SherpaWorks Begins Joint Research with Professor Shinobu Hasegawa of Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) to Develop AI Sales Assessment

SherpaWorks Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tatsuya Yonekura; hereinafter 'SherpaWorks') has commenced joint research with Professor Shinobu Hasegawa, Director of the Information Infrastructure Center at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), a national university corporation, to develop an AI-powered assessment for sales personnel.

This joint research aims to establish an AI assessment method that extracts factors influencing B2B sales performance and evaluates highly critical competencies with high precision.

Overview

For approximately 10 years, SherpaWorks has provided side-by-side support for B2B companies to achieve advanced standardization of their sales organizations, including process structure design, sales personnel development, and sales organization building.

Through this work, it has become clear that sales performance primarily depends on the ability to break through barriers in the following processes and the ability to drive these processes autonomously:

- Deal Creation (Discovering customers' latent issues, building a framework for success, and establishing a foundation for consideration)
- Proposal (Proposing creative and high-value solutions that contribute to solving customer problems)
- Order Acquisition (Building consensus among stakeholders on the proposal and leading to closure)
- Self-Management (Managing oneself to consistently achieve high performance)

However, among the various abilities needed to overcome each barrier, it has not been clear which ones are particularly influential.

In this joint research, incorporating the expertise of Professor Hasegawa, who specializes in educational technology and learning support systems, SherpaWorks will advance the design of evaluations to measure the abilities required in sales in a more practical manner and verify AI-based scoring and feedback methods.

Background and Purpose of the Joint Research

Sales organizations are required to analyze the behaviors and thinking of high performers and utilize these insights for training and management.

However, sales performance tends to rely on individual experience and intuition, leading to the following challenges in training settings:

- Difficulty in objectively understanding the strengths and weaknesses of sales skills
- Tendency for training priorities to be influenced by managers' subjectivity
- Difficulty in quantitatively tracking changes and growth after training
- Difficulty in disseminating the behavioral characteristics of high-performing salespeople across the organization

To address these challenges, SherpaWorks is developing an AI sales assessment that organizes the competencies necessary for sales activities based on its accumulated knowledge and measures them practically through case studies and role-plays.

This joint research aims to establish a new assessment method that can be used for training, placement, and management of sales personnel by enhancing the reproducibility and validity of AI-based evaluations.

Research Content and Future Outlook

This joint research will primarily verify the following themes:

1. Evaluation Design of Sales Competencies

Organize sales activities into four areas: 'Deal Creation, Proposal, Order Acquisition, and Self-Management,' and extract key competencies for each process.
Design evaluation items that can be measured through exercises such as case studies and role-plays.

2. Verification of AI Scoring and Evaluation Validity

Verify the degree of agreement between AI evaluation results and evaluations by sales experts.
Develop rubrics and scoring guides to serve as evaluation criteria and examine mechanisms to reduce variability in AI evaluations.

3. Exercise Design with High Practical Reproducibility

Set realistic sales scenarios, such as initial visits, reporting to superiors, proposal design, proposal implementation, and order negotiation, and design exercises that can measure abilities in a format close to actual practice.

4. Design of Feedback Reports for Development

Design feedback reports that show not just scores but also the examinee's sales maturity, strengths, challenges, and areas for further development.

Going forward, SherpaWorks will improve accuracy through prototype development and monitor verification, and implement the assessment for practical use in actual sales settings.

Research results will be published through academic conferences and papers, contributing to the advancement of sales personnel evaluation.

Comments

Professor Shinobu Hasegawa, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST)

'In the highly practical field of sales, how to define and measure abilities has not been sufficiently systematized. Through this research, I hope to contribute to the establishment of a reproducible evaluation method by integrating academic knowledge and practical expertise.'

Tatsuya Yonekura, Representative Director, SherpaWorks Co., Ltd.

'Sales is the core of corporate growth, yet its evaluation and development remain dependent on individuals. Through this joint research, we aim to scientize sales capabilities and create a foundation where anyone can grow in a reproducible way.'

About Professor Shinobu Hasegawa, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST)

Professor Shinobu Hasegawa is affiliated with JAIST and specializes in learning informatics, learning engineering, educational technology, and knowledge engineering. His research focuses on systems that support learner growth, with keywords including AI in Education, skill learning support, and proactive learning support.

About SherpaWorks Co., Ltd.

With the mission of 'Energizing Japanese Sales,' SherpaWorks provides human resource development and organizational development support for B2B companies' sales organizations. It supports sales reform for many companies with know-how based on practical knowledge and hands-on execution support that deeply engages with the field.

Company Name: SherpaWorks Co., Ltd.
Location: 6th Floor, Kioicho Building, 3-12 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Tatsuya Yonekura
Established: August 1, 2016
URL: https://sherpaworks.jp/

Business Description:
1. Consulting business for sales force strengthening
2. Consulting business for organizational development and human resource development
3. System service business related to the above

Inquiries:

SherpaWorks Co., Ltd.
Contact: Takeaki Nunokawa
Email: info@sherpaworks.jp