The practical know-how of selling: Differences in knowledge content between more-effective and less-effective performers

Results of both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of salespeople indicate that more effective and less effective salespeople differ systematically in their knowledge of sales strategies, and to a lesser extent in their knowledge of customer characteristics. For the sales situation examined, more effective salespeople use specific, problem solving-oriented strategies to sell to customers and underlying, functional characteristics to describe customers; less effective salespeople use global, relationship-oriented strategies to sell to customers and surface structure, less functional characteristics to describe customers.The research was supported in part by a grant from the Division of Research, College of Business Administration, The Pennsylvania State University.