A sales skills assessment can test what reps know, describe their traits, or score what they do in a scenario. Knowledge and trait scores do not show how a rep handles a conversation, so each validity claim here cites a named study. Eubrics is an AI sales roleplay platform for enterprise sales teams and sells AI sales roleplay software.

The right sales skills assessment depends on the question a team is asking. A knowledge test checks what a rep knows, a personality test describes traits, and a skills demonstration shows what a rep does in a scenario. No cited study ranks the three types for assessing current reps. In hiring research, Sackett and colleagues (2022) report operational validity (ρ), the correlation with overall job performance, of .40 for job knowledge tests, .33 for work sample tests and .19 for conscientiousness. Their estimates revise Schmidt and Hunter (1998) downward. Work sample tests, one kind of skills demonstration, came second among the three. In one study of 196 medical-training applicants, all three predictors tested, including an assessment center, a simulation-based method, were significantly related to job performance (Lievens and Patterson, 2011).

Among salespeople, Verbeke et al. (2011) report β = .28 for selling-related knowledge, which is not a knowledge test, with sales performance. Vinchur et al. (1998), a sales-only meta-analysis, report that achievement, one facet of conscientiousness, correlated r = .41 with objective sales and r = .25 with supervisor ratings. Sackett’s estimates describe hiring decisions, so they do not show how well any type finds skill gaps in current reps.

To assess sales skills, choose the skills to score, write more than one scenario for each skill, and score every scenario with a rubric. A rubric is a criterion-referenced grading tool that lists criteria and describes each performance level (University of Illinois Chicago). Eubrics’ suggested framework:

Skills: In a sales competency assessment, pick a few skills and write each as behavior an observer can see. OPM describes a competency as a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors.

Scenarios: Write more than one realistic situation for each skill, such as a discovery call, give every rep the same set, and combine the scores.

Rubric: Describe what each score level looks like in behavior, so reviewers score alike.

OPM says trained assessors generate work sample scores, so train the people who score.

Score roleplays and real calls with the same rubric on the same skills, then read the two sets of scores side by side for each skill. A roleplay can use the same scenarios for every rep, so the scores are comparable from one rep to the next. A real call shows what a rep did in a live conversation with a customer. A criterion-referenced rubric, as the University of Illinois Chicago describes it, rates each performance against the criteria, not against other reps, so one rubric can cover both. This guide gives no weighting formula or benchmark because no cited source sets one.

In a 2023 study of 96 MBA students, reliability and validity were not ensured for one 3-minute roleplay, but the overall score across 18 roleplays reached a validity of .54 for predicting future performance (Herde and Lievens, 2023). The study did not cover current sales reps. On its AI sales roleplays training page, Eubrics says it analyzes every roleplay conversation, scores reps on skills such as discovery and closing, and lets teams build their own scorecards. Eubrics’ home page says the platform also scores real calls, and its free sales call scorecard grades a live or recorded call stage by stage. See also the AI sales training software hub and Does AI roleplay actually work?

Assess reps when events change what they need to do, not on a fixed number of days, because the sources behind this guide give no frequency for sales skills. Assess before training to find each rep’s gaps and after training to see what changed. Assess at the end of onboarding to confirm a new rep can handle the core scenarios. Assess again when the skills, scenarios or rubric change, because old scores no longer compare with new ones. Between those points, keep the scenarios and the rubric the same in every round, so that new scores can be compared with the old ones.

Find the gap for each skill, pair each gap with practice or coaching, and re-assess to see what changed. To run a sales skills gap analysis, compare each rep’s score on each skill with the target level the team set in the rubric. Pair each gap with practice: repeat the weak scenario in a roleplay. Pair it with coaching: a manager reviews a scored call with the rep and points to the rubric level the rep reached. For business results, see Eubrics’ sales training ROI measurement framework.

How do you assess sales skills?

Choose a few skills to score, write more than one scenario for each skill, and score every rep’s performance with a rubric. Describe each skill as behavior an observer can see, give every rep the same scenarios, combine the scores across scenarios, and describe each score level in behavior. Train the people who score, because trained assessors generate work sample scores.

What is the best sales skills assessment?

It depends on the question. Knowledge tests check recall, personality tests describe traits, and skills demonstrations show what a rep does in a scenario. In hiring research, Sackett and colleagues (2022) report ρ = .40 for job knowledge tests and ρ = .33 for work sample tests, so that research does not put skills demonstrations first. Match the type to the question.

How often should reps be assessed?

Assess on events, not on a fixed number of days, because the sources behind this guide give no frequency for sales skills. Assess before and after training, at the end of onboarding, and when the skills, scenarios or rubric change. Keep the scenarios and rubric stable between rounds so scores can be compared.

Is a sales skills assessment test the same as a personality test?

No. A personality test gathers information about motivations, preferences and traits, including through self-report questionnaires. A knowledge test checks what a rep knows, and a skills demonstration scores what a rep does in a scenario. The three measure different things, so a knowledge score or a trait score does not show how a rep handles a conversation.

How do you combine roleplay and real-call scores?

Score both with the same rubric on the same skills, then compare the two sets of scores for each skill. A roleplay can use the same scenarios for every rep, so its scores are comparable. A real call shows what a rep did in a live conversation. This guide sets no weighting formula or benchmark.

What do you do with sales skills assessment results?

Find the gap for each skill, pair each gap with practice or coaching, and re-assess to see what changed. A team can repeat the weak scenario in a roleplay or review a scored call with the rep. Re-assess with the same scenarios and rubric, so the new scores compare with the old ones.

Knowledge tests, personality tests and skills demonstrations measure different things, and each validity claim here rests on a named study. A scored sales skills assessment uses skills, scenarios and a rubric, and reads roleplay and real-call scores together. To see how Eubrics approaches AI sales roleplay, visit its AI sales roleplays training page or Get a demo.