Assessment
Sales Skills Assessment
Evaluate sales skills with AI-powered assessments. Covers prospecting, objection handling, negotiation, pipeline management, and closing strategies for.
The short answer
A sales skills assessment for hiring typically runs 30-40 minutes, scenario-based selling decisions, objection response exercises, pipeline analysis problems, negotiation strategy selection and discovery call planning, at 3 difficulty levels. Give it after the first screen and before interviews, and score it on the areas below, fixed before you see any answers, so every candidate is judged the same way.
- Prospecting strategies and lead qualification methodology
- Objection handling techniques and responses under pressure
- Negotiation tactics and value-based selling approaches
- Pipeline management and forecasting accuracy
Paste a job description; Cohesyve builds the assessment and the rubric. Ten candidates free, no card.
About to take a Sales test? Practise it free →A Sales Skills Assessment evaluates a candidate's ability to drive revenue through effective prospecting, relationship building, negotiation, and deal closing. Sales roles have one of the highest turnover rates across industries, and a bad hire in sales directly impacts the bottom line through lost quota attainment and wasted ramp-up investment. This assessment measures the combination of strategic thinking, interpersonal skills, and tactical execution that separates top performers from average ones. It provides data-driven insights into a candidate's sales acumen beyond the polished self-presentation that experienced salespeople bring to interviews.
Format
What it measures
- Prospecting strategies and lead qualification methodology
- Objection handling techniques and responses under pressure
- Negotiation tactics and value-based selling approaches
- Pipeline management and forecasting accuracy
- Discovery questioning and needs identification skills
- Closing techniques appropriate to different deal stages
- CRM hygiene and sales process adherence
- Competitive positioning and differentiation communication
Cohesyve
Run a Sales assessment on your next opening
Cohesyve generates a unique task per candidate from your job description, with the scoring rubric attached. Questions differ for every applicant, so they cannot be shared or looked up.
Who takes it
Topics covered
Prospecting & Qualification
- Ideal customer profile development
- BANT and MEDDIC frameworks
- Cold outreach strategy
- Lead scoring and prioritization
- Multi-threading into accounts
Discovery & Needs Analysis
- Open-ended questioning techniques
- Pain point identification
- Stakeholder mapping
- Budget and timeline discovery
- Building urgency without pressure
Objection Handling & Negotiation
- Price objection responses
- Competitor comparison handling
- Procurement negotiation tactics
- Discount strategy and margin protection
- Contract term negotiation
Closing & Account Management
- Trial close techniques
- Deal progression signals
- Mutual action plans
- Expansion and upsell identification
- Churn risk recognition
Sample questions
An inbound lead says, 'I'm just doing some research, can you send me pricing?' How do you respond on the call?
EntryLook for Doesn't just blurt a price. Asks a couple of qualifying questions to understand the use case and timeline first, adds value, and secures a next step rather than ending in a brochure dump.
Sell me this pen. (Or: pitch a product you used to sell, to me as a cold prospect.)
EntryLook for Starts with discovery, not features. Asks what I need before pitching, ties the product to a stated problem, and reads my reactions. Beware a polished monologue with zero questions.
A prospect says, 'Your competitor is 20% cheaper.' What do you say?
MidLook for Stays calm, gets curious about what they're comparing, reframes around value and outcome rather than instantly discounting or trashing the competitor. Holds price with confidence.
You have a deal that looks great but the champion has no budget and no clear timeline. What do you do?
MidLook for Recognizes this is poorly qualified, is willing to deprioritize or disqualify, and explains how they'd test for real urgency and access to budget rather than forecasting hopium.
A deal you forecast to close this month just went silent. Walk me through your next moves.
MidLook for Has a methodical re-engagement plan, multi-threads to other stakeholders, references a documented next step, and stays composed instead of panicking or spamming the contact.
Tell me about the most painful deal you ever lost. Why did you lose it, and what would you do differently?
SeniorLook for Real ownership and specifics. Identifies a controllable mistake (weak qualification, single-threaded, no urgency) rather than blaming price or product. Shows coachability.
You're selling into a buying group of five people with conflicting priorities. How do you run the deal?
SeniorLook for Maps stakeholders, identifies the economic buyer and the blockers, tailors value per persona, and builds consensus rather than relying on a single champion. Shows complex-deal navigation.
A prospect is enthusiastic but you suspect they're a bad long-term fit and likely to churn. What do you do?
SeniorLook for Prioritizes deal quality over a quick win, willing to walk away or set honest expectations. Signals integrity and long-term thinking over short-term quota chasing.
Red flags
- Pitches features immediately and never asks a discovery question
- Folds on price the moment an objection appears, or argues defensively instead
- Can't name a deal they lost or disqualified, every story is a heroic win
- Talks over the buyer in the role-play and ignores cues to slow down
- Vague, unverifiable numbers with no sense of how they were achieved
- Treats objections as attacks to win rather than concerns to understand
- No process: closing for the next step seems to happen by accident, not design
Scoring rubric
| Criterion | Weight | What strong looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery and qualification | 30% | Asks sharp questions, listens, uncovers real pain and fit, and will disqualify a bad deal. |
| Objection handling | 25% | Understands the concern first, reframes around value, holds price with confidence, never gets defensive. |
| Value articulation and buyer focus | 20% | Ties the product to a specific, quantified outcome the buyer cares about and adapts per persona. |
| Advancing and closing the deal | 15% | Always secures a concrete next step and moves deals forward deliberately, not pushily. |
| Coachability and self-awareness | 10% | Owns past losses, extracts lessons, and is hungry to improve rather than defensive. |
Why it is used
For employers
- Predict revenue-generating capability before investing in onboarding and ramp-up
- Identify candidates with genuine sales methodology knowledge versus those who rely on charm alone
- Reduce the high cost of sales mis-hires by validating core competencies upfront
- Compare candidates from different industries on transferable sales fundamentals
- Get detailed skill breakdowns to customize onboarding and coaching plans
For candidates
- Prove sales acumen through realistic scenarios rather than hypothetical interview questions
- Demonstrate strategic thinking and methodology knowledge that distinguish top performers
- Complete the assessment in a focused 30-40 minute session
- Showcase transferable sales skills regardless of industry background
Common questions
Is this assessment designed for a specific sales methodology like SPIN or Challenger?
The assessment evaluates universal sales competencies that are relevant across methodologies. While it references frameworks like MEDDIC, BANT, and Challenger concepts, it does not require adherence to any single methodology. Candidates can demonstrate effectiveness using whatever approach they know.
Can the assessment evaluate industry-specific sales knowledge?
Yes, Cohesyve can customize scenarios to reflect the industry context, deal sizes, and buyer personas relevant to the role. A SaaS enterprise sales assessment will present different scenarios than a medical device or financial services sales assessment.
How does this differ from a role-play or mock sales call?
This assessment evaluates strategic sales thinking and decision-making through written scenarios rather than live role-play. It measures the analytical and methodological skills that underpin sales performance, complementing the interpersonal skills observed during live interviews.
Cohesyve · Skill assessments for hiring
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