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Suggests that a significant trend affecting American society today is the dramatic rise in the number of persons aged over 65. Consequently, retailers are interested in knowing how this segment can be best served in the marketplace. Outlines a study which utilized person perception theory to examine how retail sales personnel’s perceptions relate to elderly consumers’ satisfaction. Results indicate that elderly consumers viewed older sales personnel more positively than they viewed younger sales personnel. Also reveals that retail sales personnel’s perceptions of elderly consumers’ marketplace preferences and satisfaction were significantly different from those reported by elderly consumers. In addition to the theoretical implications, findings provide retailers with valuable information for improving their service to elderly consumers.

Sales personnel play a key role in the success of organizations. These individuals present services/products to clients, manage accounts, build relationships, maintain existing business relationships, and must be available for frequent interactions with clients. Business operations are linked to external entities through these activities, suggesting sales groups play a critical role in the success of an organization. As a representative to the external market, sales personnel are subject to unique stressors due to role-specific requirements. These stressors can impact the ability of sales professionals to effectively engage with customers and manage the volatility of financial performance, especially in commission-based compensation structures. Thus, organizations can find utility in identifying sales candidates with higher levels of stress tolerance, who can handle negative client interactions, overcome lulls in sales conversions, and avoid the impact of occupational stressors on long-term sales performance. Research suggests that organizations can use personality to predict stress tolerance as a component of sales performance. To provide organizations with insights into sales-specific coping behaviors associated with stress tolerance, the authors (1) discuss stress inducing factors (stressors) associated with sales role performance, (2) review the individual differences associated with stress tolerance, (3) present personality relationships with sales performance and stress tolerance, and (4) present job-analytic support for stress tolerance competencies relevant to sales performance and criterion-related validity evidence linking personality characteristics to those behaviors. The authors conclude with a discussion around the potential for applied uses of personality in identifying sales personnel with greater likelihoods of exhibiting stress tolerant behaviors in the workplace.

As the influx of women entering sales positions is increasing, a growing (albeit relatively small) number of saleswomen have been promoted into first‐line sales management positions. A key question facing these managers is what kind of leadership style they should use with their sales staffs. Answers to this question are presently ambiguous. This paper reports the results of an investigation which focussed on which of four leadership approaches enhances performance of female sales managers’ sales personnel. Findings imply that women sales supervisors should give serious consideration to adopting a “contingent reward” leadership style. Also offers managerial implications.

Savings institutions are progressively improving their sales orientation and provide some encouragement that such institutions are making stronger commitments towards being competitive in the new deregulated environment. The findings of a questionnaire‐based study conducted by FIMA and Hubbard and Associates within America also indicate that savings institutions' managements still have much to learn.

Despite the importance of developing sales personnel to become sales managers, virtually no attention has been given to this topic in the sales management literature. This paper presents a model that sales executives can use in developing potential sales managers. Valuable sales management skills are identified and methods for providing skill development are offered.

Discusses factors affecting marketing‐sales co‐ordination requirements at consumers goods firms, what some firms are doing to encourage better interaction between these groups, the strengths and vulnerabilities of these organisational initiatives, and the managerial implications. Reports in a cross‐section of consumer product categories sold through retail and wholesale customers in different classes‐of‐trade.

Charts the rise of women into sales manager positions in the US and looks at the general traits which help females in such roles. Cites that women have more trouble being accepted in sales roles when selling to other countries. Focuses upon the People’s Republic of China and presents the finding of a study of 266 field sales personnel across the republic. Suggests that there are still a number of difficulties for businesses, but provides some ideas for consideration.

The purpose of the article is to present and test a model regarding important factors that may help reduce unethical behavior (i.e. misselling) of salespeople in the financial services industry.

To test the hypotheses, telemarketers from the life insurance industry in South Korea were surveyed (n=204).

Using structural equation modeling, the results indicate that: ethics training is positively related to salesperson ethical attitude; ethical climate is positively related to salesperson ethical attitude; selling pressure is unrelated to ethical attitude; competitive intensity is positively related to salesperson ethical attitude; competitive intensity is unrelated to misselling; and misselling is inversely related to salesperson ethical attitude, positively associated with product complexity, and positively related to product variety.

Future empirical work could: investigate different variables from those utilized in this study; consider inter‐country and gender differences; use alternate sources of data to examine stability of the findings; and employ samples of firms in other industries and other marketing channels. Limitations include a limited number of study variables, use of solely the telemarketing channel for life insurance, a preponderance of female respondents, and potential for socially desirable responses.

Management should seek to maintain a high ethical attitude among sales agents to help foster a reduction in unethical behavior. Sales personnel should receive extensive ethics training to help enhance their ethical attitude in the job. Salespeople should also seek to establish and maintain long‐term relationships with their customers and to pursue long‐term profitability. Sales managers should seek to educate consumers about the various types of financial products, their respective strengths and weaknesses, and the appropriate conditions under which they should be purchased.

The potential for financial services industry salespeople to behave unethically has received extensive research attention. A key area, though, which has been virtually ignored is antecedents of misselling of financial services. The article seeks to address partially this gap in the literature.

Sponsorship sales in professional sport is an area of increasing attention and growing investment, but the sport management literature offers only limited research about sales strategies and tactics. As a result, practitioners and academics alike have called for investigation in the area. In response to this need, the purpose of this paper is to empirically explore sponsorship sales in professional sport.

Sponsorship sales professionals working for sport properties in the four major North American sport leagues were surveyed on a variety of sponsorship sales-related variables and factors.

A total of 92 sponsorship sales professionals responded to the study, for an estimated 15.3 percent response rate. At the time of the data collection, the 92 respondents worked in the National Football League (NFL) (37), Major League Baseball (MLB) (16), National Basketball Association (NBA) (18), and National Hockey League (NHL) (21). A series of practical, conceptual, and comparative results are presented, highlighted by turnover as a problem, the importance of activation/servicing in sponsorship sales, and the high level of investment clubs are making in sponsorship sales.

First, on “coverage,” the authors acknowledge that variations in the data can be linked, to a large extent, to reporting issues due to the nature of the study, the data, and the sample. Variations in sponsor number or training, for example, are not necessarily indicative of weaknesses in the industry, but occur because of strategic differences among properties. Second, it is important to note that not all properties had personnel respond to the study. Consequently, the figures presented in this study might be a function of the individual personnel who responded rather than a true average figure for a particular league. Third, in terms of the sample, this study deals with a very specific context in the four North American major sport leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL). Thus, one should be careful in generalizing to minor professional, collegiate, Olympic, or other sport contexts.

The finding of this paper states that the turnover of sponsors may be a structural issue and is certainly related to the demand for the particular property (Seaver Marketing Group, 2010). Driven by a number of factors, including technology shifts to digital channels and increased sophistication by the sponsorship sales departments of professional sport properties, a shift in the activation and service paradigm is reported and extended to the specific context of sponsorship sales.

Results show that sport properties in the North American major sport leagues have a strong commitment to sponsorship sales by the organization (commitment of resources), by sport personnel (who support the business side), and by their sponsorship sales professionals who report satisfaction, motivation, and support from their property.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical research study specific on sponsorship sales in professional sport, thus providing direction for practice and future research on an issue of high importance to the sport industry.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate learners' attitudes to the use of simulation‐based e‐learning as part of workplace learning when socially situated interaction and blended learning are specifically included in the instructional design.

Responses to a survey questionnaire of 298 sales personnel were collected and analysed. Additionally, quantitative and qualitative data from 37 sales directors were obtained to further address the research question.

It was found that a majority of the participants conveyed improvement in their overall level of customer service skills applied in their own work tasks. In addition to the on‐line simulation being an engaging and fun way of learning, the socially situated interaction and blended delivery of the training program encouraged and facilitated discussion and fruitful debates about customer service in the workplace.

This study was limited by its potentially non‐representative sample, representing those who voluntarily participated to improve their sales and customer service skills in one chain bookstore.

A high rate of positive participant responses is attributable to the proper opportunity to supplement learning with practice, achieved through the design features of the program. The work has relevance for other corporate training providers considering incorporating live facilitation into on‐line simulation solutions.

Previously, not much attention has been paid to the use of a coach physically present working with learners using on‐line simulation‐based training, nor to differential benefits such arrangements may provide. Nor were many practical examples of socially situated e‐learning found in the literature. Feedback from both sales personnel and their directors provided a unique opportunity to analyse a work‐based training program using such arrangements.