thursday's count after the way he spoke to you, and say you would rather do it on your own or not at all.

    A: Redesigns the rota around one awkward afternoon: the count is harder to staff, and the two of you have to work together again the week after in any case.

    B: Withdraws from a job that needs two people after a disagreement: Thursday's count is put at risk to answer a remark made about an afternoon.

    D: Lets an unrepaired working relationship stand: the count happens and he has no reason to think the mistake will not simply repeat.

    The most effective response is to acknowledge that the figures were wrong, say what you have changed, and do Thursday’s count with him: the criticism was largely fair, saying so is what restores the working relationship, and the count that needs two people gets them. It beats asking for somebody else on Thursday, because the rota is rearranged around one bad afternoon and you will work together next week anyway. It beats letting the remark fade, because he has no reason to expect anything different next time. The least effective response is refusing to work with him on Thursday: a count that needs two people is put at risk to answer a remark, which is a different kind of wrong from avoiding him or from staying silent. The principle: when the criticism is fair, own it and stay in the work with the person who made it.