A word in the left ear of the burgeoning tele-sales sector could help employers chose the right staff , enabling more frequent "hits" on target , particularly when making those infamous "cold" calls. The findings of a research study published in a British tele-business newsletter this week indicate that the ear which a person chooses to listen to the telephone could be a useful guideline as to their effectiveness, or otherwise, at selling.

The tele-sales study, undertaken at a British insurance company, asserts that those who used headsets on their left ear sold more policies than those favouring the right ear, or double headsets. Apparently, each half of the brain has different characteristics and controls the opposite side of the body. The theory is that right-brained individuals tend to be the right stuff for the particular demands of tele-sales, tending to be more creative and intuitive, while left-brained people are perceived as more logical and systematic. Staff who listened using the left-ear unit were judged to be right-brained, and vice-versa. This could cut a swathe through the gamut of currently fashionable employee profiling, such as handwriting analysis and interpretation of inkblots. Want a creative, mercurial "self-starter" or a methodical, analytical plodder? Simply get the interviewee to answer the telephone!