Tale of Two Assessments - Comparing Value

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A potential client wanted to know how Objective Management Group could justify the cost of a 25 person license (unlimited assessments for one year or 25 salespeople hired for $18,000) versus a $3500 per 100 assessment price for DISC.

There are several factors here but they are all worth noting.

1. Actual Use.  Conducted properly using best practices, you would assess candidates as their resumes come in using our simple automation process.  Our data shows that you would assess at least 20 candidates per hire for a total of 500 assessments or more (which puts DISC at - $17,500!).  Don't know where you would find 500 candidates?  We provide more than just the use of a great tool; we also help you build a process that impacts the quantity and quality of the candidate pool.  If you follow our process the candidates will come!
2. Predictive Validity.  Objective Management Group's assessment was built for sales and is only used for sales.  As such it is highly predictive of on the job success with a predictive validity around 95%.  92% of the candidates we recommend that are hired end up in the top half of their sales force within 12 months and 75% of those we don't recommend who get hired anyway (clients who are smarter than we are) fail within 6 months.  Behavioral Styles assessments (like DISC) are not predictive of on the job performance.  But suppose the DISC was predictive.  How much more predictive would our assessment have to be in order to justify the higher price - not just the $500 extra, but the whole $14,500 extra? I'm sure you'd agree that if we were simply one candidate more predictive it would more than justify the difference.
3. Case Histories.  More than one company has asked us to assess their top producers.  If they were applying for a job, our assessment would have recommended 90% of the top producers.
4. Intended Use.  Behavioral Styles and personality assessments were designed to show how people are different.  That's essentially their purpose.  Today they show the different ways in which people communicate, and how they might behave in different scenarios, given their tendencies and traits.  Objective Management Group's assessment was built to predict sales success in your company and industry, selling into your market, against your competition, with your pricing strategy, expectations, sales cycle and challenges all factored in. Ours isn't a one size fits all sales assessment.  Could you imagine using the same selection criteria for selecting a route salesperson selling Leggs to convenience stores and a salesperson selling 6-figure custom designed capital solutions?  That's how DISC and others like them are used.
5. Price Comparisons. - If one is to compare prices, it should be on the exact same assessment from different sources; comparing the price of DISC to the price of an OMG is like comparing the price of a Kia to the price of a Lexus!
6. Summary. I'm biased. I developed OMG's assessments nearly twenty years ago and continue to enhance them to be more even more predictive with every passing month. What is the cost of a single sales hiring mistake? And what is the upside to getting it right by selecting a strong, successful salesperson - each and every time?  Use the right tool within the right process and you'll avoid the mistakes that most companies make.

Posted by Dave Kurlan on Wed, Dec 17, 2008 @ 07:33 PM