Service executives on preparing undergraduates for sales positions.

Luthy, Michael R.

ABSTRACT

Business schools are increasingly under scrutiny to make certain that the knowledge and skills they impart to students are consistent with the needs of a rapidly changing competitive environment and the organizations that hire college graduates. The current research surveyed senior-level sales executives at 400 U.S.-based service firms on the importance of topics typically included in the undergraduate Professional Sales course. Forth percent of the executives participated. The executives' assessments of the value of selected out-of-class activities for students interested in pursuing careers in sales and recommendations for course structure were also solicited. The results provide benchmarks for faculty in designing and delivering the Professional Sales course in a postsecondary environment and advising students on how to better prepare for entry-level sales positions.

INTRODUCTION

Trends in business have caused academic leaders to consider restructuring both the content and teaching methods used in undergraduate curricula (Ackerman, Gross, and Perner 2003). Considering the potential value of perspectives from business school advisory boards, financial donors, and executives-in-residence to name a few, it is understandable that researchers involve these types of individuals in their data collection efforts (e.g. Saltzstein 1994; Waner 1995; Levenburg 1996; Taylor 2003).

For students interested in pursuing careers in professional selling, one of the cornerstone collegiate educational experiences has been the personal or professional sales course. This course has often been treated as a stepchild of marketing rather than as an integral part of the marketing process; unfortunate considering well over half of marketing majors will begin their careers in sales positions (Kutscher 1990; Michaels and Marshall 2002).

Colleges and universities are being encouraged by corporations and recruiters to offer courses that equip students with crucial, job-related skills (Weeks and Muehling 1987; Bragg 1988; Lysonski and Durvasula 1998). One potential difficulty is there is often a disparity between what is taught in the selling course and what sales representatives use in their daily activities.

One study that examined the sales course and the differences between practitioners' and educators' viewpoints found significant discrepancies between the two groups' views of what was important, both for course content and pedagogy (Parker, Pettijohn, and Pettijohn 1997). Research focusing on the perspectives of industrial sales practitioners in sales course content has been reported by Plank (1982) and Luthy (2000). The research reported here goes one step further. In addition to focusing on the opinions of an expert sample of senior-level sales executives, participants were also asked about the value of non-course activities and their recommendations for students interested in sales careers. The methodology used is similar to the one employed in the Luthy study (2000) but focuses on senior sales executives in the service sector. The rationale for focusing on service professionals stems from the changing nature of the U.S. and world economies and the unique aspects of marketing services (Grant 1987; Oliver 1987).

METHODOLOGY

A random sample of 400 senior-level sales executives at U.S. based, service firms was purchased from a commercial list vendor. Each subject was sent a self-administered questionnaire; a cover letter explaining the purpose of the survey, its goals, the assurance of respondent anonymity, the offer of a copy of the final article if they wished; and an addressed, postage paid return envelope. A total of 160 of the 400 service firm questionnaires were returned with usable responses, representing a 40% response rate.

The survey instrument was developed through a topic analysis of eleven of the leading textbooks on personal and professional selling used in colleges and universities. This list was supplemented with other topics as a result of a literature review. The end product was a compilation of 31 topics either currently or potentially being covered in college level undergraduate selling courses. Subjects were asked to assess the importance of each of the professional selling topics on 7-point Likert scales, (where 1 = extremely unimportant and 7 = extremely important) for inclusion in an undergraduate selling course.

To supplement the range of issues presented in the survey, lists of potentially valuable sales-related out-of-class activities, relevant coursework, employment options, and select life experiences were compiled. The final part of the survey included background and classification questions on the respondents.

Considering the respondents as a group, they are experienced in their current positions (average 6 years), their organizations (average 8 years), and in sales (average 14 years). Position titles reflect their senior status and include: President (12), Vice President-Marketing (29), General Manager (34), National Sales Manager (47), Director of Sales and Marketing (11), and Director of Sales (5). The remaining respondents either described their title as other or left this question blank. This group participates in a hiring infrastructure that selects new sales representatives from both undergraduate and graduate college and university programs. Exhibit 1 presents other selected respondent characteristics.

RESULTS

For the 31 topics respondents evaluated, the rank and importance averages are presented in Exhibit 2. Several respondents commented that the number of topics listed for evaluation exceeded what could be adequately covered in a single course unless superficial treatment was given to each. Given that the computed averages for all thirty-one topics were rated above the scale's midpoint of 3.50 (thereby indicating that strictly speaking none were viewed as unimportant, just more or less important relative to others) it suggests that select topics are more important to include in the basic selling course with others left for other potential offerings such as courses in advanced selling or sales management. The thirteen topic areas with averages in the 6.0 and above range reflect the strong emphasis that the respondents believe should be placed on communications and critical thinking and reasoning skills in addition to knowledge base areas and sales techniques.

For students contemplating a successful career in sales, academic coursework is only one part of the educational process (Gault, Redington, and Schlager 2000). Executives were also asked to rate select marketing-related courses and non-course experiences as to their importance to being hired for a sales position in their respective firms (see Exhibit 3).

In addition to coursework and employment experience, respondents viewed professional and social activities as significant to a student's development for a successful hiring decision. Lastly, with all that has been written about the international aspects of sales and business, questions were asked about exposure to foreign cultures through language training, travel, and study abroad. While not rated as particularly unimportant, clearly other experiences were viewed as more important for students preparing for careers in sales.

Subjects in this study were asked several short response questions taking the form of recommendations they would make to students interested in pursuing a career in the sales profession. More specifically, they were asked to list areas of study and coursework outside the typical schedule of courses required for business majors of various types. Their responses included: public speaking, business writing, practical computer skills, psychology, a 2nd Language (Spanish was most frequently mentioned), accounting, ethics, mathematics, engineering, history, geography, logic, and golf.

Subjects in this study were also asked how they would structure the "principles of sales" or "professional sales" course for undergraduate students. The results, presented in Exhibit 4 reflect a very interactive and hands-on or experiential nature to the class. It also is heavily skills based and includes interaction with sales professionals.

DISCUSSION

The findings presented here hold potential value for college and university faculty who design and deliver the professional selling course. They also offer valuable information for students contemplating the best way to prepare for a career in sales.

For academic faculty, those responsible for the selling course, the service sales executives responding to this survey have provided a wealth of information, including considerable detail on the topics they believe should be included in the course and pedagogies that may deliver a better all-around experience. This directly translates into how to design and deliver a high value-added selling course. In addition, their opinions and recommendations provide academics with valuable insights from the service sales sector. Most importantly, this information will allow academics to better advise students on the types of coursework and outside activities, work-related and professional, that will be viewed most positively by company recruiters.

In virtually all undergraduate and most graduate programs, there is the opportunity for students to augment their majors with formalized minor programs, concentrate in other areas, or simply take additional coursework as part of their "general education" requirements. For students interested in pursuing careers in sales, the results of this research point out the tremendous benefits of supplemental coursework, further developing their communications skills through such courses as public speaking and persuasive writing. Additionally, taking courses in psychology, a second language, and engineering and mathematics will prove useful to foster a better understanding of people and customer needs, especially those related to technology and its applications to product development. However, students must also realize that in addition to academic work, the strongest preparation for this career path will include sales-related work experience through internships and active participation in professional and social organizations.

REFERENCES

Ackerman, D.S., B.L. Gross, and L.E. Perner (2003) Instructor, student, and employer perceptions on preparing marketing students for changing business landscapes. Journal of Marketing Education, 25, 1, (April), 46-56.

Bragg, A. (1988). Personal selling goes to college. Sales and Marketing Management, 140, (March): 35-37.

Gault, J., J. Redington, and T. Schlager (2000). Undergraduate business internships and career success: Are they related? Journal of Marketing Education, 22, 1, (April), 45-53.

Grant, J. (1987). Education should emphasize services marketing. Marketing News, 21, 14 (July 3): 7-8.

Kutscher, R.E. (1990). Outlook 2000: The major trends, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, (Spring): 3-7.

Levenburg, N.M. (1996). General management skills: Do practitioners and academic faculty agree on their importance? Journal of Education for Business, (September/October), 72, 47-52.

Luthy, M.R. (2000). "Preparing the next generation of industrial sales representatives: Advice from senior sales executives," Industrial Marketing Management, 29, 3, (May): 235-242.

Lysonski, S. and S. Durvasula. (1998). A cross-national investigation of student attitudes toward personal selling: Implications for marketing education. Journal of Marketing Education, 20, (August): 161-173.

Michaels, R.E. and G.W. Marshall (2002). Perspectives on selling and sales management education. Marketing Education Review, 12, 2, (Summer): 1-12.

Oliver, H. (1987). Selling services requires a different approach. Sales & Marketing Management in Canada. 28, 1, (January/February): 37-39.

Parker, R.S., C.E. Pettijohn, and L.S. Pettijohn. (1997). Personal selling in the marketing curriculum: Professors' perceptions of topics and pedagogical methods. Marketing Management Association 1997 Proceedings: 59-63.

Plank, R.E. (1982). Industrial marketing education: Practitioner's views. Industrial Marketing Management, 11: 311-315.

Saltzstein, A.L. (1994). Practitioners and academics--Are there differences in course content? Review of Public Personnel Administration, 14, (Fall): 93-100.

Taylor, K.A. (2003). Marketing yourself in the competitive job market: An innovative course preparing undergraduates for marketing careers. Journal of Marketing Education, 25, 2, (August): 97-107.

Waner, K.K. (1995). Business communication competencies needed by employees as perceived by business faculty and business professionals. Business Communications Quarterly, 58, (December): 51-56.

Weeks, W.A. and D.D. Muehling. (1987). Students' perceptions of personal selling. Industrial Marketing Management, 16, (May): 145-151.

Michael R. Luthy, Bellarmine University

Exhibit 1

 Profile of survey respondents *

Average age (in years): 43
Average years in current position: 6
Average years at current organization: 8
Average years in the sales area: 14
Average number of sales personnel supervising (range 0-80) 9
Average satisfaction with career path: ** 5.93
Percent Choosing "7": 33%

 Percent reporting completing an undergraduate course in:
Basic marketing 76%
Personal selling 25%
Sales management 31%
Advanced selling 6%

* Sectors: Banking, Couriers, Credit Unions, Insurance, Leasing,
Property Realtors, Equipment and Car Rentals, Securities firms,
Telecommunications, Trucking, Air Transport

** A 7-point Likert Scale was used for this question with 1=extremely
dissatisfied and 7=extremely satisfied.

Exhibit 2. Topic Importance in the Professional Selling Course

 Subject / Topic: Score * Rank

Effective Listening Skills 6.55 1

Time Management 6.35 2

Relationship Selling, Developing Rapport, and 6.33 3
Account Management Strategies

Follow-up and Service after the Sale 6.30 4

Product, Company, Competitive, and Market 6.28 5
Knowledge in the Selling Process

Presentation / Demonstration Methods 6.23 6
& Strategies

Handling Objections 6.23 7

Asking Questions 6.18 8

Professional Image 6.15 9 (tie)

Prospecting for New Business 6.15 9 (tie)

Communication Processes and Skills (including 6.13 11 (tie)
persuasion, oral, written, and nonverbal)

Preapproach / Planning in the Selling Process 6.13 11 (tie)

Negotiating Skills 6.00 13

Confirming and Closing the Sale 5.98 14

Ethical Issues and Situations in Selling 5.83 15

Analyzing the Customer's Competitive Situation 5.68 16

Territory Management 5.40 17

Buyer Behavior, Individual / Organizational 5.38 18
Psychology

S.P.I.N. Model of Selling (situation, problem, 5.18 19
implication, need payoff)

Approach Phase in the Selling Process 5.15 20

Team Selling 5.00 21

Sales Manager's Role / Activities in the 4.91 22
Selling Process

Laws Affecting Selling 4.83 23

Adaptive Selling Model 4.76 24

International Selling Environment (dealing 4.75 25
with diverse cultures and customers)

Retail, Business, Service, and Non-Profit 4.63 26
Selling

Rewards of Selling 4.58 27

Sales Force Automation 4.53 28

Career Opportunities and Career Paths in Sales 4.46 29

Selling over the Internet 4.08 30

Telemarketing Selling 3.98 31

* A 7-point Likert Scale was used for this question with 1=extremely
important and 7=extremely important.

Exhibit 3.: Preparing for a Career in Sales *

 Subject / Topic Score

 Undergraduate Coursework:

Sales management 4.80
Personal selling 4.73
Basic marketing 4.70
Advanced selling 4.58

 Professional and Social Activities:

A social organization of some type 4.38
A business-related student organization other than AMA or PSE 3.46
Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) 3.15
American Marketing Association (AMA) 3.13

 Work Experience:

Sales related business internship 5.28
Sales experience outside of a retail setting 5.10
Sales experience in a retail setting 4.20
Non-sales related business internship 4.18
Followed a sales representative for a day 3.78

 Miscellaneous Experiences:

Studied a foreign language 3.38
Traveled to another country 3.13
Studied at a foreign university 2.75

* 7-point Likert Scales were used for these questions with 1=strongly
disagree and 7=strongly agree. Each factor was used to complete the
sentence, "our firm is more likely to hire an individual for an
entry-level sales position if they...."

Exhibit 4: Recommended course structure

Course Component Advocating Percent of
 Use Course

Guest speakers / presenters from the 95% 12%
sales profession

Analysis of case studies involving 95% 11%
selling issues

Role playing selling situations 93% 19%

Individual student projects and/or 90% 13%
presentations

Group student projects and/or presentations 90% 10%

Class discussion of selling issues, 83% 8%
business events

Videotapes on selling topics 70% 7%

Computer simulation games 70% 6%

Lectures by professor on substantive 65% 9%
material