GSS Sales Strengths Assessment

Congratulations on your decision to improve your government selling skills. Your first step is the GSS Sales Strengths Assessment. This will take approximately 12 minutes to complete.

For maximum personal benefit, it is important to answer each question as openly and honestly as you can. Resist the urge to answer questions based on how you think salespeople SHOULD respond.

Please click "Continue" to begin.

1. More than anything, successful selling is related to the number of calls made and presentations given.

2. Successful selling is really all about asking the right questions.

3. Successful selling is really all about doing the right activities.

4. I consider myself to be a true client consultant.

5. People who know me would say I'm a highly competitive person.

6. When I'm not working, I prefer relaxing activities over highly energetic ones.

7. I personally should be held responsible for the failure of not reaching my sales quota.

8. At times I do not have a complete understanding of who in the prospect organization influences the buying decision.

9. I struggle to clearly differentiate our products and services from our competitors'.

10. I am really good at determining if a prospect has the actual resources to buy.

11. I struggle maintaining focus on projects taking more than a few months to complete.

12. I prefer to work on my own with occasional input from supervisors.

13. I believe the things I do as a sales person help customers achieve their mission.

14. Government customers are generally savvy buyers.

15. I am frequently able to influence prospect RFPs before they are issued.

16. I sometimes have difficulty translating our product features into real customer value.

17. In a social situation, I generally end up being the center of attention.

18. It is more important to be well-respected than it is to be well-liked.

19. Most weeks, I find myself working more than 50 hours.

20. In trying to meet a deadline, I prefer a more spread out, methodical approach over working intensely for a shorter period of time.

21. At times, I feel like I'm "winging it" when answering detailed product questions posed by my prospects.

22. I am willing to disagree with a customer if it helps him/her make a better decision.

23. After meeting me, prospects would say I'm a great listener.

24. Each prospect requires a unique approach.

25. I offer the solution best suited to customer's needs even if it is not the one most financially beneficial to me or the company.

26. If someone is upset, I get upset, too.

27. There are times when stretching the truth a bit is acceptable in order to make a sale.

28. Prospects are generally impressed with my product knowledge.

29. A lot of success in sales depends on luck.

30. For me, beating the competition is often as rewarding as receiving a financial benefit.

31. Being around people who are depressed brings my mood down.

32. Prospects would generally be more impressed with my presentation skills than my listening skills.

33. I would like to be considered a consultant, but my sales job forces me to try and manipulate buyers.

34. Basically, I use the same sales presentation for most customers.

35. I get irritated listening to someone who is taking too long to come to the point.

36. People who know me would say I'm a "laid back" person.

37. I always answer prospect questions about my products/services as honestly as I can.

38. More training on our products and services would help me sell more effectively.

39. I view myself as an entrepreneur.

40. Often I'm surprised to learn the prospect I'm dealing with cannot actually make the buying decision.

41. In nearly all cases, I have little influence over the RFP to which I am responding.

42. Working with channel partners is generally a rewarding experience.

43. I tend to lean toward "doing" over "thinking".

44. Whether or not my efforts result in a sale, the selling process itself is rewarding.

45. The structured process of selling to government customers appeals to me.

46. People close to me would say I can be stubborn.

47. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.

48. I like a boss who is "hands on" and gets into the details with me.

49. There is too much red tape associated with selling to the government.

50. I don't really give other people's feelings much thought.

51. I find it difficult to adapt my presentation to certain buyers.

52. Selling is really all about making a great presentation.

53. It makes me mad to see someone treated unjustly.

54. The way I "relax" often involves high-energy activities.

55. The accomplishments I can achieve are often in the hands of powerful others.

56. When communicating for the first time with a prospect, I prefer using the telephone over sending an email.

57. Ultimately, I believe my success depends on the effort I put into the challenge at hand.

58. I believe continuous frequent feedback from supervisors is critical to my success.

59. I carefully plan the steps required to accomplish a goal before taking action.

60. Setbacks don't discourage me.

Based on my historical sales performance, managers and peers consider me to be a star salesperson.

In what year were you born?

How many years have you worked as a full-time professional sales person?

Are you currently managing other sales people as a function of your job?

How many sales people do you currently manage?

On average over the past three years, what percentage of your annual sales goals have you achieved?

What percentage of this year's annual sales goal do you anticipate meeting?

Have you ever received any type of "excellence in selling" award from a current or previous employer?

Which of these statements most accurately describes where you stand in your sales career?

I'm recognized by my company & peers as a superstar salesperson.

I make a decent living in sales, though I can always improve.

I need to improve my abilities quickly or find another line of work.

From what market does the largest percentage of your personal sales originate?

Federal (including DoD), state or local governments

Educational institutions

Consumers

Larger business (more than 1000 employees)

Smaller business (less than 1000 employees)

Other

Your gender:

Female

Male

Survey responses are anonymous and confidential. However, participants may elect to receive the aggregated results by email when they are available. To receive these results, please provide your email address:

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