Glossary
Persuasion baseline
A simple system for evaluating candidates’ persuasiveness before hiring.
Persuasion baseline is a score of how persuasive a candidate is already.
It’s largely the company’s responsibility to help sales reps become persuasive- don’t expect reps to teach you about your customers and why they need your product- but a persuasion baseline indicates how persuasive they are today.
A positive persuasion baseline represents someone with a better understanding of how persuasion works. They will be easier to teach than a candidate with a negative baseline.
Role play a sales scenario and look for these signals:
Positive signals:
• They ask questions first then sell later
• They clarify details before beginning their response
• They mention digging or follow-up questions
Negative signals:
• They immediately start pitching and selling to you
• They sound “salesy” or off-putting
• They seem embarrassed
It’s largely the company’s responsibility to help sales reps become persuasive- don’t expect reps to teach you about your customers and why they need your product- but a persuasion baseline indicates how persuasive they are today.
A positive persuasion baseline represents someone with a better understanding of how persuasion works. They will be easier to teach than a candidate with a negative baseline.
Role play a sales scenario and look for these signals:
Positive signals:
• They ask questions first then sell later
• They clarify details before beginning their response
• They mention digging or follow-up questions
Negative signals:
• They immediately start pitching and selling to you
• They sound “salesy” or off-putting
• They seem embarrassed