RevPhos

Sales Capability Assessment · every skill we test

21 capabilities. 78 skills. All tested in the work.

We watch your people do the work, not rate themselves. Each person sits a simulated day written for their role, and every skill below is measured by what they actually do in it: on calls, in quotes, in the inbox and in the pipeline.

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  • 21capabilities18 for every seller, 3 more for managers
  • 78skills we look forEach one something a person does, not a box they tick
  • 3rolesInside sales, field sales and AEs, sales managers
  • 40minutesOne simulated day per person, on any computer

Win new business

Find the right customers, understand what they need and move real deals forward.

Proactive prospecting

Your people start conversations instead of waiting for the phone to ring.

Starts conversations the customer did not ask for, aimed at the right accounts, with a reason to talk.

What we look for

  • Re-opens a lapsed customer with a specific reason, and finds out what it would take to win them back
  • Earns a first meeting with a senior person who has never heard of you
  • Writes first messages tied to something real in the prospect's business, not generic introductions

How we test it

  • Live customer call
  • First message
  • Plan the week
Inside salesHigh weight
An outbound call to a customer whose spend has dropped away, and choosing a first message to a new prospect.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Choosing how to win a first meeting with a senior person who has never heard of you.
Sales managers
Not part of this role's day.

Discovery

Fewer quotes fired off blind; more deals built on the customer's real problem.

Uses questions and listening to understand the situation, problem, impact and desired outcome before recommending.

What we look for

  • Treats “just send me a price” as a chance to understand the situation
  • Asks what the problem costs the customer before recommending anything
  • Finds the real reason behind a discount demand before talking numbers
  • Spots where a seller skipped the customer's problem (managers)

How we test it

  • Live customer call
  • Call review
Inside salesHigh weight
An inbound and an outbound customer call that change with every answer.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
A first meeting with a new prospect and a renewal negotiation.
Sales managersMedium weight
Spotting the discovery moments worth coaching in a seller's call.

Qualifying and follow-through

Time goes to deals that will close, and every conversation ends with a next step.

Judges which opportunities are real and moves them forward with clear next steps, decision process and timing.

What we look for

  • Puts time into deals with a known decision-maker, date and fit, not just the biggest
  • Names the gap that matters most after a first meeting: how the decision gets made, against what, by when
  • Re-qualifies a deal when the champion leaves, before keeping it in the forecast
  • Ends every call with a concrete, dated next step
  • Moves an anxious, undecided buyer to a decision
  • Asks for evidence before believing a seller's commit (managers)

How we test it

  • Plan the week
  • Live customer call
  • Buyer moment
  • Pipeline and forecast
Inside salesMedium weight
Ranking open proposals by where time pays off, and closing out a live call.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Naming what is still unknown after a meeting, acting when a champion leaves, and a buyer who cannot decide.
Sales managersHigh weight
Challenging a seller who is sure of a big deal that shows no recent activity.

Buying group engagement

Deals stop dying when one contact goes quiet or moves on.

Engages everyone who influences the purchase rather than one contact.

What we look for

  • Asks early who else will weigh in
  • Gets time with the approver before terms go in writing
  • Gets stakeholders who want different things to agree what success looks like

How we test it

  • Live customer call
  • Buyer moment
Inside salesLight weight
Finding who else weighs in during a live customer call.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Widening a first meeting and a negotiation to the people who decide, and a buying group that wants different things.
Sales managers
Not part of this role's day.

Grow and keep accounts

Hold on to the customers you have and sell them more, as one team.

Account growth

More revenue from the customers you already have.

Grows existing customers by finding and acting on whitespace: lines, sites and services they buy elsewhere or not at all.

What we look for

  • Reads an account for growth and risk, and ignores the noise
  • Turns a contact who has moved jobs into a new opportunity
  • Asks for related business when the moment is right
  • Builds a territory with room to grow (managers)

How we test it

  • Account review
  • Live customer call
Inside salesHigh weight
An account review: which signals are worth acting on, and a win-back call.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
Turning a long-standing relationship into a brand new account.
Sales managersMedium weight
Building a new seller's territory with growth in mind.

Customer experience

Problems get owned and fixed before they cost you the customer.

Accurate orders, proactive updates and problems owned until fixed.

What we look for

  • Tells a customer about a problem before they find it, with options
  • Owns a past mistake and says what has changed
  • Handles an escalation from an upset key customer and fixes the cause (managers)

How we test it

  • Inbox triage
  • Price pushback
Inside salesHigh weight
A set-up mistake the customer does not know about yet, days before they go live.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
Hearing about a past service failure, and handling blame in a negotiation.
Sales managersMedium weight
Answering a key customer who emails you directly after being let down.

Team selling

Inside and field reps work as one team, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Works as one team with partner reps and specialists: shared plans and clean handoffs.

What we look for

  • Agrees with a partner rep who calls, about what, by when
  • Brings the right colleague or specialist into the next step
  • Sets clear ownership when two sellers quote the same customer (managers)

How we test it

  • Team handoff
  • Live customer call
  • Team design
Inside salesHigh weight
A thin lead from a partner rep, a shared account going quiet, and agreeing next steps on a call.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Your inside partner spots a competitor circling one of your accounts.
Sales managersHigh weight
Two of your sellers sent the same customer different prices.

Commercial skill

Sell on value, recommend the right thing and protect margin on every deal.

Adaptive selling and value

Your people win on value instead of racing to the lowest price.

Reads the customer, adapts the approach and links the offer to the outcomes they care about, with proof.

What we look for

  • Builds the case in the buyer's own numbers
  • Meets a cost-cutting goal in total cost, without giving away margin
  • Helps a buyer who has already researched online or with AI make sense of their options, instead of re-pitching
  • Picks up the worry behind a polite email and answers it
  • Gives an undecided buyer a clear recommendation
  • Coaches sellers who slide into discounts and features (managers)

How we test it

  • Live customer call
  • Buyer moment
  • Price pushback
  • Call review
Inside salesMedium weight
Live calls, and a buyer who has done their own research and just wants a price.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Building the case in a first meeting and a negotiation, an email with a worry behind it, and a buyer who cannot decide.
Sales managersMedium weight
Spotting where a seller's call slid into features and price.

Negotiation and margin

Fewer give-away discounts: concessions get traded, not handed over.

Reaches agreement that keeps the customer and protects profit; trades concessions rather than giving them.

What we look for

  • Compares like for like before talking price when a competitor is “cheaper”
  • Trades every concession for something in return
  • Knows what a discount really gives up in volume or revenue
  • Protects margin when extras are promised for free
  • Explains a team margin drop honestly and keeps discounting in check (managers)

How we test it

  • Price pushback
  • Pricing maths
  • Live customer call
Inside salesHigh weight
A good customer asks for a discount, plus the margin cost of discounts and free extras.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
A customer pushes back on a proposal's price, and a live negotiation with procurement.
Sales managersHigh weight
Defending the team's number and margin on the forecast call.

Business and financial acumen

Your team manages to gross profit, not just revenue.

Understands how both businesses make money and manages the book to gross profit, not revenue.

What we look for

  • Works out the gross margin on a sale
  • Works out what an account will be worth after changes at renewal
  • Works out how fast a proposal pays for itself in the customer's numbers
  • Asks where the margin went when sales beat target but profit missed (managers)

How we test it

  • Pricing maths
  • Live customer call
Inside salesMedium weight
Gross margin on a deal and an account's value over the next 12 months.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Payback on the customer's case, and terms that help both businesses.
Sales managersHigh weight
The team hit its sales target but missed gross profit: what do you ask first?

Product and application knowledge

The right offer is recommended first time, so fewer costly mistakes.

Knows the offer and how it is applied well enough to recommend, substitute and solve problems correctly.

What we look for

  • Reads an offer sheet and recommends the plan that fits, neither over- nor under-selling
  • Explains accurately what a customer is and is not getting
  • Adds the right extras because of what the customer said

How we test it

  • Plan fit
  • Live customer call
Inside salesHigh weight
Choosing the right plan for a customer, and explaining a limit they have hit.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
Choosing the plan that fits a multi-site customer's needs.
Sales managers
Not part of this role's day.

Work smart with AI and data

Plan the week, keep the pipeline honest and use AI without being fooled by it.

Data, CRM and AI fluency

AI and the CRM make your team faster, without wrong answers reaching customers.

Uses CRM, reports and AI tools to find, prepare and act, and checks AI output.

What we look for

  • Treats a stale CRM record as a risk, not a forecast
  • Checks an AI summary or forecast claim against the records before using it
  • Uses an AI assistant to prepare for a call, and keeps customer data out of public tools
  • Leads the team's adoption of AI so it sticks (managers)
  • Picks the measure that shows whether a team is really changing (managers)

How we test it

  • AI and CRM check
Inside salesHigh weight
An AI account summary that may be wrong, a deal that has not moved in months, and using AI to prepare for a call.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
AI-drafted forecast notes that sound confident.
Sales managersMedium weight
Getting the team to use a new AI assistant well, and choosing the measure that shows real change.

Pipeline and forecast discipline

A forecast you can plan on, with risk raised early.

Keeps an honest, current view of future business and calls the number.

What we look for

  • Forecasts on evidence, not feel or deal size
  • Picks the deals that belong in a quarter's commit
  • Works out the expected close from commit and best case (managers)
  • Gives the VP a number that is true, with what changed (managers)

How we test it

  • Pipeline and forecast
  • Pricing maths
  • Forecast call
Inside salesLight weight
Your manager asks which proposals will close this month.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Choosing which deals belong in your quarter's commit.
Sales managersHigh weight
The expected close from commit and best case, then the forecast call with your VP.

Territory and account planning

Time goes to the accounts and tasks with the most potential.

Segments accounts and plans coverage so time goes to the highest potential.

What we look for

  • Puts a day's competing requests in the right order
  • Spends field time where it pays, by potential and risk, not habit
  • Designs a territory for a new seller (managers)

How we test it

  • Inbox triage
  • Plan the week
  • Hiring decision
Inside salesMedium weight
Five things waiting in the inbox: what comes first.
Field sales and account executivesHigh weight
Four meeting slots left this week and five accounts that want one.
Sales managersHigh weight
Building the territory for a new hire.

Everyday foundations

The skills every other skill rests on, measured in the work, not asked about.

Written communication

Customers get clear replies that answer every point, first time.

Reads what a customer actually asked for and replies clearly, accurately and in a tone that keeps the relationship.

What we look for

  • Picks every request out of a messy customer email
  • Fixes a weak reply so it lands with the customer
  • Writes a follow-up that moves the deal
  • Announces a change so the team understands it (managers)

How we test it

  • Customer email
Inside salesMedium weight
A messy customer email with several asks, and a colleague's weak reply to fix.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
The follow-up email after a first meeting.
Sales managersHigh weight
Announcing a change in how the team works.

Commercial numeracy

Margin, discount and volume maths done right, in the moment.

Works out margin, price, discount and volume trade-offs quickly and correctly while selling.

What we look for

  • Gross margin, discounted contract value and blended margin on a two-part deal
  • The extra volume a discount needs, and the margin left after a free extra
  • Payback, expected forecast and quarter run-rate, against the clock, with numbers unique to each person

How we test it

  • Pricing maths
Inside salesMedium weight
Five timed sums on real quotes, with numbers that differ for every person.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
Payback, blended margin and the true cost of a multi-year discount.
Sales managersMedium weight
Expected close from the pipeline and where the quarter will land.

Listening and applying

Customers do not have to repeat themselves, and recommendations reflect what they said.

Takes in what a customer says, remembers the facts that matter and uses them in what comes next.

What we look for

  • Recalls the facts that matter (who signs, what went wrong, dates, costs) hours later, with the transcript hidden
  • Builds what comes next on what the customer actually said

How we test it

  • Memory check
  • Live customer call
Inside salesMedium weight
End-of-day questions about the day's calls, answered from memory.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
End-of-day questions about the meeting and the negotiation, answered from memory.
Sales managersHigh weight
End-of-week questions about the week's conversations, answered from memory.

Ownership, resilience and learning

People who bounce back from rejection and keep getting better.

Drives their own results, recovers from rejection and keeps adapting.

What we look for

  • Changes approach after weeks of rejection, rather than quitting or repeating
  • Learns from a lost deal instead of blaming
  • Turns an unpopular head-office change into useful feedback and adoption (managers)

How we test it

  • Setback
  • Live customer call
Inside salesHigh weight
Weeks of outbound calling with little to show for it.
Field sales and account executivesMedium weight
Losing a large deal after six months' work.
Sales managersHigh weight
Head office brings in a process the team dislikes.

Lead the team

For sales managers only. Sellers are never scored on these.

Coaching and development

Managers coach specific behaviours on real calls, not just the numbers.

Builds each seller’s skill through regular, specific coaching on real deals and calls, not just reviews of the numbers.

What we look for

  • Runs a one-to-one that finds the real problem and agrees one specific next step
  • Gives feedback a defensive top performer will hear
  • Picks the moments in a call most worth coaching

How we test it

  • Coaching one-to-one
  • Call review
Inside sales
Not scored. Sellers are never rated on leading the team.
Field sales and account executives
Not scored. Sellers are never rated on leading the team.
Sales managersHigh weight
A live one-to-one with a seller behind target, and a call recording to coach from.

Performance and pipeline leadership

Gaps get spotted weeks early and handled fairly.

Sets clear expectations, inspects pipeline and activity with evidence, forecasts the team accurately and acts early on gaps.

What we look for

  • Ranks which deals need a manager's attention first
  • Projects the quarter's finish from progress so far and acts on the gap
  • Handles persistent under-performance fairly and directly
  • Gives the VP an honest forecast under pressure

How we test it

  • Plan the week
  • Pricing maths
  • Coaching one-to-one
  • Forecast call
Inside sales
Not scored. Sellers are never rated on leading the team.
Field sales and account executives
Not scored. Sellers are never rated on leading the team.
Sales managersHigh weight
The pipeline review, mid-quarter numbers, a seller who keeps missing, and the forecast call.

Hiring and team building

Hires made on evidence, and good people kept.

Hires for the role that is needed next, designs territories and roles that work together, and keeps good people.

What we look for

  • Judges candidates on evidence of how they will do the job
  • Handles a star candidate's demands without breaking what works
  • Spots what is taking sellers' time away from selling

How we test it

  • Hiring decision
  • Coaching one-to-one
Inside sales
Not scored. Sellers are never rated on leading the team.
Field sales and account executives
Not scored. Sellers are never rated on leading the team.
Sales managersHigh weight
Hiring an account executive for a new territory.

By role

Each role gets its own day, weighted for its job.

Everyone is scored on the same capabilities, so results compare fairly across the team. Each role's day puts more weight on what matters most in that job.

A DAY ON THE DESK

Inside sales

The inbox, customer calls, pricing, an account review, an outbound call and the pipeline.

18 capabilities tested

  • Proactive prospectingHigh weight
  • DiscoveryHigh weight
  • Account growthHigh weight
  • Customer experienceHigh weight
  • Team sellingHigh weight
  • Negotiation and marginHigh weight
  • Product and application knowledgeHigh weight
  • Data, CRM and AI fluencyHigh weight
  • Ownership, resilience and learningHigh weight
  • Qualifying and follow-throughMedium weight
  • Adaptive selling and valueMedium weight
  • Business and financial acumenMedium weight
  • Territory and account planningMedium weight
  • Written communicationMedium weight
  • Commercial numeracyMedium weight
  • Listening and applyingMedium weight
  • Buying group engagementLight weight
  • Pipeline and forecast disciplineLight weight

A DAY IN THE TERRITORY

Field sales and account executives

Planning the week, a first meeting, a proposal, a champion, a renewal negotiation and the forecast.

18 capabilities tested

  • Proactive prospectingHigh weight
  • DiscoveryHigh weight
  • Qualifying and follow-throughHigh weight
  • Buying group engagementHigh weight
  • Team sellingHigh weight
  • Adaptive selling and valueHigh weight
  • Negotiation and marginHigh weight
  • Business and financial acumenHigh weight
  • Pipeline and forecast disciplineHigh weight
  • Territory and account planningHigh weight
  • Account growthMedium weight
  • Customer experienceMedium weight
  • Product and application knowledgeMedium weight
  • Data, CRM and AI fluencyMedium weight
  • Written communicationMedium weight
  • Commercial numeracyMedium weight
  • Listening and applyingMedium weight
  • Ownership, resilience and learningMedium weight

A WEEK LEADING THE TEAM

Sales managers

A pipeline review, a coaching one-to-one, a call recording, performance, hiring, team design and the forecast call.

18 capabilities tested

  • Qualifying and follow-throughHigh weight
  • Team sellingHigh weight
  • Negotiation and marginHigh weight
  • Business and financial acumenHigh weight
  • Pipeline and forecast disciplineHigh weight
  • Territory and account planningHigh weight
  • Written communicationHigh weight
  • Listening and applyingHigh weight
  • Ownership, resilience and learningHigh weight
  • Coaching and developmentHigh weight
  • Performance and pipeline leadershipHigh weight
  • Hiring and team buildingHigh weight
  • DiscoveryMedium weight
  • Account growthMedium weight
  • Customer experienceMedium weight
  • Adaptive selling and valueMedium weight
  • Data, CRM and AI fluencyMedium weight
  • Commercial numeracyMedium weight

How we test

Real situations, not a questionnaire.

Every answer is scored against a fixed key, so two people who make the same choices get the same score. How people rate themselves is shown for reflection and kept out of the score. The questions stay private so the assessment stays fair.

  • Live customer callA call that branches on every answer, so each choice changes what the customer says next.
  • Inbox triageA full inbox to put in order and act on.
  • Customer emailRead a real-looking email or draft and say what it needs.
  • Pricing mathsMargin, discount and deal-value sums, with fresh numbers for every person.
  • First messageChoose the best and worst first message to a prospect who has never heard of you.
  • Buyer momentA buyer who has researched alone, stalled or gone quiet: choose the best and worst move.
  • Price pushbackA customer pushes on price; choose the best and the worst response.
  • Account reviewRead an account's history and pick what is worth acting on.
  • Plan fitMatch a customer's needs to the right offer from a sheet shown on screen.
  • Plan the weekRank accounts, tasks or deals by where time does the most good.
  • Pipeline and forecastDecide what belongs in the forecast and how to answer the boss.
  • AI and CRM checkAn AI summary or stale CRM record that may not be what it seems.
  • Team handoffWork with a partner rep or specialist on a shared account.
  • SetbackRejection, a lost deal or an unpopular change: what do you do next?
  • Memory checkHours later, with the calls gone, answer from memory what the customer said.
  • Coaching one-to-oneA live, branching one-to-one with a seller who is behind.
  • Call reviewRead a seller's call and choose the moments to coach first.
  • Hiring decisionWeigh candidates and evidence for a new role.
  • Team designFix how inside and field sellers work together.
  • Forecast callA live, branching forecast call with your VP.

See it for yourself

Find out which of these skills will lift your team most.

Each person gets a development profile, managers see their team, and leaders see where training will move the most people.

See the assessment →Open the demo