Hiring for success at the buyer–seller interface

Marshall, Greg W.; Goebel, Daniel J.; Moncrief, William C.

doi:10.1016/s0148-2963(02)00435-6

Cited by 70 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Correctly identifying salespeople with the potential to succeed is a chronically acute and pressing problem for sales managers (Marshall et al 2003). And yet, this work showed that the effects of each of the tested sales perspectives on the different measures of selling performance tended to vary somewhat by firm or industry.…”

Section: Managerial and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Customer-directed selling behaviors and performance: a comparison of existing perspectives

Plouffe

Hulland

Wachner

2009

J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

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Sales researchers have spent decades developing and empirically testing various scales that reflect distinct theoretical perspectives of salesperson behavior and job functioning. Despite extensive research in this area, little comparative work has been done to assess the relative effectiveness of these different scales in explaining salesperson performance or to explicate whether or not they are best considered in isolation or as working together-even potentially interacting-to influence sales success. We examine four established scales related to customerdirected salesperson job functioning, and look at how well they relate to both self-reported and objective job performance measures. Our analyses are based on responses from 524 salespeople drawn from three different firms. The results show that two scales (ADAPTS, Selling Skills) outperform the others. Furthermore, we find an important interaction between ADAPTS and Selling Skills that helps to predict superior objective performance.

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Section: Managerial and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Customer-directed selling behaviors and performance: a comparison of existing perspectives

Plouffe

Hulland

Wachner

2009

J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

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“…Table 3 demonstrates a high correlation for this item, but then the question becomes, what does this high correlation mean? This is especially true in view of the increasing complexity-or knowledge intensity-of the selling environment (e.g., Marshall et al 2003) that is becoming more cognitively demanding for salespeople. For instance, new research on mediators and (cross-level) moderators of the cognitive ability-sales performance association could enhance the field's understanding of how, when and why cognitive abilities are relevant to successful sales.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of sales performance: a contemporary meta-analysis. Have salespeople become knowledge brokers?

Verbeke

Dietz

Verwaal

2010

J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

493

423

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It has been 25 years since the publication of a comprehensive review of the full spectrum of salesperformance drivers. This study takes stock of the contemporary field and synthesizes empirical evidence from the period . The authors revise the classification scheme for sales performance determinants devised by Walker et al. (1977) and estimate both the predictive validity of its sub-categories and the impact of a range of moderators on determinant-sales performance relationships. Based on multivariate causal model analysis, the results make two major observations: (1) Five sub-categories demonstrate significant relationships with sales performance: selling-related knowledge (β=.28), degree of adaptiveness (β=.27), role ambiguity (β=−.25), cognitive aptitude (β=.23) and work engagement (β=.23). (2) These sub-categories are moderated by measurement method, research context, and salestype variables. The authors identify managerial implications of the results and offer suggestions for further research, including the conjecture that as the world is moving toward a knowledge-intensive economy, salespeople could be functioning as knowledge-brokers. The results seem to back this supposition and indicate how it might inspire future research in the field of personal selling.Keywords Sales performance . Salespeople . Meta-analysis . Knowledge-economy . Knowledge-brokering An understanding of the factors that drive sales performance and how these vary across different contexts is essential for both managers and researchers in sales and marketing. Twenty-five years ago Churchill et al. (1985) published a seminal paper on the antecedents of sales performance that has shaped academic and managerial thinking on sales management and become one of the most cited articles in marketing research (Leigh et al. 2001). Applying a classification scheme of antecedents of sales performance developed previously by Walker et al. (1977), Churchill et al. (1985) found six predictive categories to explain marginal variance in sales performance (in order of predictive validity): role perceptions, skill levels, aptitude, motivation, personal characteristics, and organizational/ environmental variables. In addition, their meta-analysis demonstrated that the type of products sold moderated the predictive power of these categories for sales performance. Most empirical research thus far had been looking at enduring personal characteristics as determinants for sales performance. The basic message of this meta-analysis was that these variables were not the most important predictors (Churchill et al. 1985, p. 117). Instead, Churchill et al. (1985 suggested that researchers should investigate "influenceable" determinants of sales performance. Another key focus they proposed was the dynamic nature of the sales Mark. Sci. (2011) 39:407-428 DOI 10.1007 conversation that indeed has become a crucial research topic (p. 116). This call sparked a plethora of new research streams on the determinants of sales performance. Twentyfive years have passed ...

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“…Listening and asking questions become key elements of the transformation of the overcoming objections step. A survey of 215 sales managers from a variety of industries found listening skills is the single most important attribute sought in new sales recruits (Marshall, Goebel, & Moncrief, 2003). Although any salesperson wants the successful completion of a sale, when making multiple calls on a customer the goal in each call is not necessarily a classic close.…”

Section: Transformation Of the Overcoming Objections Stepmentioning

confidence: 99%