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Sales Management
Notes 7.1.4 Reference Check
Sometimes applicants are asked to name as references those people on whom they can rely to
speak about them.
The main purpose of reference checks as a selection tool is to verify the facts such as dates of
employment, earnings, sales volume, absenteeism and nature of the past selling job. This typical
procedure is to check the references by personal visit, telephone or letter.
Self Assessment
State Whether True or False:
6. Psychological testing is gaining greater importance as a selection tool of sales personnel
because of sales management becoming more formalised and rising cost of selection and
training.
7. Psychological tests are divided into four categories on the basis of human behaviour.
8. Aptitude tests are divided into four categories on the basis of human behaviour.
9. Delivery persons' job requires unusual stamina, strength or tolerance of hard working
conditions
10. Every company must look at its future management requirements as well as its need for
career salesman.
7.1.5 Psychological Testing
"Tests are the most misused, the least understood, yet the most valuable sources of information
about the applicants".
A psychological test can be defined both in a broad as well as narrow manner. Broadly, it has
been defined as a "Systematic approach for comparing the behaviour of two or more persons". In
narrow sense, "It is a sample of an aspect of an individual's behaviour, performance or attitude".
Thus, we may define it as a systematic procedure for sampling human behaviour.
Psychological testing is gaining greater importance as a selection tool of sales personnel because
of sales management becoming more formalised and rising cost of selection and training.
The major purpose of testing is to identify the various aspects of a persons' behaviour such as
intelligence, achievements, interests, aptitude, personality traits, etc.
Different Types of Psychological Tests
Psychological tests are divided into four categories on the basis of human behaviour. But mostly,
the three categories: Aptitude Test, Personality Test and Achievement Test are used in selection
procedure of sales personnel.
Aptitude or Ability Test: These are used to measure the talent/ability of a candidate to learn the
job or skill. They detect peculiarities or defects in a person's sensory or intellectual capacity.
They focus attention on a particular type of talent, e.g., learning, reasoning or a mechanical bend
of mind. Such tests may be of the following types:
1. Mental or Intelligence Test: They measure the overall intellectual activity or the intelligence
quotient (IQ) of the candidate. They also determine the candidate's word fluency, memory,
inductive reasoning, speed of perception and spatial visualisation.
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