Knowledge Bases and Salesperson Effectiveness: A Script-Theoretic Analysis

Abstract

Salesperson effectiveness in customer interaction is evaluated from a script-theoretic perspective. Differences in salesperson performance are traced to differences in knowledge of the actions and events across and within sales situations and the salesperson's ability to abstract from relevant previous experience. Results of two experiments conducted in an insurance context indicate that, as hypothesized, high effective salespeople provided more elaborate, distinctive, contingent, and hypothetical scripts than low effective salespeople. Moreover, these effects were accentuated in less typical sales situations, as suggested by results in the homeowner's insurance but not the life insurance experiment. Theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.