Career Salary Research Articles

DO STUDENTS AND FACULTY UNDERSTAND RECRUITER CRITERIA FOR FRONT-LINE SALES POSITIONS?

Students who take university sales courses are expected to graduate with a better understanding of what contributes to a successful sales career. The current research identifies 33 factors recruiters use in evaluating sales candidates. The top 10 attributes identified by recruiters as most important to the sales candidate’s selection are: 1) coachability; 2) work ethic; 3) drive; 4) integrity; 5) professionalism; 6) communication skills; 7) commitment; 8) achievement orientation; 9) adaptability; and 10) leadership ability. The study then examines how well students and faculty understand these sales organization requirements. While the first ten attributes indicate agreement regarding their importance, significant differences are found across recruiters, students, and faculty for attributes that are beyond the top ten.

Susan Druid and X-treme X-citement

Can a cross-organizational firm work with a more traditional client company to develop new marketing services in a virtual environment? This case looks at the corporate culture of the X-treme X-citement company and how it is fostered and maintained in a virtual setting. Excerpt UVA-OB-0823 Rev. Mar. 11, 2019 Susan Druid and X-treme X-citement Susan Druid leaned back in her chair and sipped her coffee as she watched the sun peek out over the horizon. She took a deep breath and began to think. Having recently received a potentially important project from her home office, X-treme X-citement's marketing group, she needed to take a mental inventory of the initial steps required to get the ball rolling. Druid was to head a concept team in developing a new marketing services offering for a large consumer products firm. As the morning sun began to wake her more fully, she got excited about the challenge ahead. She took an extra moment to take in the glorious Vermont morning, and then it was time to go to work. Good thing that her office was just a short stroll down the hallway. She need not even take off her slippers. Susan Druid After graduating from a liberal arts college in the Colorado Rockies, Druid had worked for a major consumer-marketing firm based in the Midwest. Within the company, she had developed a name for herself as a creative dynamo. Starting her career in sales, she proved herself in the field and earned her reputation as a fast-track employee. Within two years, she had returned to corporate headquarters in Indiana to work in marketing research. Druid had embraced this new position with zeal. Among other high-visibility projects, one of her greatest triumphs was organizing a new campaign to relaunch a product that had seen declining market share, and which many thought was in the last stages of its product lifecycle. By this time, Druid had become a seasoned marketing veteran. Yet despite her great record and steady advancement, she found the Midwest a bore, and, becoming increasingly disenchanted during her nearly five years at the Indiana headquarters, she decided to change her path. . . .

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? AN INNOVATIVE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING MODULE TO PREPARE TOMORROW’S INSIDE SALESPEOPLE

Inside sales is a fast-growing sales profession, with the increase in inside sales positions skyrocketing beyond outside sales positions. Unfortunately, instructors lack the resources to adequately prepare students for inside sales careers. This study provides an innovative, short-term module that introduces the topic of inside sales, differentiates it from outside sales, and prepares students for an inside sales career through a novel role-play activity. Findings indicate that students experienced actual and perceived learning via the role play. Further, students who experienced the module were more likely to view inside sales as a desirable career than those who did not.

An International Study of Culture, Gender, and Moral Ideology on Sales Ethics Evaluations: How Should Educators Respond?

While international demand for sales positions is growing, negative sales stereotypes, partially fueled by ethical abuses in the sales arena, are prevalent and may dissuade students from pursuing sales careers. To help combat the situation globally, educators must develop and utilize effective sales ethics pedagogies. The first step involves understanding cross-cultural sales ethics perspectives. A convenience sample is drawn from five countries (United States, France, Germany, Indonesia, and New Zealand), and the Personal Selling Ethics Scale (PSE-2) is successfully used to examine culturally specific and gender-based evaluation differences. Gender-based ethical perspectives are of particular interest due to the growing gender diversity within sales professions. The study finds that cultural traditionalism/secularism and individualism/collectivism affect sales ethics evaluations. Likewise, gender and moral ideology affect evaluations. Women are more sensitive to ethical misconduct than men, and absolutist are more sensitive than exceptionists, situationists, and subjectivists. Specific pedagogical recommendations are provided.

An Examination of High Schools Students’ Perceptions of Sales as an Area to Study in College, and Factors Influencing their Interest in Sales as a Career to Pursue after College

Each year employees aggressively seek undergraduate business students to fill openings in their companies. While the number of universities offering sales programs is growing, it is apparent students’ desire to pursue a career in sales continues to lag behind demand for sales professionals. This article presents a study of college-bound high school students’ willingness to consider majoring in sales, and factors influencing their interest in pursuing a professional sales position after college. The findings indicate students’ perceptions are shaped by their view of sales professionalism, their perceptions of how others view salespeople, and their own sense of sales knowledge. Their perception of sales ethics does not appear to influence their intentions to study sales or pursue a career in sales.

From resentment to excitement – Australasian students’ perception towards a sales career

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore Australasian students’ current perception towards a sales career.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a self-administered survey from 431 students enrolled in a Sales Management unit in a large Australian university and its Asian campuses.FindingsThe study reveals a four-factor solution with factors labeled as “exciting,” “deceptive,” “taxing,” and “challenging,” with “exciting” being the only factor to significantly predict likelihood of pursuing a sales career. Although no differences of perception were found between males and females, Asian students were found to perceive sales career as more exciting, innovative and fun than Australian students.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough significant difference was noted between Australian and Asian students’ perceptions towards sales as an exciting career, it is prudent to interpret and generalize the finding with caution as Asia is the largest continent with different cultures, religions and races.Practical implicationsThe four factors that were found to influence students’ perception towards a sales career are novel, psychometrically sound, and are pertinent for businesses conducting graduate recruitment. This study indicates how sales education at university level assist in changing students’ views towards a sales career from negative to positive.Originality/valueWhile previous research has reported negative perceptions about sales as a career, this study reveals that students consider sales to be an “exciting” career.

Expect the unexpected: private‐sector careers

Expect the unexpected: private‐sector careers

The Changing Role of Salespeople and the Unchanging Feeling Toward Selling: Implications for the HEI Programs

Over the past five decades, several studies have shown that students’ reticence toward choosing a sales career has remained constant. Their lack of awareness and misconceptions regarding a sales job are two reasons behind this negative perception and lack of students’ “work readiness.” Using a conceptual model on student intention to pursue a sales career, this study has two goals: (a) to understand whether students recognize the changes in the salesperson’s role and (b) to investigate whether new understanding of these changes has any impact on students’ feelings and perceptions regarding selling as a career choice. After a preliminary qualitative analysis, a survey was carried out in a European country (Italy). Findings suggest that students are partly aware of the salesperson’s role, but they have a limited understanding of the evolution that has taken place in that role. In addition, there emerges a new antecedent, Understanding the salesperson role, that has had a significant impact on students’ Feelings toward selling. This new antecedent stresses the relational aspects of the salesperson’s job, highlighting how that aspect has never been considered in previous studies. Different explanations are offered, along with educational and training implications for curricula, program content, and handbooks in HEI (Higher Education Institutes).

Criteria of Successful Career in Sales: Sales Managers Perspective

The goal of this paper is to determine which criteria for sales managers the most important when are choosing a candidate for the position of salesperson. That will allow students who want to build their career in sales to prepare beforehand for what will be required of them, thereby helping companies in the future hire salespersons who will be better prepared for the challenges which this profession brings. The research was conducted through a questionnaire distributed to sales managers at companies in the Republic of Macedonia. Each one of them assesses the importance of certain criteria related to formal and informal education, knowledge of foreign languages, skills, personal characteristics, etc., by using a given scale. The obtained results are presented and analyzed.

Educational Debt, Career Salary, and Work Hour Expectations Among Future Radiation Oncologists: A Survey of Residency Applicants

Educational Debt, Career Salary, and Work Hour Expectations Among Future Radiation Oncologists: A Survey of Residency Applicants

Evaluating Educational Practices for Positively Affecting Student Perceptions of a Sales Career

Despite demand for new graduates seeking a sales position, student reticence toward pursuing a sales career remains. While all students will not choose a sales career, diminishing the existence of sales-related misconceptions among the student population should establish sales as a viable career path for a larger number of students. We test six educational interventions in large Principle of Marketing classes from three different universities ( n = 1,355) to help identify educational practices for reducing student reticence toward a career in sales. Our results show that while all six educational approaches raise students’ perceptions and interest in a selling career, the utilization of experienced salespeople to present classroom materials and to discuss their sales career was the most effective. Classroom lecture and role-plays by university sales students had the second highest intent to pursue intervention scores. We offer recommendations for how to best present sales material to these large, lecture-based courses.

Active Learning to Improve Presentation Skills: The Use of Pecha Kucha in Undergraduate Sales Management Classes

Recruiters seek candidates with certain business skills that are not developed in the typical lecture-based classroom. Instead, active-learning techniques have been shown to be effective in honing these skills. One skill that is particularly important in sales careers is the ability to make a powerful and effective presentation. To help students develop strong presentation skills, two sections of an undergraduate sales management course included an exercise in which students make a presentation using a Pecha Kucha format. Active-learning exercises like this promote both thinking and doing, and improve student engagement. The expectation is that the exercise will not only improve presentation skills, but also content knowledge. The effectiveness of the format is assessed through instructor observation, pre- and postpresentation student surveys, student reflection papers, and examination.

Show and Sell: Teaching Sales Through Hands-on Selling

There is a shortage of qualified salespeople, which creates a challenge for educators to prepare more students for a sales career. One of the most common teaching techniques used in preparing students is role playing, which mirrors real-world selling. However, role plays are not necessarily authentic because the players and conditions are not a real sales environment. “Show and Sell,” a teaching innovation, overcomes this limitation through a project-centered approach, whereby students sell a product to business and consumer prospects. The project can be applied across formats (hybrid, online, and in-person) to meet curricular objectives that teach students how to sell.

Attitudes, Opinions, and Characteristics: Creating a Profile of Sales Students

This study was conducted with the objective of identifying and assessing factors that influence students to have a disposition toward a sales career as well as positive attitudes toward salespeople. Two studies were conducted to measure the impact of different treatments. Data were collected from 263 undergraduate students in marketing and/or sales-related classes, in order to empirically test two experiments. The results of ordinary least-squares regression analysis indicate that students enrolled in sales-related classes are much more likely to have a disposition toward a sales career and to have a positive attitude toward salespeople, while simply reading a passage describing the sales profession and how it is likely for many college graduates to have a career in sales had little impact. The implications include the development of a sales students’ profile, which describes students who are likely to pursue sales as a career and to have a positive attitude toward salespeople. This profile can be important in identifying potentially successful members of professional sales forces while they are still in our universities and by doing so, enable sales educators to properly prepare them for their careers.

Regulation of emotions, interpersonal conflict, and job performance for salespeople

Careers in sales involve stress, which often translates to role stress that negatively impacts performance. To address this important issue, the present research examines an antecedent of stress, salespeople's regulation of emotions and the impact on organizational outcomes. Study findings show that salespeople's regulation of emotions is conducive to reducing interpersonal conflict and felt stress, which eventually leads to higher performance. Also, findings show the favorable effect of salespeople's ability to regulate emotions in reducing felt stress is stronger at higher levels of vertical collectivism. Study results are outlined along with managerial implications, which have especially important implications for organizations operating in emerging countries.

Formulating Undergraduate Student Expectations for Better Career Development in Sales

Undergraduate sales education is somewhat unique in that it prepares students for a career which functions mostly outside of traditional corporate management structures. Concurrently, the demand for well-qualified salespeople has intensified partly due to high turnover. This article contends that there may be a disconnection between student expectations of a sales job when they leave school and what they actually experience on the job. Using salesforce socialization as a theoretical foundation, this study compares students’ versus salespeople’s perceptions of sales jobs in terms of realism and congruence with outcome and behavior-based job performance indicators as well as perceived ethical control. When considering job performance and ethics, the results show that students have a highly idealistic perception of sales when compared to those in the actual field of sales. For marketing educators it is imperative that efforts are focused on helping students form more realistic expectations for a sales career. Such efforts and suggestions are provided in the implications.

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of the Stereotype for Salespeople

The purpose of this research is to investigate the image of salespeople and of the selling function as perceived by business students across cultures. Of the several empirical investigations that exist in the sales literature, most are based on a single-country sample. This study extends previous knowledge on single-country perception of salespeople by conducting a quantitative survey of business students in Cameroon, France, Japan, Mexico, and the United States. Substantial differences and similarities are found across countries on salesperson’s image, feelings in the presence of a salesperson, as well as the perception of a career in sales. They all appear to be influenced by cultural values. Several practical strategic implications are suggested, including examining cultural values to identify the origin of negative images, careful gatekeeping to promote professional positions, and supporting mobility of both students and faculty. Finally, limitations to the findings are presented with suggested future research directions.

The Role of Self-Efficacy in Sales Education

Sales education programs are undergoing rapid growth and dynamic change as more business and other undergraduate students pursue sales jobs as desirable career entry points. The number of collegiate sales programs has grown dramatically over the past decade, and sales educators today are increasingly focused on teaching experientially. That is, they seek to link theory to industry practice to prepare students more effectively for in-demand sales careers. Sales knowledge and sales-related self-efficacy have been established clearly to be determinants of future sales performance in industry. This article is a first step in examining the role self-efficacy plays within the context of sales education. More than 500 students, who have completed or are currently enrolled in at least one sales course at one of approximately 20 colleges, completed an 85-item survey for this study. The responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The authors recommend specific methods for sales educators to more effectively develop sales knowledge and sales-based self-efficacy so that students are well-prepared to “hit the ground running” in the early stages of their sales careers.

A Parsimonious Instrument for Predicting Students’ Intent to Pursue a Sales Career

Students’ desire and intention to pursue a career in sales continue to lag behind industry demand for sales professionals. This article develops and validates a reliable and parsimonious scale for measuring and predicting student intention to pursue a selling career. The instrument advances previous scales in three ways. The instrument is generalizable across academic settings and is shown to be sensitive to differences across varied course coverage and learning activities. The instrument is parsimonious and offers a high reliability coefficient. Finally, the instrument is validated both before and after exposure to a sales module, thus capturing perceptual and attitudinal changes as students become more familiar with this career option.

What motivational factors influence Students’ Interest in Sales Career? An Empirical Investigation in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to explore various motivational factors to college students' interest in sales career. After assessing those factors we were able to determine the best predictor of motivational factors to college students' interest in sales career. A total of 130 respondents were obtained from students in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Multimedia University (MMU) in Malaysia. The data was examined by using demographic information, reliability analysis, independent paired t-test, pearson correlation, paired samples correlations and hypothsis testing. The findings of the study revealed that personal development, communication skills and inner circle influence have most significant relationship with students' interest in sales carrer at p=0.00 (2-tailed) level. The result also revealed that paired sampls correlation of all constructs was significant at p<0.01 level. The main contribution of the study is that, the results of this study would assist the business firm in Malaysia in their business plan. The findings of this research may also contribute to the improvement of business organizations for recruiting employees, managerial strategy and prudent marketing plan.