Effective and less effective salespeople's preparations and sales actions in the first visit to a customer

Abstract

This study investigated expertise in personal selling in terms of preparations that control triggering inadequate knowledge slips based on ATS theory. In the experiment, effective and less effective salespeople of an office-machine supplier reported their preparations for the first visit to a customer after they watched a brief video about the customer. Then they watched another video in which a model salesperson and customers met and talked, and the meeting undesirably finished because that the salesperson pushed a prescribed proposal. The subjects diagnosed inappropriate actions of the model and reported actions that they would have made. Results showed that the effective ones prepared themselves not to rush to propose but to understand the customer's problem situation as their purport and action goal. Their diagnoses and reported actions were consistent with them. Those of the less effective ones were to find the customer's needs and establish a personal relationship. Their sales actions were partly consistent with their action goal, that is, they tried to inquire about the customer's needs. But they failed to suppress jumping to offer premature proposals. It is suggested that the purport and action goal of a coming meeting differ with expertise and influence to control inadequate slips.