PERSONAL SELLING: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELLING ABILITY AND SALES PERFORMANCE

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G nd utt Scfeool Fans 9(ttmmil/H)

PURDUE UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis Acceptance

This is to certify that the thesis prepared

By _____________________ Xiang Yuan Zhong

Entitled

PERSONAL SELLING: THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN SELLING ABILITY AND SALES PERFORMANCE

Complies with University regulations and meets the standards of the Graduate School for originalityand quality

For the degree of D o c t o r o f P h i l o s o p h y

Signed bvihe final exam ini

Approved by: — Department Head Doe

CD is

This thesis not to be regarded as confidential.

Major Professor

Format Approved by:

Chair, Fioil Adviser/

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PERSONAL SELLING: THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN SELLING ABILITY AND SALES PERFORMANCE

A Thesis

Submitted to the Faculty

of

Purdue University

by

Xiang Yuan Zhong

In Partial Fulfillment o f the

Requirements for the Degree

of

Doctor o f Philosophy

May 2001

produced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would not be able to complete this five-year long project without

help from many people. I would like to thank everyone for their patience and persistence

with me throughout the long-distance communications with emails, phone calls, etc. It

has not been easy for myself, and, of course, for everyone who has helped me reach this

milestone.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Richard Feinberg, my major

professor, for his guidance and support throughout my dissertation research. Without his

encouragement and caring, it would have been impossible for me to complete this project.

I am mostly grateful to Dr. Lucette Comer, who gave me numerous versions of comments

and kept me on track. I also greatly appreciate the guidance and help from my two other

committee members: Dr. James Binkley and Dr. Tanya Drollinger.

Special thanks are extended to Mrs. Jeannie Navarre, the head secretary, for her

support and co-ordinations throughout this project.

I would like to thank my husband, Jiyin, for his loving and encouragement. Our

two children: 7-year old Nicholas and 3-year old Jessica, deserve special thanks for

having the best behavior whenever their mom needs to get on the computer and work on

her dissertation. I would also like to thank my parents, who helped us take care of the

children from time to time, and their support, encouragement, and caring throughout the

process.



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iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... v

LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................... vii

ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... viii

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1

Purpose o f the Stud y........................................................................................... 5

Contributions to Consumer Economics Research............................................ 5

Contributions to Personal Selling Literature.................................................... 7

Organization of this S tud y ................................................................................. 8

CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 9

Sales Performance.............................................................................................. 9

Selling Abilities.................................................................................................. 11

Adaptability............................................................................................ 13

Knowledge............................................................................................. 17Presentation Skills ................................................................................. 18

Listening Skills ..................................................................................... 19

Questioning S k ills ................................................................................. 21

Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses......................................................... 22

Other Influencing Factors ................................................................................. 24

Gender .................................................................................................... 25

A g e ......................................................................................................... 26

Education and Job Tenure .................................................................... 26

CHAPTER 3 - ME THOD OLOG Y...............................................................................

28

Data Co llection .................................................................................................. 28

Dependent Variab les ............................................................................. 29

Self-Ratings ............................................................................... 29

Quota Attainmen t..................................................................... 31

Independent Variables.......................................................................... 31

Adaptability............................................................................... 32



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IV

CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY, continued Page

Product Knowledge............................................................................... 34

Presentation Sk ills ................................................................................. 34

Listening Skills ...................................................................................... 37

Questioning Skills.................................................................................

38Statistical Ana lysi s............................................................................................. 38

Review o f Multiple Regression Models .......................................................... 42

CHAPTER 4 - RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.......................................................... 44

Sample Characteristics....................................................................................... 44

Analysis o f Dependent Variables ...................................................................... 45

Self-Reported Sales Perfo rmance........................................................ 45

Quota Attainment .................................................................................. 46

Analysis of Independent Variables .................................................................. 47

Adaptability Scale ................................................................................. 47

Product Knowledge Sca le .................................................................... 49

Presentation Skills Scale ....................................................................... 49

Listening Skills Scale ............................................................................ 51

Questioning Skills S ca le ....................................................................... 52

Multiple Regression Analyses .......................................................................... 56

Composite Scale o f Independent Variables ........................................ 56

At the Factor Level ............................................................................... 58

Influences o f Demographic Variables.............................................................. 60

CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS.......................................... 62

Implications for Practitioners............................................................................ 66

Implications and Future Rese arch.................................................................... 67

Overall Conclusion ............................................................................................ 68

LIST OF REFER ENC ES ............................................................................................... 69

APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 78

Appendix A. I Cover Let ter ..............................................................................

78Appendix A.2 Sales Representative’s Questionnaire .................................... 79

Appendix A.3 Review of Sales Performance M ea su res ............................... 84

Appendix A.4 Review of Adaptability M easures .......................................... 89

Appendix A.5 Review of Listening Skill Measures ...................................... 91

V I T A ................................................................................................................................ 95



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V

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1.1 Sales Force Size Change o f Five Major Pharmaceutical

Companies .................................................................................................. 4

2.1 Importance of Types of Selling Ab ility...................................................... 12

2.2 Situations Under Which Adaptability is Important................................... 15

3.1 Measures of Variables ................................................................................. 32

3.2 Content Analysis on Items from the Knowledge Scale ............... 35

3.3 Content Analysis on Items from the Presentation Skills Sca le ............... 36

3.4 Content Analysis on Items from the Questioning Skills S ca le ............... 39

4.1 Sample Characteristics................................................................................. 44

4.2 Factor Analysis o f Self-Rating Performance Sca le .................................. 45

4.3 Factor Analysis o f Adaptability Scale ...................................................... 48

4.4 Factor Analysis o f Product Knowledge Sca le ........................................... 50

4.5 Factor Analysis o f Presentation Skills Scale ............................................ 53

4.6 Factor Analysis o f Listening Skills S ca le ................................................. 54

4.7 Listening Scale: Comparison with Ramsey and Sohi’s Results ............. 55

4.8 Factor Analysis o f Questioning Skills Sca le ............................................. 56

4.9 Multiple Regression Results o f All Independent Variab les ..................... 57



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vi

Table Page

4.10 Multiple Regression Results of All Fac to rs .............................................. 60

4 .11 Influences o f Demographic V ariables........................................................ 61

Appendix

Table

A.1 Comparison of Measures in Sales Performance ....................................... 88

A.2 Comparison of Listening T e st s .................................................................. 93



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vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

2.1 ConceptualFramework ............................................................................... 24



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ABSTRACT

Zhong, Xiang Yuan. Ph.D., Purdue University, May 2001. Personal Selling: The

Relationship between Selling Ability and Sales Performance. Major Professor: Richard

Feinberg.

This study attempted to assess a very basic yet still unresolved relationship

between personal sales representatives and sales effectiveness. Using the arena o f

pharmaceutical sales this study asks the essential question, are personal sales

representatives effective in increasing sales? What is the relationship between selling

ability and the performance effectiveness of salespeople in the pharmaceutical sales

context? Based on past research that defined the factors o f selling ability this study

looked into the five most important selling abilities: adaptability, product knowledge,

listening skills, presentation skills, and questioning skills.

A survey of salesperson's self-ratings on selling abilities and sales performance

was administered. A random sample of 1,500 sales representatives was selected from a

large international pharmaceutical company's total 3,000 representative's sales force. In

addition, quota attainment was obtained for an objective measurement. A total of 547

usable questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 36%, a relatively high response

rate.

The findings from this study provided insights into several areas. First, this study

showed a high correspondence between se lf and objective assessment o f selling ability.



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Based on the findings from this study, these two measures appear to be highly correlated.

It appears that the self-reported performance does reflect the actual quota attainment.

While an overall relationship between selling ability and performance was found

this study also shows clearly that selling ability consists of differing components and

these components may or may not be determinants in performance. The following

dimensions o f selling ability were found to be significantly related to sales performance:

Adaptive selling behaviors, product knowledge, responding dimension o f listening skills,

and basic presentation skills.

This study did not show any positive relationship between adaptive selling beliefs,

sensing/evaluating dimensions o f listening skills, interactive presentation skills and sales

performance. This could mean that these skills are simply not as important as past

research and thinking imply. It could also mean that there is something unique about the

pharmaceutical sales situation (very short) that makes use and effectiveness o f these skills

to be minimal. Both are interesting possibilities for future research.



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CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

Personal selling is o f primary importance to the success of most businesses.

Nothing happens until somebody sells something. Today’s salespeople are responsible

for generating more revenue in our economy than workers in any other profession

because they have a direct impact on the introduction o f new products to markets and the

development o f markets for existing products (Futrell, 1995).

Personal selling is defined as "direct communications between paid

representatives and prospects that lead to purchase orders, customer satisfaction, and

post-sale service” (Dalrymple & Cron, 1995). The need for personal selling appears even

greater today in our high tech business world. There are thousands o f new products

available every year. As products become more complex and faster to market the

personal assistance provided by a well-trained salesperson is more important than ever.

With advertising, publicity, and promotions, personal selling is part of a well-

rounded marketing effort (Manning & Reese, 1995). Compared to other promotional

tools, personal selling has the advantage of more flexibility in operation. Sales

representatives can tailor their sales presentations to fit the needs and behavior of

individual customers. They can see the customer’s reaction to a particular sales approach

and then make the necessary adjustments. Because personal selling focuses on specific

prospective customers, there is less wasted effort. By contrast, in most forms of



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advertising, much o f the cost is devoted to sending the message to people who are not real

prospects. In personal selling, a company has an opportunity to pinpoint its target market

far more effectively than with any other promotional device. Advertisements can attract

attention and arouse desire, but they do not necessarily direct buying action or complete

the sale like personal selling does.

Given the importance of personal selling it is somewhat surprising that there are

few conclusive studies documenting the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of personal

selling efforts. This is despite the fact that many companies see the sales force as their

best promotional tool and a necessity (e.g., Futrell, 1995; Manning & Reese, 1995). This

study focuses on a very basic yet still unresolved relationship between personal sales

representatives and sales effectiveness. Using the arena o f pharmaceutical sales this

study asks the very basic question, are personal sales representatives effective in

increasing sales?

Pharmaceutical sales are a specialized type of sales known as “missionary sales’'.

In missionary selling the focus is NOT on actually completing a sales transaction and

gaining a sale on the spot, but rather on promotional activities, introducing new products,

educating a constituent to recommend purchase, stimulating demand for the product and

developing on-going relationship with the clients. Pharmaceutical sales and educational

book representatives are two prime examples of missionary sales positions (McCarthy &

Perreault, 1984; Moncrief, 1986).

The major responsibility of pharmaceutical salespeople is to provide scientific

information to physicians. But from a company’s perspective, the ultimate goal is not



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only to provide information, but also to make a profit. The pharmaceutical salesperson

seeks to persuade doctors (the indirect customers) to specify a pharmaceutical company’s

trade name products for prescriptions. The actual sale is ultimately made through a

wholesaler or is made directly to pharmacists and hospitals that fill prescriptions. A

missionary salesperson provides information about products to decision-makers, who in

turn recommend or sell the products to their customers. Pharmaceutical Sales

Representatives introduce physicians to new drugs and other pharmaceutical products in

the hope that the physicians will prescribe these products for their patients (McCarthy &

Perreauit, 1984; Moncrief, 1986).

Pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) are the most direct points o f contact

with physicians. Their tasks are to meet with physicians, market their companies’

products, and influence physicians to prescribe these products. Lexchin (1989) states that

pharmaceutical companies in industrialized countries view PSRs as the most important

promotional source for their products, and over 50 percent o f their promotional

expenditures are devoted to PSRs. The average annual cost of recruiting, training, and

supporting a PSR is estimated to be SI 00,000 (Freiman, 1992). The importance of PSRs

to sales organizations is supported by the growth of the profession. From 1994 to 1997,

five of the largest U. S. pharmaceutical companies increased their sales forces

substantially. Table 1.1 shows the increases of sales representatives for five major

pharmaceutical companies (Pharmaceutical Sales Force Structure & Strategies, 1997).



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Table 1.1

Sales Force Size Change of Five Major Pharmaceutical Companies

Company 1994 1997 % Change

Pfizer 2,204 3,467 57%Merck & Co 2,553 3,421 34%

Glaxo Wellcome 2,358 3,066 30%

Bristol-Myers Squibb 2,539 3,240 28%

SmithKline Beecham 1,820 2,216 22%

Source: Pharmaceutical Sales Force Structure & Strategies (1997)

Given the expense of PSRs to pharmaceutical companies, PSRs are expected to be

effective in influencing physicians and the sale of pharmaceutical products

(Pharmaceutical Sales Force Structure & Strategies, 1997; Weilbaker, 1990). Simply

based on the costs o f making a sale (expensive), one would expect that there has been a

lot of research to study the effectiveness of PSRs. However, this is not the case

(Weilbaker, 1990).

Although empirical research is lacking in the pharmaceutical sales context, the

perceived influence of PSRs has elicited much discussion. On the one hand there is

research which asserts PSRs to be wasteful and ineffective. Physicians have questioned

the practice o f pharmaceutical sales (Waud, 1992). On the other hand, others have

stressed the importance of PSRs as a source of information (Huston, 1993) given the

increasing complexity of pharmaceutical products and the increasing number of new

drugs. It was suggested that physicians need PSRs to leam (Ferguson, 1989). Thomas

(1989) and Andaleeb & Tallman (1995) found that hospital pharmacy directors viewed

the information provided about new products as the most useful service they received



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from PSRs. Huston (1993) found that physicians ranked PSRs among the three most

useful sources o f information about pharmaceutical products.

Purpose o f the Study

The purpose o f this study is to examine the relationship between selling ability

and the performance effectiveness o f salespeople in the pharmaceutical sales context.

Contributions to Consumer Economics Research

Health care has become a dominant economic and political issue in the United

States (and in many other countries). The American health care system is a complex

mixture o f public and private sector activities. The government’s part in directly and

indirectly delivering health services is quite large (for example, Medicare, Medicaid,

public hospitals). Most individuals and organizations that provide medical services are in

the private, nongovernmental sector (for example, doctor’s offices, hospitals, HMOs).

More than 60 percent of personal health services is privately financed, either through

employment-based health benefits or direct payment by the patient (Gray, 1991).

Expenditures on personal medical services have risen more rapidly than

expenditures on most other goods and services in the economy. Annual expenditures on

personal medical services have increased from S35.8 billion in 1965 to S371.4 billion in

1985 (Waldo, Levit, & Lazenby, 1986). In 1965,5.2 percent of the gross national product

(GNP) was being spent on personal medical services. By 1985,9.3 percent of the GNP

was being allocated to personal medical services (Waldo, Levit, & Lazenby, 1986). If the

rate o f increase in medical care expenditures continues to expand rapidly, personal



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medical services will continue to consume an increasing portion of all goods and services

produced in the United States.

With rapid increases in medical costs, the health care industry has come under

intense scrutiny. One player in this industry that seems to be getting a lot of attention is

the pharmaceutical industry. A major reason for this attention is that pharmaceutical

products are still the single largest out-of-pocket health care expense for consumers

(Haas, 1994). Given the important role of pharmaceutical products in health care

economics, it is, therefore, critical to understand the marketing and promotion process of

pharmaceutical companies.

The effectiveness of PSRs is sharply etched because marketing costs account for a

significant proportion of the price o f pharmaceuticals. IMS America (1998) reports that

companies’ spending on promoting to physicians in the U. S. increased by 10% in 1997 to

S4 billion, accounting for 81% o f all promotional spending. That is an estimate o f $5,000

to S6,000 per physician per year. Since the consumer is the one ultimately paying for

these promotional efforts (it is embedded in the price we pay for drugs) the study of the

factors determining effectiveness (and ineffectiveness) can help pharmaceutical

companies minimize inefficiencies eventually minimizing the passed on costs to

consumers.

Understanding the role that marketing forces (including PSRs) play in influencing

physician behavior is another interesting part o f the issue (Avom, Chen, & Hartley,

1982). Consumers (patients) rely on their physicians to make the right choice o f drugs.

Physicians are trusted to be knowledgeable about the development in their respective



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therapeutic areas. They need to possess all relevant information to make the right

diagnosis for patients. PSRs educate physicians on hundreds of drugs coming to the

market every year, in the hope that physicians will convey the drugs to patients — the

ultimate consumers. The effectiveness of the communication between PSRs and

physicians certainly affects both physicians and their patients — the ultimate consumers.

The extreme end of importance in understanding the dynamics o f the relationship

between PSR and physician is clearly illustrated in a study by Peltzman (1974). Peltzman

examined the consequences of failure by physicians to adopt drugs due to a lack of

information. He cites the case of tuberculosis (TB), estimating that if the use of TB drugs

had spread as rapidly as the Salk vaccine, 80,600 lives would have been saved. He also

suggests that if major tranquilizers had been more heavily promoted, this might have

resulted in savings of 645 million patient days in the hospital.

Contributions to Personal Selling Literature

Selling ability received little scholarly attention before 1990 (Weilbaker, 1990).

Starting from 1990, there have been some studies investigating selling ability (Auglin,

Stoltman, & Gentry, 1990; Goolsby, Lagace & Boorom, 1992; O’Hara, Boles, &

Johnston, 1991; Predmore & Bonnice, 1994; Spiro & Weitz, 1990). However, these

studies appear to be weak because:

1. The prior studies examine selling ability as a unitary concept although the

thinking in this area is that selling is a multidimensional construct.

2. The relationship between particular selling abilities and sales performance has

not been studied.



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This study intends to fill in these gaps by examining the relationship between

multidimensional selling abilities and sales performance. The relationship between the

top five selling abilities, identified by Weilbaker (1990) and sales performance in

pharmaceutical sales will be studied. These five skills are adaptability, product

knowledge, presentation skills, listening skills, and questioning skills.

The relationships between specific selling abilities and sales performance will

provide insights into the management of sales forces. Identification o f the determinant

selling skills can lead to effective training programs, more targeted selection of

salespeople, greater organizational success, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Organization of This Study

The organization of this study is as follows. Chapter Two reviews the literature

pertinent to selling abilities and sales performance. A conceptual framework is presented.

Hypotheses to be tested are presented. In Chapter Three the research design and

procedures are set forth. The scales used in the current study are presented. Chapter Four

presents the results and findings. Finally, discussion and areas for future research and

implications from this study are outlined in Chapter Five.



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CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW

Sales Performance

Sales performance should be and is one o f the key outcome factors in sales

research. There is a wealth o f conceptual and empirical work related to sales

performance (Churchill, Walker, Hartley, & Ford, 1985; Plank & Reid, 1994). However,

the findings of empirical research have often been mixed, and the predictive ability of

past models has been weak. This may be in part due to the different nature of the two

main forms of measuring sales performance.

The performance o f sales forces can be evaluated on behavior-based or outcome-

based standards (Anderson & Oliver, 1987). In a behavior-based system, managers

monitor salesperson's selling activities closely, give them substantial direction, and

evaluate their efforts using multiple criteria. It appears that behavior-based systems are

most appropriate when responsibility for the selling process is difficult to assign, or when

non-selling activities are a key component o f the job. Behavior-based systems enable

sales managers to make recommendations about how salespersons allocate their time, and

resources. Sales managers can also ensure that salespersons perform their jobs

consistently with company policies. However, behavior-based system can be cost

intensive and difficult to administer.

eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.


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pharmacy. Therefore, the sales representative does not close a sale himselfTherself. The

information he or she brings to the physician is to help the physician make an informed

decision on which drug to prescribe. The objective of the reps' visits is not to make a sale

at the spot, but to fulfill his or her call objectives with a sales occurring in some removed

future point. If a sales representative effectively communicates relevant scientific

information to a physician, the physician is expected to prescribe the company’s brands

and a sale would occur. A sales representative’s performance can be evaluated as a

function of market sales rather than individual physician sales.

Because of its objective nature, an outcome-based system will be used for the

current study to investigate the relationship between selling ability and performance:

1. Researchers have suggested that managers believe that sales performance can be

evaluated more objectively by an outcome-based system (Anderson & Oliver,

1987);

2. Most o f pharmaceutical companies use this system to evaluate and compensate

sales representatives (Feinstein, 1992). The use of an objective based measure

mirrors the reality of pharmaceutical sales than would the use of other measures.

Selling Abilities

In order to study the determinants o f outcomes and to improve upon prior research

that has used global measures of sales behavior it is important to understand the

components o f effective selling.

The conceptual and operational definitions of selling abilities used in the current

study are based on the research into the relationship between pharmaceutical salespeople's



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abilities and their successfulness in sales interactions conducted by Weilbaker (1990).

Because of the importance o f the Weilbaker's study, the following section is devoted to a

full discussion of how Weilbaker derived the key selling abilities in his research.

Through interviews with salespeople, field sales managers and physicians,

fourteen selling abilities were identified as important for success in sales interactions.

Weilbaker ranked ordered these abilities in terms of their ranked importance to the

various groups involved in pharmaceutical sales (salespeople, managers, and physicians).

The fourteen abilities were adaptability, knowledge, presentation skills, listening skills,

questioning skills, observational skills, confidence, organizational skill, enthusiasm,

empathy, handle rejection, creativity, perseverance, and likability.

Table 2.1 summarizes the ranking results from Weilbaker's study.

Table 2.1

Importance o f Types o f Selling Ability

Abilities Salespeople Managers Physicians Sum of Ranks

Adaptability 1 1 3 5

Knowledge 2 4 1 7

Presentation Skills 5 1 1 7

Listening Skills 2 1 6 9

Questioning Skills 4 4 5 13

Observational Skills 6 6 9 21

Confidence 7 7 10 24

Organization Skills 8 7 11 26

Enthusiasm 9 12 7 28Empathy 10 7 12 29

Handle Rejection 11 7 13 31

Creativity II 12 8 31

Perseverance 11 7 13 31

Likability 14 14 4 32

Source: Weilbaker (1990).



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By summing across the perceived importance the top five selling skills were

(Table 2.1) adaptability, knowledge, presentation skills, listening skills, questioning

skills. The current study proposes to use these top ranked five abilities. If no

relationships are found using these top 5 it is unlikely that relationships exists with any of

the other component factors. Following is a review of the previous studies, which have

examined these five abilities.

Adaptability

Adaptability in personal selling is the ability to change planned sales behaviors

(activities or messages) during or across customer interactions in order to respond to

circumstances that are different than what was expected (Weilbaker, 1990; Weitz, Sujan,

& Sujan, 1986). Adaptive salespeople alter their sales behaviors during a customer

interaction or across customer interactions based on perceived information about the

nature of the selling situation. Work supporting this proposed relationship between

adaptive selling skills and sales performance has been conducted by Anglin, Stoltman and

Gentry (1990); Leong, Busch, and John (1989), Tanner (1994), and Predmore and

Bonnice (1994) and Weitz, (1981) and Weitz, Sujan & Sujan, (1986).

Despite the evidence from some o f the work cited above for a relationship

between adaptive selling skills and sales results, Pettijohn, Pettijohn, Parker, and Taylor

(1996) conducted a meta analysis across 40 studies and concluded that there was

insufficient evidence to show any overall positive relationship between adaptability and

performance.



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Given the conflicting evidence about the effectiveness of adaptive selling on sales

performance, researchers attempted to uncover the boundary conditions that define when

adaptive selling might be related to selling performance. Blackshear (1998) suggested

that part of the inconsistent results from inadequate and inconsistent definitions of

adaptive selling. Blackshear noted that positive findings appeared most likely when a

broad definition o f adaptive behaviors was used. Marks, Vorhies, and Badovick (1996)

proposed that the mixed results occurred because of reliance on a measure o f adaptive

selling that was unidimensional. It may simply be that adaptive selling is dependent upon

the nature of the selling situation (Giacobbe,1991; Spiro & Weitz, 1990).

Both Giacobbe (1991) and Blackshear (1998) suggested that the amount of risk a

buyer perceives during a purchase might relate to adaptive selling behavior. Riskier

purchases may require a more adaptive selling orientation. Variety o f customers is

another area in which adaptability is very important. It is obvious that unique approaches

will help close a sale or facilitate a sale when each customer has his/her distinct

characteristics.

Product varieties may also have an influence on adaptive selling behavior, as

suggested both by Giacobbe ( 1991) and Blackshear (1998). The characteristics of each

product may require a different approach for each product. Giacobbe (1991) suggested

that duration o f relationship might be an important factor in the need to practice adaptive

selling. The longer the relationship is, the more important adaptability is to the

salesperson. Apparently, repeated presentations have to be made for long-term selling

and modified presentations have to be used.



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In addition, Giacobbe (1991) suggested that presence o f a buying center, dollar

value of sale and complexity o f the offering are also important factors affecting adaptive

selling practices. Spiro and Weitz (1992) expanded the situations to company’s resources

and salespeople’s capacity. Consumer goods, as opposed to industrial goods, may require

different selling approaches. Table 2.2 summarizes the situations in which adaptability

may or may not be important from previous studies.

Table 2.2

Situations Under Which Adaptability is Important

Giacobbe (1991) Spiro & Weitz (1992) Blackshear (1998)

1. The buying center

2. Purchase risk

3. Dollar value o f sale

4. Variety o f products

5. Duration of relationship

6. Homogeneity of customers’ needs

7. Complexity o f the offering

1. Large orders

2. Variety o f customers

3. Company’s resources4. Salespeople's capacity

1. Amount o f risk

2. Type o f products

3. Interaction between salesperson

and customers

4. Con sumer goods/industrial goods

Source: Blackshear (1998), Giacobbe (1991), Spiro & Weitz (1992)

Are these moderating factors relevant to pharmaceutical sales? Based on previous

studies, several factors previously found to be boundary conditions for performance

effects of differing levels o f adaptive selling skills appear to be relevant to pharmaceutical

sales selling situation.

First, both Giacobbe (1991) and Blackshear (1998) emphasize that purchase risk

may relate to adaptability. In the pharmaceutical selling, the amount o f purchase risk is



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high for "buyers" — physicians and patients. Physicians have to be knowledgeable of

efficacy, safety, and side effects of all products they prescribe for their patients. In order

to help physicians identify the right product to use, a salesperson will have to make

his/her selling as unique as possible.

Second, the duration of relationship between the salesperson and customers has

been identified as an important factor for promoting adaptive selling. The longer the

relationship is, the more adaptive the salesperson needs to be. In pharmaceutical sales,

the relationship between the salesperson and a physician is long term and repeated

presentations are necessary. Frequent calls to a physician are essential to keep a

physician continuing to prescribe company’s products. A non-adaptive sales presentation

will not be effective when a salesperson makes frequent calls on the same buyer.

Finally, PSRs face a high degree of heterogeneity among customers. Great

differences exist from one physician to another. Physicians differ in geographic region

(e.g., urban-rural), size and type of practice (large hospitals, group practice, or a “solo”

office), type o f patient (old, young, male, female), and disease state o f patients (severe,

mild). Therefore, pharmaceutical sales representatives have to be trained to adapt to the

exact nature o f their situation (Freiman, 1992).

In summary, adaptability is likely to be very important in pharmaceutical industry

selling. Based on a preponderance of the evidence which suggests that PSRs face

differing sales conditions and environments PSRs adaptive selling ability should be

positively related to sales effectiveness.



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Knowledge

Knowledge o f specific products/services is essential for personal selling because it

permits a salesperson to attach a specific set o f product/service solutions to specific

needs. A high degree o f knowledge also may have very positive side effects by helping

the salesperson build a positive self-image and feel thoroughly prepared to interact with

customers (e.g., Anderson, 1995; Futrell, 1992; Peterson, Wright, & Weitz, 1988). This

thinking has been supported by the research. Studies consistently show that more

effective salespeople have greater knowledge about their company’s products (Smith &

Owens, 1995; Sujan, Sujan, & Bettman, 1988).

As product cycles shorten and technology advances salespeople are under pressure

to keep up to date. Today’s pharmaceutical products are extremely complex. New drugs

come into the market every year. Diseases and their treatments are more complex. The

variety of products and services available today is a challenge to consumers and

physicians and help is needed to make informed decisions. Professionally trained and

knowledgeable pharmaceutical sales representatives are the experts. They work with

physicians by demonstrating the efficacy, benefits, safety aspects, and side effects o f the

drug. They help physicians make decisions on which drug to prescribe for which type of

patients that allows consumers (patients) to make informed decisions. The research that

supports this is clear. PSR's expertise is one that is the most trusted of all information

sources available to the professional medical community (Andaleeb and Tallman, 1995;

Avon, Chen & Harley, 1982; Huston, 1993; Thomas, 1989).



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In summary, salesperson knowledge has been found to have a significant impact

on sales performance. The more knowledgeable a salesperson is about his/her products,

the more successful he/she will be.

Presentation Skills

Personal selling is an example of very individualized communication (Weitz,

Sujan, & Sujan, 1986). The ability of the salesperson to use of verbal and nonverbal

means to clearly convey the benefits o f their particular products/service in a sales

message is called presentation skills.

In pharmaceutical sales the presentation of products/services are indirectly

regulated. The Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) has very restrictive regulations on

labeling (what indications a drug can be used for), sales aids, competitive claims and so

on. If any inappropriate promotional materials or claims are used by PSRs, FDA would

impose very severe penalties on corporations. PSR attempts to "sell" his or her

company’s products has to meet the FDA regulations.

The restrictive environment in which presentation skills are displayed is one

reason why PSR’s need well developed presentation skills. In addition, the need for

salespeople to have excellent presentation skills is highlighted by the short duration of

most pharmaceutical sales (6-10 minutes) (Scott-Levin, 1996). In this short time the

pharmaceutical representative's sales presentation may have to show concrete facts about

product efficacy, benefits, safety and side effects. Given the relatively short t ime duration

o f interaction, the presentation has to be very concise and to the point. Good presentation

skills should lead to effectiveness.



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Listening Skills

Listening in the personal sales context has been defined as the cognitive process

of actively sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and responding to the verbal and nonverbal

messages of present or potential customers (Castleberry & Shepherd, 1993; Steil, Barker,

& Watson, 1983). Good salespeople are good listeners. They ask questions, listen as

prospects answer to uncover their needs. Then they show how their products’ benefits

will fulfill these needs. The ability to identify and meet customer needs separates the

successful salesperson from the average salesperson (Oberhaus, Ratliffe, & Stauble,

1993). Indeed, Moore, Eckrich and Carlson (1986) reported in their study that industrial

salespeople rated listening as the most important skill needed to be successful. Ingram,

Schwepker, and Hutson (1992) found poor listening skills to be blamed as the most

important factor in contributing to salesperson failure.

Although researchers have suggested that there is a link between effective

listening, adaptive selling and sales performance (Castleberry & Shepherd, 1993), little

research has focused on effective listening skills in the personal selling context (Comer &

Drollinger, 1999). Only two empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of

listening (Boorom, 1994; Ramsey & Sohi, 1997).

Two frameworks have been proposed to understand this relationship (Castleberry

& Shepherd, 1993; Comer & Drollinger, 1999). Castleberry and Shepherd (1993)

proposed that listening has four dimensions: sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and

responding. In the sensing process, the salesperson receives all verbal and non-verbal

cues (words, inflection, body language, facial expressions) transmitted by others and must



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be able to decode buyer nonverbal cues. Then the salesperson interprets the message and

compares incoming messages to those in memory. In the evaluating process, the listener

identifies the key elements o f the messages and assesses the importance of messages.

The listener decides whether to agree, or not to disagree with the message. The last

process is responding in verbal o r non-verbal forms. In this process, the listener

acknowledges the occurrence of listening and encourages communication to continue.

The response can be verbal feedback such as questioning or summarizing, or nonverbal

cues such as a smile or frown.

Comer and Drollinger (1999) merged the concepts o f active listening and

empathy. In their model, they combined interpreting and evaluating into one step and

added understanding and remembering to the listening dimension. They suggested that

salespeople with active empathetic listening would outperform those with weaker

listening.

The research that has been done in this area supports the conceptions discussed

above. Boorom (1994) examined listening and its interaction with adaptive selling and

reported a positive relationship. A study by Ramsey and Sohi (1997) surveyed a group of

new car buyers to assess listening skills of salespeople. They found a strong, positive

correlation between salespeople listening and two constructs: trust in the salesperson, and

anticipation o f future interactions with that salesperson.

In a pharmaceutical sales environment the need to have good listening skills is

etched by the scientific nature of the information given and the short time in which it



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occurs. Based on previous research and conceptual thought listening skills o f

pharmaceutical reps are expected to be positively related to sales performance.

Questioning Skills

The importance of probing for information, asking questions is well recognized in

selling textbooks (e.g., Oberhaus, Ratliffe, & Stauble, 1993; Pederson, Wright, & Weitz,

1988). There are three main reasons for questioning the customer (Oberhaus, Ratliffe, &

Stauble, 1993). They are: to gather information, to assess how a customer thinks or feels,

and to verify facts and attitudes discovered by other questions or data sources. In this

way salespeople are able to identify the customer’s obvious problems or needs and those

that are not always obvious (Weilbaker, 1990). Weitz (1978) found that sales

performance is related to the salespeople’s ability to form accurate impression o f

customer beliefs and values and the degree to which they develop effective sales

strategies based on these impressions.

Questions persuade more powerfully than any other form o f verbal behavior.

There is a clear statistical association between the use of questions and the success o f the

interaction. The more questions asked, the more successful the interaction is likely to be

(Schuster and Danes 1986).

The time pressure o f a pharmaceutical sales representative may not be the perfect

situation to use various types of questioning techniques. Sales representatives have to be

skilled and ask the most appropriate questions to fit the pharmaceutical sales

environment. As a result good questioning technique may be very helpful.



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Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses

To summarize the previous literature and illustrate the purpose o f the present

study, the following conceptual framework has been developed. The five selling abilities

that have been previously identified as top skills are believed to impact sales

performance. Although there is evidence that selling ability is related to performance

there is not strong evidence o f which o f the components of the process are important.

Adaptive selling ability is the ability to change planned selling behavior in order

to respond to situations that are different than what was expected. A salesperson who is

able to react to the needs o f different customers across various sales situations will be

more successful than one who is less able to react. Therefore, a positive relationship is

expected between sales representative’s adaptability and sales representative's

performance. The following hypothesis is proposed:

H I: There is a positive relationship between salespeople’s adaptability and their

sales performance.

Second, product knowledge a salesperson possesses positively impacts a

salesperson's performance. A high degree of product knowledge increases a salesperson's

confidence in selling and believing in his/her company's products. Customers will have

confidence and trust in a salesperson who is knowledgeable o f his/her company’s

products and those o f the competitors. Therefore the following preposition is stated:

H2: There is a positive relationship between salespeople’s product knowledge

and their sales performance.



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Sales presentation is one of the important steps in personal selling. Presentation

skill is the use o f verbal and nonverbal means to clearly convey the content of the sales

message. Good presentation skills should lead to sales effectiveness. Hypothesis three is

as follows:

H3: There is a positive relationship between salespeople’s presentation skills and

their sales performance.

Effective listening skills are essential to personal selling. Good salespeople are

good listeners. Listening skills can be effectively used to gather information about the

customers. The ability to identify and meet customer needs separates the successful

salesperson from the average salesperson. Skilled salespeople listen carefully to what

information the customer provides and use that information to organize their thoughts

about how to respond to customer's needs. Therefore, listening skills are expected to

have a positive impact on sales representative's sales performance.

H4: There is a positive relationship between salespeople’s listening skills and


Finally, questioning skills are expected to have positive impact on sales

performance. Questions persuade more powerfully than any other form of verbal

behavior. Probing for information and asking questions may help salespeople to identify

customers’ problems or needs that are not obvious. The use o f questions is associated

with the success o f the interaction. The following hypothesis is proposed:

H5: There is a positive relationship between salespeople’s questioning skills and




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The following flow chart shows the relationship between the five selling abilities

and sales representative's sales performance. Positive relationships are expected between

each o f the five selling abilities and sales performance.

Adaptability

Knowledge

Sales PerformancePresentation

Skills

Listening

Skills

Questioning

Skills

Figure 2.1. Conceptual Framework.

Other Influencing Factors

Although selling abilities are the primary factors that will be examined in the

present study, it is also important to derive a list o f other factors that may have influences

on sales performance and to rule out alternative explanations. Personal variables are

defined as "intra-individual factors that might be related to salespeople's performance but

which are not part of the aptitude, skill level, motivation, and role perceptions



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components" (Churchill, Ford, Hartley, & Walker, 1985). Past studies have shown that

personal characteristics are predictors o f sales performance (Churchill, Ford, Hartley, &

Walker, 1985). The list of important factors in this current study specifically includes

salesperson’s gender, age, education, and job tenure.

Gender

Salesperson's gender may have an impact on selling effectiveness. While gender

roles have been changing in our culture, vestiges of the past remain. Differential

socialization may leave residual traces that affect the way salesmen and saleswomen

approach their jobs. Lagace and Twibble (1990) suggest that women in industrial selling

tend to be androgynous. Goolsby, Lagace and Boorom (1992) also suggest that

androgyny is more closely related to adaptive selling in saleswomen than it is in

salesmen. Meyers-Levey and Maheswaran (1991) propose that women may use different

processing strategies that could affect the way they relate to customers.

Women are alleged to be actually better suited for selling. Women are said to be

naturally better listeners and adaptive in their selling styles. Comer and Jolson (1991)

suggest that women’s sex-role prepares them very well for selling. Their characteristic

nurturing and sensitivity to others, equip them well for the interpersonal aspects o f the

job. Studies have also demonstrated women’s strength in various areas such as their

empathetic listening (Cole, 1985; Figel, 1983; Skolnik, 1985), their strong work ethic

(Cole, 1985; Figel, 1983), their service orientation (Figel, 1983; Skolnik, 1985), their

organization (Figel, 1983), their detail orientation, their long range thinking (Linkemer,

1989), and their humanistic approach to moral reasoning (Dawson, 1992).



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Based on previous research, gender is expected to have an impact on sales

performance. Women in particular are expected to have higher sales performance than

their male counterparts.

Age

In a retail sales encounter, Kang and Hillery (1998) found that older customers

had more favorable attitudes toward older retail salespeople than toward younger

salespeople. Even younger customers expressed a higher preference for older salespeople

than for younger salespeople.

Thurston, Lennon, & Clayton (1990) suggest that age contributes to a professional

image, with older age conveying an impression of experience and competence.

Organizational behavior perspective also suggests that older salespeople are generally

more involved in their job and place greater emphasis on work values. Therefore, age is

expected to have a positive relationship on sales performance. Older salespeople should

have a higher level of performance than younger salespeople.

Education and Job Tenure

Better-educated and experienced salespeople may have a more ecumenical view

of the world, which might make them better able to see other people's points o f view

(Comer & Drollinger, 1996). They may also have better-developed and richer knowledge

structures than others, which may have some impact on sales performance.

Job tenure is another factor that may have influences on sales performance.

Salespeople who have been in their current positions for a relatively longer time tend to



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be more familiar with the individual territory. They may also have built up a good

relationship with their customers. Their clients may also feel more comfortable to contact

them when they have questions.

In general, it is expected that education and job tenure will have a positive

relationship with sales performance. Sales representatives with higher education and

longer employment history in sales will perform better.



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CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design and statistical procedures to be used for

analysis in the current study. Data collection and variables descriptions are outlined.

Data Collection

The data for this study were obtained from a large international pharmaceutical

company. The first part o f the data was the objective/quantitative measurement. Sales

quota attainment was obtained from the company’s database. The second part of the data

came from a survey o f salesperson’s self-ratings on selling abilities and sales

performance. A questionnaire was developed based on previous studies in the literature.

Before the questionnaire was administered, a pretest was carried out. Five sales

representatives were asked to fill out the questionnaire. Information such as whether

instructions are clear, any problem items, how much time is required to complete the

questionnaire were collected. The feedback from sales representatives was positive. No

revision was made.

After the questionnaire was finalized, it was sent out to the selected participants.

A random sample o f 1,500 sales representatives was selected from the company’s total

3,000 representative’s sales force. A questionnaire was sent to the sales representatives at

their home addresses. A cover letter explaining the intent o f the study and confidentiality



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previous study on international electronics selling environment (Castleberry, Shepherd, &

Ridnour, 1998). The scale was found to be reliable with Cronbach’s alpha o f 0.82.

Validity o f the scale has been demonstrated in the original study by Behrman and

Perreault (1982). The correlation o f these self-report measures with the comparable

component evaluation from sales managers, profitability data and internal company

ratings was derived. In combination it was suggested that the self-report scale captures

common variance with other indicators of performance. In addition, numerous empirical

studies have used this scale and demonstrated the validity of this scale (e.g., Auglin,

Stolman, & Gentry, 1990; Castleberry, Shepherd, & Ridnour, 1998; Churchill, Ford,

Hartley, & Walker, 1985; Goolsby, Lagace, & Boorom, 1992).

Following are the 4 items from Behrman and Perreault (1982):

1. I produce a high market share for my company in my territory.

2. I identify and sell to major accounts in my territory.

3. I exceed all sales targets and objectives for my territory during the year.

4. I generate a high level o f dollar sales.

Another scale with 4 items developed based on job description will also be used.

This scale is based on a study by Blackshear and Plank (1993) in a pharmaceutical sales

context. A Cronbach's alpha of 0.84 was reported in their study. This scale is

appropriate for this study because of several reasons. First, their study was also

conducted in a pharmaceutical sales setting. So these measures are pertinent to this

specific industry. Second, sales manager’s evaluation data were examined in the original

study and similar relationship was found between sales performance and the independent

variables (adaptive behavior).



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Following are the 4 items scale for sales performance from Blackshear and Plank

(1993).

1. I achieve sales call goals.

2. I achieve market share goals.

3. I achieve sales goals.

4. I achieve overall goals.

Quota Attainment

Quota attainment came from the company’s database. Each individual territory is

to compare with its pre-determined quota. The quota is predetermined based on factors

such as territory potential, territory difficulty, and competition. The ratio of actual sales

over preset sales is the quota attainment for that individual territory or salesperson. The

company uses quota attainment as the base for performance evaluation and incentive

compensations.

Independent Variables

Independent variables in this study include five selling ability variables and

control variables. Five selling ability variables are adaptability (ADAPT), knowledge

(KNOW), presentation skill (PRESEN), listening skill (LISTEN), and questioning skill

(INTER). Control variables include age (AGE), gender (GENDER), education

(EDUCA), and job tenure (TENURE). Age was measured as a continuous variable by

subtracting the year the respondent was bom from the current year. Gender was coded as

male (1) and female (0), a dichotomous variable. Education was measured in five

groups: less than high school, high school, some college, college, and graduate degree.



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Job tenure was measured as number o f years in sales profession. Table 3.1 summarizes

the measurement and discussion on scales to be used follows after the table.

Table 3.1

Measures o f Variables

Deoendend Variable Measure

Sales Performance 8 items (Cronbach's alpha = .82)

quota attainment

Independent Variables Measure

Selling Ability Variables

Adaptability 16 items (Cronbach's alpha = .75 & .63)

Knowledge 7 items

Presentation Skill 8 items

Listening Skill 13 items (Cronbach's alpha = .80, .64, .91)

Questioning Skill 7 items

Control Variables Measure

Age year was bomGender male/female

Education < high school, high school, some college, college, graduate degree

Tenure years/months o f service with the company

Adaptability

The measurement of adaptability used the 16-item scale developed by Spiro and

Weitz (1990). The reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) of the scale was .85. Marks, Vorhies,

and Badovick (1996) suggested that two constructs (adaptive selling beliefs and adaptive

selling behaviors) were represented by the ADAPTS items. Therefore, the present study

used the modified version o f ADAPTS scale with both the behavior construct and belief



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construct. The be lief construct included questions 1 ,5 ,6 , and 14 and its Cronbach's

alpha is .63. The rest were in the behavior dimension and its Cronbach's alpha was .75.

The following ADAPTS scale was used for this study.

1. Each customer requires a unique approach.

2. When I feel that my sales approach is not working, I can easily change to another.

3. I like to experiment with different sales approaches.

4. I am very flexible in the selling approach I use.

5. I feel that most buyers can be dealt with in pretty much in the same manner.

6. I don’t change my approach from one customer to another.

7. I can easily use a wide variety o f selling approaches.

8. I use a set sales approach.

9. It is easy for me to modify my sales presentation in the situation calls for it.

10. Basically I use the same approach with most customers.

11 .1am very sensitive to the needs o f my customers.

12.1find it difficult to adapt my presentation style to certain buyers.

13.1 vary my sales style from situation to situation.

14.1try to understand how one customer differs from another.

15 .1 feel confident that I can effectively change my planned presentation when

necessary.

16 .1treat all of my buyers pretty much the same.

Appendix A.4 reviewed the measurement used in prior research for adaptability in

details.



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Product Knowledge

The scale for testing product knowledge was based on several textbooks and

Weilbaker’s definition. Studies suggested that more effective salespeople had greater

knowledge about their own company’s products and also competitor’s products (Smith &

Owens, 1995; Sujan, Sujan, & Bettman, 1998). In order to be conclusive, a content

analysis was conducted. Table 3.2 presents the findings from the content analysis. These

items appear to be the most important items from major textbooks and were used for the

knowledge scale. The items were Likert-scaled from 1 to 7. In order to test validity of

these measures, an item was added to the end of the questionnaire, which asks

representatives to evaluate their overall product knowledge.

Presentation Skills

The scale for measuring presentation skills was developed through a content

analysis based on Weilbaker’s definition and several textbooks. A sales message has to

be effectively presented to the customer to maximize selling effectiveness. Verbal and

nonverbal transmissions of selling messages are critical in the selling process. The

results from the content analysis are presented in Table 3.3. These items appear to be the

most important items from major textbooks. Items were Likert-scaled from 1 being

“strongly disagree” to 7 being “strongly agree. One additional item was added to the end

of the questionnaire. This item asked representatives to rate themselves in terms of

presentation skills and was used as a validity check.



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Table 3.2

Content Analysis on Items from the Knowledue Scale

Item Weitz, Castleberry,

& Tanner (1998)

Pederson, Weight,

& Weitz (1984)

Oberhaus, Ratliffe,

& Staubel (1993)

Futrell

(1992)

Anderson

(1995)

Manning

& Reece (1993)

1 1possess product knowledge

more than 1am expected to know. X X X X X X

2 1spend above average time

on obtaining product knowledge. X X X X

3 1 have sufficient knowledge of

my company's products. X X X

4 1am familiar with the pricing of my company*

produc ts as well a s tha t o f our competitors.

s

X X X X X

5 1 have a good understanding of

my comp any’s product line. X X X X

6 1know competitor's products very well.

X X X X X

7 1am familiar with all the clinical side effects

o f my company’s products. X X X X X


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Table 3.3

Content Analysis on Items from the Presentation Skills Scale


& Tanner (1998)

Pederson, Weight,

& Weitz (1984)

Oberhaus, Ratliffe,

&Staubel(1993)

Futrcll

(1992)

Anderson

(1995)

Manning

& Reece (1993)

1 When I meet with my clients I am always well

prepared with great information about them. X X X X X X

2 I can verbally convey sales messages

well to my customers. X X X X

3 1speak clearly and understandably.

X X X X

4 1vary the pace of my speech when I give

sales presentations. X X X X X

3 Within very limited interacting time, I can

hardly convey my sales messages. X X X X

6 My clients always actively participate

in my presentations. X X X X X

7 Gestures and nonverbal symbols help me

a lot with my presentations. X X X X X

8 Visual aids (sales aids) are appropriately

used in my presentations. X X X X

ON


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Listening Skills

The measurement of listening skills is another area that has been investigated and

debated by researchers. Three widely recognized and used scales o f listening skill

measurement include the Kentucky Comprehensive Listening Test (KCLT), the Watson-

Barker Listening Test (WBLT), and the Communication Competency Assessment

Instrument (CCAI). Appendix A.5 presents a detailed discussion of different types of

listening tests.

Within the sales/marketing arena, Ramsey and Sohi (1997) developed a listening

scale with three dimensions: sensing, evaluating, and responding. The Cronbach alpha of

each dimension is .80, .64, and .91. One additional item was added to the end of the

questionnaire. This item asked representatives to rate themselves in terms of listening

skills and was used as a validity check. The following items were used for the listening

scale.

1. I focus only on my customers in a sales call.

2. I keep firm eye contact.

3. I pay attention to nonverbal gestures.

4. I never appear to be bored in the interactions with my customers

5. I always ask for more details from my customers.

6. I paraphrase my customer’s questions to better understand the meanings.

7. I do not interrupt my customers.

8. I do not change subject too frequently.

9. I try hard to understand what my customer is saying.

10 .1 use full sentences instead o f saying yes or no.



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11.1 offer relevant information to my customer's questions.

12.1show eagerness in my responses to my customers.

13.1 answer my customer's questions at appropriate times.

Questioning Skills

The measurement o f questioning skills is based on Weilbaker’s definition and

guidelines from several textbooks. Pederson, Wright and Weitz (1988) proposed several

guidelines for asking good questions. These are:

1. Encourage longer responses

2. Space out questions

3. Ask short, simple questions

4. Avoid leading questions.

A content analysis was conducted to assess the face validity of these items. The

items was Likert-scaled from 1 being “strongly disagree” to 7 being “strongly agree”.

Table 3.4 presents the results from content analysis. These items appear to be the most

important items from major textbooks. One additional item was added to the end of the

questionnaire. This item asked representatives to rate themselves in terms of

interrogative skills and was used as a validity check.

Statistical Analysis

Coefficient alpha is the basic statistic for determining the reliability o f a measure

based on internal consistency. A low coefficient alpha indicates the sample o f items

performs poorly in capturing the construct which motivated the measure. Conversely, a

large alpha indicates that the items correlates well with true scores. If alpha is low, this



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Table 3.4

Content Analysis on Items from the Questioning Skills Scale


& Tanner (1998)

Pederson, Weight,

& Weitz (1984)

Oberhaus, Ratlifle,

& Staubel (1993)

Futrell

(1992)

Anderson

(1995)

Manning

& Reece (1993)

1 I always prepare a list o f questions to askmy clients when 1call on them. X X X X X X

2 1always ask my clients whether they have

questions about my presentations. X X X X

3 1always know what my clients' needs are

from their questions. X X X

4 1receive a lot of questions from my clients

during a sales call. X X X X X

S 1can ea sily start a “small talk" with my clients.

X X X X

6 1ask more open-ended questions andfewer closed-ended questions. X X X X X

7 I always have time to ask my clients in-depth

questions. X X X X X

O J

VO


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outcome suggests that some items do not share equally in the common core and should be

eliminated. The simplest way to find them is to calculate the correlation o f each item

with the total score and to plot these correlations by decreasing order of magnitude.

Items with correlations near zero would be eliminated. Further, items which produce a

substantial or sudden drop in the item-to-total correlations would also be deleted

(Churchill, 1979).

Factor analysis was performed on the data for each scale to determine the possible

dimensionality of the underlying constructs. If factor analysis suggested that dimensions

which were conceptualized as independent clearly overlapped, items which had pure

loadings on the new factor were retained and a new alpha was calculated on the summed

items o f the dimensions.

Reliability checks and factor analyses should produce an internally consistent or

internally homogeneous set o f items. Consistency is necessary but not sufficient for

construct validity (Churchill, 1979). Rather, to establish the construct validity of a

measure, researchers also must determine the extent to which the measures correlate with

other measures designed to measure the same thing.

Construct validity is most directly related to the question o f what the instrument is

in fact measuring the construct. It has been suggested that any particular construct or trait

should be measurable by at least two, and preferable more, different methods. Otherwise

the researcher has no way of knowing whether the trait is anything but an artifact of the

measurement procedure. Evidence of the convergent validity of the measure is provided

by the extent to which it correlates highly with other methods designed to measure the

same construct. The measure should have not only convergent validity, but also



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discriminant validity. Discriminant validity is the extent to which the measure is indeed

novel and not simply a reflection o f some other variable. Quite simply, scales that

correlate too highly may be measuring the same rather than different constructs. The

measures used in this study were then analyzed.

In summary, three steps we

PERSONAL SELLING: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELLING ABILITY AND SALES PERFORMANCE

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