A multistage model of the process by which an industrial salesperson influences a customer's preferences is introduced. The relationship between a salesperson's abilities during the two initial stages—impression formation and strategy formulation—and relative sales performance was examined. Industrial salespeople's perceptions of their customers’ brand attribute perceptions were matched against the customers’ actual perceptions, and a normative change strategy model was matched against the salespeople's reported change strategies. Variations in these abilities accounted for 20% of the variance in actual field sales performance.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonNorman H.“Cognitive Algebra,” in BerkowitzL., ed., Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 7. New York: Academic Press, 1974.
2.
BassFrank M., and Wayne TalarzykW.“An Attitude Model for the Study of Brand Preference,”Journal of Marketing Research, 9(February 1972), 93–6.
3.
BassFrank M., and WilkieWilliam L.“A Comparative Analysis of Attitudinal Predictions of Brand Preference,”Journal of Marketing Research, 10(August 1973), 262–9.
4.
BoydHarper W., RayMichael L., and StrongEdward C.“An Attitudinal Framework for Advertising Strategy,”Journal of Marketing, 36(April 1972), 27–33.
5.
CohenJoel B.“Towards an Integrated Use of Expectancy-Value Attitude Models,” in David HughesG., and RayMichael L., eds., Buyer/Consumer Information Processing.Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1974, 332–47.
6.
CravensDavid W., and WoodruffRobert B.“Analytical Approach for Evaluating Sales Territory Performance,”36 (January 1972), 31–7.
7.
DawesRobyn M., and CorriganBernard. “Linear Models in Decision Making,”Psychological Bulletin, 81(February 1974), 45–106.
8.
EvansFranklin. “Selling as a Dyadic Relationship—A New Approach,”American Behavioral Scientist, 6(May 1963), 76.
9.
FishbeinMartin, and AjzenIcek. Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research.Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley,1975.
10.
FishburnPeter C.Utility Theory for Decision Making.New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,1970.
11.
FreedmanJ. L., and FrazerS.“Compliance Without Pressure: The Foot-in-the-Door Technique,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(1966), 195–202.
12.
GhiselliEdwin E.“The Validity of Aptitude Tests in Personnel Selection,”Personnel Psychology, 26(Winter 1977), 461–77.
13.
HastorfF., AlbertH., SchneiderDavid J., and PolefkaJudith. Person Perception.Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley,1970.
14.
JohnstonJ.Econometric Methods, Revised Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,1972.
15.
KotlerPhilip. Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control, 3rd Edition.Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976.
16.
KrechDavid, CrutchfieldRichard S., and BallacheyEgerton L.Individual in Society.New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,1962.
17.
LehmannDonald R.“Television Show Preference: Application of a Choice Model,”Journal of Marketing Research, 8(February 1971), 47–55.
18.
LucasHenry C., WeinbergCharles B., and ClowesKenneth W.“Sales Response as a Function of Territorial Potential and Sales Representative Workload,”Journal of Marketing Research, 12(August 1975), 298–305.
19.
LutzRichard J.“Changing Brand Attitudes Through Modification of Cognitive Structure,”Journal of Consumer Research, 1(March 1975), 49–59.
20.
SteinerIvan D.“Interpersonal Behavior as Influenced by Accuracy of Social Perception,”Psychological Review, 62(July 1955), 268–74.
21.
UdellJon G. “Successful Marketing Strategies in American Industry.Madison, Wisconsin: Mimir Publishers, 1972.
22.
WalkerOrville E., ChurchillGilbert A., and FordNeil M.“Motivation and Performance in Industrial Selling: Present Knowledge and Needed Research,”Journal of Marketing Research, 14(May 1977), 156–68.
23.
WeitzBarton A.“Salesman Performance as Related to Customer Decision Processes,” unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 1977.
24.
WeitzBarton A.“Salesperson Effectiveness in Influencing Customer Decisions: A Review,” UCLA Working Paper Series, No. 75, 1978.
25.
WildtAlbert R., and BrunoAlbert V.“The Prediction of Preference for Capital Equipment Using Linear Attitude Models,”Journal of Marketing Research, 11(May 1974), 203–5.
26.
WolfeHarry D., and AlbaumGerald. “Inequality in Products, Orders, Customers, Salesmen, and Sales Territories,”Journal of Business, 35(July 1962), 298–301.
27.
WrightPeter L.“Use of Consumer Judgment Models in Promotion Planning,”Journal of Marketing, 37(October 1973), 27–33.
