In this testimonial, Dina, the owner of Client Matters – a finance‑industry marketing firm – recounts her four‑year relationship with Performia. She first used Performia’s team‑assessment test to surface personality traits, management preferences, and hidden problem areas within her existing staff, which helped improve teamwork and productivity. Later, when she needed a new salesperson for her phone‑based sales operation, Performia guided her through a structured hiring pipeline: a pre‑hire questionnaire, automated red/orange/green scoring, and a rigorous interview process that prioritized skills and attributes over résumé experience. Despite initially dismissing a retail‑manager candidate (Janice) because her background didn’t match the typical sales profile, Dina trusted Performia’s recommendation, hired her, and placed her in intensive sales training. Janice quickly met KPIs, was promoted to sales manager within six months, built the sales system, and eventually became Dina’s business manager. The story illustrates how Performia’s data‑driven approach can uncover high‑potential talent that traditional recruiting misses, and Dina ends with a strong endorsement of the system.
Chapters
Client Matters. We are a marketing company for the finance industry. I started working with Performia probably about 4 years ago, actually. They started helping me with my business when I was having some challenges with the existing team, and I wanted to know how we could improve teamwork and how we could all get on better, how to improve productivity. So we did a team exercise where we all took this test and we got feedback about ourselves, and it was quite interesting that the way they do the test, they find out about not only your skills and attributes, your personalities, and how people like to be managed or not be managed. And the good thing that came out of it is we highlighted some problem areas with some of the team that we already know— let's face it, if we recruit everyone perfectly every time, it'll be a wonderful world, but that doesn't always happen. And so we did this team exercise and it allowed the managers and myself in the business to understand better how to work with people and get the best out of people. So that was the first experience. The second experience was when I was looking for a new salesperson. And I've always struggled. I've been in business for 16 years and I've always struggled to find a really good long-term salesperson that can actually sell. I've interviewed a lot of people, I've hired a lot of people that tell me they can sell, and when it comes down to it, there's a lot of talkers out there and people that are good at interviews, but when it comes to salespeople, it's really, really hard. Particularly in our environment, is we were a phone-based sales company, and we've been like that for a long, long time, actually, and people that might be good in retail or turning up face-to-face appointments, a lot of them don't realise they can actually sell over the phone over Zoom and Skype and things like that. So, the process that Performia took us through was actually to find the skills and attributes of people first, before we look at their background and experience and whether they actually had any sales experience at all. So, we were looking at someone that had high customer service outlook, people that were good with people, that could communicate with people across a variety of of different personas, particularly in my business, we're talking to business owners. So, we were looking for someone that could hold credible conversations and intelligent conversations with people that didn't come across as a typical salesperson. And it was very, very interesting, and I probably in the past tend to think I know a lot, and I could be guilty of that. And when we looked at the process, what it does is actually weed people out of your interview process. So, my experience with other recruitment companies were they'll do an ad, they'll feed people in, and they'll present their top 3 out of a whole pool of people. Now, them presenting the top 3 is based on their own personal recommendation, looking at a resume, a phone call, and maybe an interview, but it doesn't really tell you how good they are. Most Most reference checking is also about, you know, have they turned up? Are they on time and punctual? Can they do the job? And very, very basic stuff that doesn't actually tell you a lot about how they perform. I know that because I've been at the end of— I've been a reference for people and they just don't ask the right questions. So, the combination of the process that we go through with Performia is that we let everyone apply and we let everyone fill out a survey, a questionnaire. And what it does is that the people that aren't prepared to do the questionnaire to start with, well, obviously they're not genuine in looking for a job. And if you— if it's all too hard to just fill in a questionnaire to get a job, we don't want to employ them anyway. So that wipes out probably 50% of the people. The second process is that The formee will look at the results of the questionnaire and they'll categorise them into red, orange, and green. And red means probably a good chance they're not going to turn out for various reasons. Orange is potential, but we need to dig a bit deeper. And green light means they're a super go, let's have an interview and let's go through the process and explore and dig a bit deeper to see if they're right for you. I was recruiting a salesperson at the time And I only had one green light, and I had lots and lots of oranges and quite a few reds. And the green light didn't really hit a chord for me initially, and I thought, well, it doesn't typically fit a profile that I would normally pick for someone. The young lady that applied had worked in retail. She had been a manager of people. So, on her resume, she looked like there's absolutely no way that she'd fit and work in my organisation. So, I did actually put her to the side and discounted her at first. And then I interviewed all the orange people, the ones that had the orange light. And there were some really, really good people in there that I thought had the potential. And I think I offered one or two a job, and then circumstances came up that they didn't end up going through. And I was ready to give up the whole role. And Jazz from Performing just said, Dina, just trust the process. Trust me, trust the process. Give this girl a call. So I said, all right, if I call her and I like her, then I'll interview her. So I had a phone call with this girl and she blew me away. She had been working in retail, and this was a young girl who had been getting up at 4 o'clock in the morning to get to work in Double Bay in Sydney. which is 2 hours away on public transport. So she took 2 hours to get to work, to work from 6 o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock at night, and then to travel home 3 days a week, and she had a 10-month-old child. And I just thought, if that's not a commitment to working, I don't know what is. She also had 2 degrees, one of which she put herself through in her own time and at her own expense. And I just felt this amazing connection with her. So we invited her in for an interview, and like I said, absolutely nothing what I thought, didn't feel the part. But when I met her, we just sort of had this bond, and she admitted that, look, I haven't got any sales experience. I've done this, I've done this, I've done this, but I'm really looking for the next part of my career, and she ticked all the right boxes that she had the potential to be an awesome salesperson. So I actually put her on, and we put her through some intensive sales training, and I'm happy to say that Janice is still with me after 3 and a half years. She went from being a salesperson, and within, I think, her 4th month, she was meeting her KPIs from never selling before, plus selling over the phone. She was meeting her KPIs. I promoted her to sales manager within 6 months of joining the business. Then she had her own team to manage. She created all our sales systems and managed the team, and she's now been my business manager for probably the last 18 months. And she is just such an awesome person. She's productive, she's good with systems, she's great with people, she's a good communicator, she's a fantastic manager. She's hard and tough, but she's fair. And I would never have picked her off a resume. So, I know that's a really long story to share, but I feel it's important to understand that the system works if you go with the system and the procedures they've put together. They will find diamonds in a big pool of applicants for you. And you've just got to listen to what they say. You will absolutely be surprised. So good luck with your hiring. I can highly recommend the process and the system, and good luck with your business. Thank you.
