| More sales managers are recognizing the need for their sales people to shift from a transaction selling approach to a more consulting-oriented approach (Pelham, 2006b). However, most studies have not investigated the importance of consulting knowledge and skill within this context. Rather, many researches identify knowledge and skill required based upon frequency of accomplished tasks rather as opposed to the importance of each task in individual's selling environment (Cross, Hartley, Rudelius, & Vassey, 2001; McMurry, 1961; Moncrief, 1986; Moncrief, Marshall, & Lassk, 2006; Newton, 1973; Sumrall, 1992).;The goals of this research were to (1) analyze the importance of competencies for entry level business-to-business services sales people for the purpose of developing a competency model for learning and development purposes, (2) construct a valid and reliable instrument for determining entry level sales person knowledge and skill within the services industry, and (3) ascertain what relationships exist (if any) between sales managers, sales professors, sales trainers, and sales people in regard to knowledge and skills which are believed to be important for success in entry level business-to-business selling in the services industry.;The final SCA was administered to a population of sales professors (n=96), a random sample of the 557 sales trainers from the American Society for Training and Development who did not participate in the pilot study (n=447), and a random sample of sales managers from 6,275 businesses identified as having more than 250 employees and ;As a result, the final SCA was administered to a total of 3,113 individuals. A total of 931 (29.9%) questionnaires were returned. Of these, 449 (48.2%) were complete, valid, and usable. The resultant Salesperson Competency Analysis (SCA) instrument was found to be reliable. The rankings of competency knowledge and skills competencies as well as the results of the exploratory factor analysis can help academics and practitioners create learning and development plans for salespeople in the services industry. |
