PSYCHO-SELL
Page 36
Page 37
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Would you sign a contract hire deal with this man? David Wilcox looks at Interleasing's applied psychology approach to recruitment
HOW DO YOU REGARD someone who is attempting to convince you that contract hire is the best way of providing a commercial vehicle fleet? Is he a trusted business adviser or transport's equivalent to the tiresome double-glazing salesman?
About eight years ago contract hire company Interleasing approached the University of Aston for advice on selection and recruitment of car contract-hire salesmen. Doctor Adrian Atkinson (see opposite), then business psychology lecturer at the university, worked on the project. It was obviously successful; two years later Interleasing came back to him for help in selecting the truck contract-hire sales force. As head of his own business psychology and management consultancy company, I -Ionian Factors (UK), Doctor Atkinson has continued to do this work for Interleasing.
Is it really that difficult to find a truck contract-hire salesman? It is still a relatively young business and there is no large pool of experienced, proven people to tap. Financial salesmen, truck salesmen and transport managers would appear likely candidates. but which would best make the transition?
And their task of selling contract hire is difficult for two reasons. First, they have to sell a concept and a service, not a tangible product. And second, the lead time between a customer's initial inquiry and the final contract signature can easily be as long as a year. A truck salesman used to far speedier progress may grow impatient.
Because of this lead time it can take a contract-hire company a year to discover whether a salesman is any good. With an average salary of $:12,000-15,0(1), the investment in one man is considerable. Add the opportunity costs of lost business if he is not successful, and the penalty of a poor recruitment decision begins to soar.
The fact that Interleasing went to a business psychologist for help indicates a lack of faith in good. old-fashioned
interviewing. Quite right, says Doctor Atkinson. "All the evidence shows tha. the correlation between interviewing decisions and future job performance is zero. Interviewing can only give somc idea about the applicant's acceptability an organisation."
Interviewing is also clouded by personal prejudices. Atkinson knows o actual cases where an interviewer has rejected applicants because they wore white socks or slip-on shoes.
Instead. Atkinson's selection method is based on psychometric testing — psycho as in mind and metric as M measure. It is a statistically based way assessing people, first used in the original IQ (intelligence quotient) test developed by a Frenchman in 1896. Th USA now leads in psychometric testinl and it is gaining favour in the UK and most other European countries.
Whereas interviewing concentrates a an applicant's knowledge and experience, psychometric testing can assess his potential and ability. According to Doctor Atkinson, there a correlation between the test result am future job performance, typically 0.3 a: 0.8 where 1.0 would be a complete correlation.
Interleasing normally asks Fluman Factors to test about II) people for two vacancies. (They are titled truck contract-hire consultants, instantly elevating them above mere salesmen.) The written tests take about three hour and are followed by an interview.
Doctor Atkinson developed the tests after analysing the original five or six members of the Interleasing sales force. I le was identifying the characteristics that discriminated between them — wh qualities did the best ones have? In all, he found about 30 variables of which eight appeared to be the essential qualities, termed "necessary but not sufficient skills".
With these eight qualities identified, Atkinson can now use the appropriate written psychometric tests that can assess them and build a "personal profile". He stresses that the object is not to find clones of the best of the original salesmen. "There is no one ode type. They need to have the right qualities but can achieve good results b. different routes." It is actually better the salesforce to be dissimilar so that it can be targetted more carefully at the
istomers. In sonic companies it is the :countant who will discuss contract ire while in others it will he the .ansport manager; matching the Ilesman to the customer can pay ividends.
The eight qualities singled out by akinson as "necessary but not afficient" for a truck contract-hire desman include fast decision-making, ood verbal and numerical reasoning nd the ability to pull out the salient lets in a discussion.
Among the "non-stressful" written sts, applicants are asked to identify the dd one out in a series or spot what ssumption is being made in a test of
And then there is a list of nearly (K) quick-fire questions along the lines I: "Would you rather mow the lawn or o for a run?" These have to be nswered in 30 minutes and so demand spontaneous answer rather than a onsidered approach. Adds Atkinson: Checks are built in so that we can spot lotivational distortion. Lying, in other cords."
The results of the tests are always iscussed with the applicant afterwards. They normally enjoy the experience. It is designed to be positive to the individual."
Over the years, Doctor Atkinson has been able to draw up sonic broad conclusions about truck contract-hire salesmen/consultants, even allowing for the acceptable differences in character. For example, it is better for the salesman to lean cowards die financial, business aspects of the subject rather than the vehicles. "Anyone can learn enough about trucks in a week or so to sell contract hire," asserts Atkinson. "It is more important to be able Co discuss return on capital than talk about roller shutters.''
Acknowledging that contract hire and leasing can be a complex subject, Atkinson looks for above-average intelligence. "But we don't want them too intelligent — they could become bored too quickly." Imagination is useful too: "Putting together a contracthire deal can be quite creative."
The true test of a salesman is when he meets the customer. "We avoid the obvious type of salesman. You know, the type who talks about a special promotion this month." Instead, good contract-hire selling should be almost
subliminal. "It's more like counselling. The aim is to establish a trusting relationship with the customer. They should explore the possibilities together, with the salesman offering advice." Hence the contract-hire-consultant title.
This also explains Atkinson's insistence on the ability to extract the salient points during a conversation. He needs to show sensitivity in a situation, to learn about a company as the customer talks. He may well need to modify his case as he goes along, emphasising the features of truck contract-hire that are likely to appeal to that company.
Assuming that he can sell the concept of contract hire, the good salesman who has struck up "the trusting relationship with the customer" will invariably have sold his company's services, too.
That may sound tine in theory, but does it work in real life? Doctor Atkinson is in no doubt that psychometric testing has worked for Interleasing. As management consultants, Human Factors was asked by itiother client company to recommend a contract-lure company. In turn, Human Factors asked 20 contract hire companies to present their case. "The Interleasing man was at least as good as the hest of them," recalls Atkinson.
The turnover of Interleasing salesman has decreased since psychometric testing has been used at the recruitment stage.
Human Factors does not make the final choice of the applicants, but makes recommendations to Interleasing. Atkinson claims to have had only one "semi-failure." "I said a man would he fairly good. I le turned out to be very good."
Charles Flag, who heads Interleasing's truck business, agrees that Atkinson's psychometric testing usually gets it right and he is satisfied that his 25-strong sales force is above average; Interleasing's growth proves it.
Interestingly, a good Interleasing salesman may not make a good salesman for Mitchell Com or any other competitor. The influence of the individual conipany and its managing director is very strong, or, as Atkinson puts it, "we have to select for the local culture". For this reason he does nor put much emphasis on previous employers' references.
He also has little regard for most conventional application forms. "Why ask about hobbies and pastimes? They are usually more to do with opportunity than personality."
Human Factors' fees for this type of recruitment selection using psychometric testing range from 050-500 per person tested, depending on the level of vacancy to he filled. Interleasing's work comes near the lower end of this range, but with an average of five applicants tested for one vacancy it is still far more expensive than conventional interviewing. Interleasing and a growing number of other companies obviously feel it is money well spent.