Relational communication traits and their effect on adaptiveness and sales performance

Two relational communication traits, communication apprehension and interaction involvement, are investigated within an adaptive selling framework to assess their impact on salesperson adaptiveness and sales performance. Using a sample of 239 insurance salespeople, results demonstrate that salespeople exhibiting lower levels of communication apprehension are more highly involved in communication interactions, and higher involvement facilitates increased adaptiveness and sales performance. This research highlights the importance of effective communication within sales interactions and offers suggestions to improve salesperson communication skill. Michael L. Boorom is an associate professor of marketing and associate dean of the school of business and public administration at California State University, San Bernardino. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida. His research interests are salesperson and sales manager communication skills. His work has been published in theJournal of Personal Selling & Sales Management and several conferences. Jerry R. Goolsby is an associate professor of marketing at the University of South Florida. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. His research interests include sales interactions and salesperson burnout and coping strategies. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and other marketing journals. Rosemary P. Ramsey is a professor and chair of the management and marketing department at Eastern Kentucky University. She earned her Ph.D. from University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include sales interactions and measurement issues. Her work has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Social Behavior and Personality. andJournal of Marketing Education.