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Sales roles fall under a variety of industries and employers will often use aptitude and psychometric testing to determine the strongest candidates for the role in question. The aptitude test types will differ according to the industry and requirements of the job, but the psychometric tests will typically include a personality test and a situational judgement test.
In terms of the types of aptitude tests used for sales-based roles, we have detailed the most commonly used ones below:
Verbal Reasoning – these tests are designed to evaluate your ability to use and understand English. Typically, you will be presented with a short passage of text, and you will be expected to answer questions relating to this information.
Numerical Reasoning – these tests are designed to assess your ability to work with numbers and apply basic mathematical concepts such as percentages, ratios and fractions.
Abstract Reasoning – these tests can also be referred to as diagrammatic and inductive reasoning tests. You will be expected to identify the relationships between shapes and figures, identify rules and similarities, and quickly apply these to establish the answer.
Error Checking – these tests will determine your attention to detail, as this is a key skill within a sales environment. These types of tests will provide you with data that you will need to review and you will be expected to highlight any errors that you find.
In terms of psychometric tests, the situational judgement is likely to present to you work-like scenarios that you may face within a sales environment. You will be expected to determine the most appropriate course of action based on the information provided.
Personality tests determine your strengths and weaknesses. They will ask you questions about aspects of your own personality, which are relevant to the workplace. It is difficult to get the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers when it comes to completing a personality test. As such, they are often referred to as a ‘questionnaire’ as opposed to a test. However, these tests are used to determine your compatibility with the role you have applied for (in this instance sales) and so there will be preferred answers specific to the role criteria.
The employer will be looking to see whether your personality fits that of the ideal candidate they have in mind. For example, someone who is shy and reserved may not be best placed for a sales role. Different jobs require different skill sets and so you will need to demonstrate the right strengths / behaviours through your answers.
If you want to practice prior to your psychometric and aptitude tests, then make the most of our online packages. We have put together a number of practice tests that are suited for sales-based positions and each of them offer guidance on best practice. We provide detailed solutions so that you can understand the logic applied to get the right answer, and subsequently apply this each time you practice. In time, and with the right amount of practice, you should see an improvement in your results and feel confident on the day of your assessment.
