Sales Training: Salespeople's Preparedness and Managerial Implications

Abstract

Salespeople use a variety of selling techniques in their jobs. Little published research, however, has examined how adequately sales training programs prepare sales personnel to employ these techniques. This paper reports the results of a survey that focused on salespeople's adequacy of preparation to utilize various sales techniques. The results of the study lead to several managerial implications about how to improve sales training programs.     

Sales Force Activities and Marketing Strategies in Industrial Firms: Relationships and Implications

This study explores the role of the sales force in formulating and executing marketing strategies. Specifically, the relationships between sales force activities such as providing information about customer needs, hiring and training salespeople, and assessing new market segments and four marketing strategies (market penetration, product development, market development, diversification) are examined. Results indicate that the use of sales force activities is related to a firm's strategic choices, and that the relationships vary by firm size and type of offering.     

Attributes and Behaviors of Salespeople Preferred by Buyers: High Socializing vs. Low Socializing Industrial Buyers

A random sample of purchasing agents was surveyed and split into two groups based on their socializing behavior. These two groups differ as to the importance of various salesperson attributes and behaviors. It was also found that “high” socializers tend to engage in after-hour meetings and discuss non-business related topics more so than “low” socializers. In addition, “high” socializers tend to be younger, provide more time for sales meetings, have less tenure, and are more likely to be found in smaller purchasing departments compared to “low” socializers. Other findings and implications are discussed and areas for further research are suggested.     

Sales Technology Applications: Interactive Video Technology in Sales Training: A Case Study

Interactive video (IV), a new technology for training, has had a recent surge in popularity. The use of interactive video technology has been reported to reduce training costs, increase quality, and decrease the amount of time required for training. The major characteristics of this new technology are presented. A state-of-the-art application of an IV system for sales training developed at BellSouth Services is discussed. The results confirm that IV is a promising new sales training tool.     

Managing a Sales Territory: A Comparison of Industrial Goods and Consumer Goods Sales Representatives

Abstract

What do the rapid changes in the environment faced by consumer goods marketers portend for their salesforces? They must change as well in order to meet the shifting requirements for successful marketing in the early 1980's. Effective sales territory management can be an important instrument for sales representatives in meeting these challenges. Sales territory management is one area, it would appear, where consumer goods marketers can learn a good deal from their counterparts in industrial goods salesforces.     

Selling and Sales Management in Action: Managerial and Legal Implications of Price Haggling: A Sales Manager's Dilemma

Conventional marketing wisdom suggests that once an organization has carefully selected the target market and positioning of its offering, the price strategy is relatively straightforward. However, with the increasing power of the buyer brought about by the proliferation of offerings, domestic and international, the consolidation of distribution channels, the slowing of market growth as well as legislation contribute to a far from straightforward implementation of the pricing policy. To this end, the authors will examine the managerial and legal implications of haggling over price which the sales manager will face regarding “one-price” and “variable-price” policies, and the effect of these policies on the buying process.

Price haggling has not enjoyed the same tradition in the United States as it has in many overseas markets. Until the end of retail price maintenance in 1975, in most cases the ticket price was the price to be paid. U.S. buyers consider themselves shrewd shoppers, but this shrewdness arises from shopping around, rather than from price negotiation. Indeed, one of the few exposures to price haggling in the United States is experienced while shopping at the car dealership. However, price negotiation is becoming far more common, particularly in business-to-business purchases. The problem, however, is how to administer the proper pricing strategy without alienating customers or violating the law.     

A Framework of Technology Mediation in Consumer Selling: Implications for Firms and Sales Management

Firms regard technology as a strategic tool to enhance sales effectiveness, improve customer service, and reduce costs. Within the context of sales technology, the focus of the paper is on the effect of technology mediation in consumer selling environments. Extant research has typically been at a micro-level and concentrated in two distinct areas: (1) salesperson adoption of sales technology and its effect on salespeople’s performance and (2) consumer adoption of technology and the use of technology in decision making. The paper examines the simultaneous effect of technology-mediated selling on both salespeople and consumers, at both micro- and macro-levels.     

Selling and Sales Management in Action: Sales Training: Status and Needs

Initial training, continuing education and management development activities continue to receive attention in the industrial sector (Honeycutt and Ford 1991). For example, recent reports indicate that organizations spend upwards of $30 billion annually for training programs involving 15 billion work hours (Huber 1985), with the objective being to improve the profitability of the firms.     

Sales Technology Applications: Self-Paced Video Enhanced Training: A Case Study

Video enhanced sales training (VET) is being adopted by a substantial number of firms. The reported advantages of video enhanced programs are lower costs and results-oriented training. The major characteristics and applications of this sales training technology are presented. The application of video enhanced training at Motorola Inc. is described. Results indicate that video enhanced training is a promising technological application that improves sales training effectiveness.     

A Contingency Approach to Specializing an Industrial Sales Force

Abstract

Psychographic, sociocultural and functional specialization are three alternative forms of deploying sales forces currently used by firms in combination with the traditional bases of specialization. Despite their usage, these forms have received little recognition and acceptance in the marketing literature. Because there is no single best form of specialization for all firms, this article proffers a contingency model of specialization whereby the optimal form(s) of specialization is dependent on the accurate analysis of twelve situational variables.     

Counselor-Client Sexual Contact: Implications for Ethics Training

Most programs spend little or no time addressing the prohibition against sexual contact with clients, yet it is the most commonly violated of the ethical principles. This article provides a brief overview of models of ethics training and addresses specific strategies for preventing counselor-client sexual contact. These strategies include knowledge, activities that promote self-awareness, and provision of a climate that enhances the development of moral values and behavior. The responsibilities of training programs are addressed, including the provision of clear statements of the rights and responsibilities of trainees and of a due process and grievance procedure for review of impaired or problematic trainees.     

Religion, Spirituality and Therapy: Implications for Training

Religion and spirituality are recognized coping resources but are neglected in psychological training and practice. However, religion and spirituality can be successfully used to cope with psychological disorders, prevent unhealthy behaviors and promote resilience. This study explored and described two questions regarding the concepts of the terminology religion and spirituality, and the perceptions of the use of religion and spirituality in therapy. Purposive sampling was utilized in a qualitative study of 15 registered psychologists, and data were analyzed using Tesch’s model of qualitative content analysis. The concepts religion and spirituality appear difficult to define but the importance of their use as coping mechanisms in their own and their clients’ lives was recognized. These findings have implications for professional training.     

Counselor Intentionality: Implications for the Training of Beginning Counselors

This article discusses how counselor intentions function within the process of counseling. Counselor intentions are discussed within the framework of the cognitive mediational paradigm. Implications of the use of counselor intentions for the training of beginning counselors are also delineated.     

Industrial Sales Force Selection: Current Knowledge and Needed Research

Abstract

Selection of sales force members is a critical function of sales management from both time and financial perspectives, yet little published research specific to this function exists in the marketing and sales management literature. Research in personnel selection has emphasized examination of the relative importance of a few variables in a single decision context. This approach does not consider the possible effects of the multi-decision process presently used in sales force selection. This article presents a conceptual framework of the selection process, reviews the marketing, sales management, and relevant personnel selection literature, and considers necessary future research directions.     

Cross-Cultural Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Historical Perspective,Implications for Research and Training

This article examines the development of cross-cultural and psychotherapy in the United States, and theoretical models and their implications for research and training are reviewed.     

The Dimensionality of the Industrial Sales Job Characteristics

Abstract

Sales representative motivation, satisfaction, and performance have been topics of considerable interest to managers and researchers alike for many years. Recently researchers have borrowed conceptualizations from organizational behavior and applied them successfully in the sales setting. For the most part, research on work-related sales representative motivation has focused on either the “expectancy” approach or the “job characteristics” approach. A brief overview is presented, followed by an assessment of the validity of the core dimensions found in the increasingly popular Job Diagnostic Survey in a sales representative context. The managerial implications of the assessment are also discussed.     

Listening and Communication Skills Training: Implications for Counselor Accountability

This article describes the development and implementation of a training procedure in listening and communication skills for employment service counselors. Implications are drawn from the listening and communication skills training and other human relations training approaches for counselor staff development and counselor accountability.     

Cognitive Aspects of Social Failure: Some Implications for Social-Skills Training

It is argued that negative self-beliefs and other irrational thoughts are a central and neglected component in explaining the failure of many clients to benefit from social-skills training. Evidence is reviewed showing that clients suffering various neurotic disorders tend to negatively distort feedback about others' reactions and their own performance in such a way as to bolster negative self-evaluation, and that this in turn inhibits and in other ways interferes with social performance. These negative self-evaluations may also interfere with training objectives, particularly durability and generalisation of new skills. Ways of changing self-beliefs are suggested, and various aspects of cognitive therapy and rational-emotive therapy are recommended as solutions to these problems.     

The Future of Sales Training: Challenges and Related Research Questions

This paper discusses four key challenges and related research questions that will be critical to the future success of sales training in three major areas: content development, delivery, and evaluation. The four challenges are the changing roles of salespeople, the intensified emphasis on accountability, the enhancement of technological capabilities, and the importance of cultural diversity. To examine these issues and develop future research questions, the paper draws from reports of industry practices and academic literature in sales training, the sales/service interface, customer-oriented selling, social media, self-directed learning, and multicultural communications competency.