The development of a criterion composite for sales success

Abstract

A methodology was developed for the formation of criterion subgroups using eight criterion measures. A composite criterion score was developed to represent success in the first year of employment and was found to be more predictable than either of two single criteria (tenure and productivity with tenure partialled out). A two-stage selection paradigm was proposed. The first stage consisted of biographical items and psychological subscales used as pre-hire predictors. Stage two utilized a measure of sales productivity in the first month as a post-hire predictor of success in the first year of employment. Mean score profiles of the subgroups developed in this study were representative of "types" of salespeople found in life insurance industry. The data suggest that the two-stage selection paradigm proposed in this study would be a more effective selection system than the conventional use of pre-hire predictors alone.