Cla ke, Hugh G.
A icle
A new app oach o he selec ion o sales s a
Sou h A ican Jou nal o Business Managemen
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Uni e si y o S ellenbosch Business School (USB), Bell ille, Sou h A ica
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Cla ke, Hugh G. (1982) : A new app oach o he selec ion o sales s a , Sou h
A ican Jou nal o Business Managemen , ISSN 2078-5976, A ican Online Scien i ic In o ma ion
Sys ems (AOSIS), Cape Town, Vol. 13, Iss. 1, pp. 23-27,
h ps://doi.o g/10.4102/sajbm. 13i1.1167
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/217787
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A
new
app oach
o
he
selec ion
o
sales
s a
Hugh
G.
Cla ke
Lewis S o es L d., Cape Town
P oblems wi h selec ion p ocedu es o sales
s a
a e
discussed. I is
di icul
o
assess he a ie y
o
cha ac e is ics equi ed o success in sales in
an
in e iew,
bu mos in e iewe s unde alue in o ma ion ha can
be
gained om di ec obse a ion. The au ho p oposes he use
o 'ac ion p o iling',
o
assess pe sonali y based on body
mo emen . Ca e ul obse a ion o pos u al mo emen (big
body mo emen s) and ges u al mo emen s (smalle limb
mo emen s) can p o ide in o ma ion on mo i a ional
cha ac e is ics (asse ion) and ask o ien a ion (pe spec i e) o
indi iduals. A b ie o e iew is gi en o esea ch on he ela-
ionship be ween body mo emen and pe sonali y, and he
au ho gi es his adap a ion
o
hese heo ies
o
in e p e ing
beha iou al-ac ion endencies in sales s a . I is p oposed
ha ac ion p o iling echniques, al hough s ill in
an
ea ly
s age o de elopmen , could make a aluable con ibu ion, in
conjunc ion wi h exis ing echniques,
o
imp o ed selec ion o
' he igh pe son' o he sales job.
S.
A .
J.
Bus. Mgm . 1982,
13:
23-
27
P obleme wa me bes aande keu ingsp ak yke i
e koopspe soneel onde ind wo d, wo d besp eek. Di! is
moeilik om die e skeidenheid an pe soonlikheidseienskappe
wa nodig is om sukses me e kope e behaal,
in
'n
onde houd e e aluee , maa die mees e onde houd oe de s
onde ska die waa de an inlig ing wa deu di ek e waa ne-
ming e k y kan wo d. Die ou eu s el die geb uik an 'aksie-
p o iele' oo om pe soonlikheid op g ond an liggaamsbewe-
gings
le
beoo deel. Ve sig ige waa neming an houdingsbewe-
ging (g oo liggaamsbewegings) en gebaa beweging (kleine
ledemaa bewegings) kan inlig ing oo mo i e ingseienskappe
en
aako ien e ing an indi idue e ska . 'n Ko oo sig wo d
gegee an na o sing oo die e wan skap ussen lig-
gaamsbewegings
en
pe soonlikheid
en
die ou eu gee sy aan-
passing an hie die eo iee i die in e p e asie
an
ged ags-
aksie neigings in e koopspe soneel. Di! wo d oo ges el da
aksie-p o iel egnieke, alhoewel nog in 'n oee on wikke-
lings adium, 'n waa de olle byd ae saam me bes aande
egnieke
o
e be e de keu ing an 'die eg e pe soon' i die
e koops aak kan maak.
S.·A . Tydsk . Bed y sl. 1982,
13:
23-
27
Hugh
G.
Cla ke
Pe sonnel Manage , Lewis S o es L d.,
Box
43, Woods ock 7915,
Republic
o
Sou h A ica
Recei ed Feb ua y
1981;
accep ed Oc obe
1981
In oduc ion
The e
is
li le doub ha selec ion p ocedu es o sales
s a
in
many Sou h A ican companies a e inadequa e.
O en, he sc eening p ocess
is
haphaza d; in e iewe s
do no p ope ly assess whe he he applican has he
necessa y abili y and skills o he job; he e
is
equen
employee misplacemen ; and s a u no e
is
high. Small
wonde ha sales p oduc i i y
is
low in so many in-
dus ies.
The ques ion
is
-why
is
his so? Why canno com-
panies employ applican s who ha e he igh abili y,
ex-
pe ience and pe sonali y o he job?
The answe lies pe haps no so much wi h he inade-
quacies
o
in e iewe s bu wi h he ac ual sc eening
echniques. Theo e ically, selec ing he igh pe son o
he
job
is
a s aigh o wa d ask. You analyse he
job
e-
qui emen s, se pe o mance pa ame e s, and selec in-
di iduals whose cha ac e is ics ma ch
job
demands
...
bu i
is
no ha simple! Fo one hing: wha a e he
speci ic cha ac e is ics ha a e equi ed by he
job?
Fo a
second; how do you assess ha you applican ac ually
has
hese cha ac e is ics, and
will
display hem in he
job
si ua ion?
Dl lcul les o employee assessmen
The majo p oblem
o
employee sc eening and selec ion
is
ha i
is
no comple ely scien i ic. The e
is
no 'p ess
bu on' magical way
o
picking he igh employee simply
because he e a e hund eds
o
in e ening a iables ha
can de e mine an indi idual's sales pe o mance.
To
lis
jus a
ew:
pe sonali y, selling s yle, company policy,
buye mo i a ion, indi idual incen i es, communica ion
channels, nego ia ing abili y, business clima e,
manage ial suppo , decision-making p ocedu es, and
many, many mo e.
Fich e, he Ge man philosophe said:
'The
ype
o
philosophy a man adop s depends upon he ype
o
man
he is'. Simila ly, he ype
o
e ail ou le , he ype
o
a i-
cle o be sold, he ype
o
buying isk, e c., may de e -
mine he ype
o
salesman equi ed by ha business si ua-
ion. Each selling si ua ion has i s unique equi emen s
and he encyclopaedia salesman, ca salesman and
cosme ic saleswoman may ha e li le in common.
So -how does a company selec he success ul
salesman
o
saleswoman? Wha cha ac e is ics does he
ec ui e look o ?
24
Cha ac e is ics o he Success ul Salesman
I
we
had
o
lis he equi emen s o an 'ideal' salesman
we
migh come up wi h some hing like his: ale , obse -
an , good use
o
oice and speech, c~ee ul, help ul,
well-g oomed, conside a e, coope a i e, . co~ eous,
hones en husias ic, sel -con olled, esponsible, m e es
in
o h; s,
con iden , ac ul, dependable, loyal, liking o
people, imagina i e, good memo y, indus ious. .
Clea ly, no all hese cha ac e is ics can be assessed m
he
job
in e iew. I
is
impossible o e alua e
'memo y',
'dependabili y', ' ac ulness', ' esponsibili y', e c. by
alking o someone. And he in e iewe should no be
misled in o hinking ha
job
applica ion o ms p o ide
all he answe s. They do no .
Howe e , he in e iew can gi e he in e iewe use ul
insigh s in o he applican 's sui abili y, o example ale -
ness, g ooming, chee ulness, en husiasm, pos u e, in-
dus y, and so on - hese insigh s being gained di ec ly
om obse a ion
o
he applican .
Wha
is
no app ecia ed by mos in e iewe s
is
he
amoun
o
in o ma ion o be gained abou he applican
om di ec obse a ion. Indeed, di ec obse a ion can
ell you whe he you a e employing a h us ul, ag-
g essi e, dynamic salesman,
o
no . I enables you
o
choose salespe sons who de elop o wa d
momen um
and who will be ac i e on he
job.
I enables you
o
a oid
he 'pie-in- he-sky' a mchai salesman who wo ks
ou
b illian s a egies o ge ing he business,
bu
ne e ge s
he business.
These a e subs an ial claims
o
make o di ec obse -
a ion -so le us examine hei alidi y.
To
do
so, we need
o
discuss 'ac ion p o iling' echniques.
Wha is 'ac ion p o iling'?
'Ac ion p o iling'
is
a ela i ely new echnique which
assesses pe sonali y based on body mo emen . I
ecognizes ha man
is
a psycho-biological p ocess:
ha
how he beha es e lec s wha he is.•
Un o una ely, i
is
ou side he scope
o
his
pape
o
gi e
a de ailed analysis
o
how body mo emen exp esses
cha ac e . Su ice i
o
say
ha
big body mo emen s
(pos u al mo emen )
is
e lec i e
o
cha ac e
and
in e -
nal mo i a ion, while smalle limb mo emen s (ges u al
mo emen s) a e usually lea ned
o
acqui ed o en wi hin
a cul u e and o en e lec beha iou deemed momen-
a ily expedien . Pos u e
and
ges u e a e equen ly me g-
ed in one mo emen .
Beha iou
and pe sonali y
The link be ween how a pe son beha es, ( ha
is
his
physical mo emen ),
and
his pe sonali y, while
undeniable, has no always been clea ly s a ed by
'body
language' p oponen s. I becomes clea e
i
we examine
he de ini ion
o
(mo i a ed) beha iou , ha
is
'ene gy
eleased in he o m
o
a d i e di ec ed owa ds a
goal'.
This de ini ion sugges s
ha
he e a e wo componen s
o
human
beha iou :
81'0
he
au ho 's
knowledge,
his
is
he
i s
pape
in
his
coun y
o
discuss
his
echnique
and
i s
applica ion.
S.-A . Tydsk .
Bed yhl.
1982,
13(1)
he mo i a ional cha ac e is ics
o
he
indi idual:
how much
e o
o
ene gy
is
eleased in
o de
o
each a goal? (Asse ion)
he
ask o ien a ion
o
he
indi idual: in
wha
way
is
his ene gy eleased; how does
he
indi idual
de ine
his goal
and
se himsel objec i es? (Pe spec i e)
Mo i a ional cha ac e is ics (asse ion)
Rudol
Laban,
in his classic
book
E o '
sugges ed
ha
ene gy
can
be eleased by
he
body
in speci ic ways -
slowly
o
quickly; wi h o ce
o
gen ly; in
an
uncon olled
manne
o
in a con olled
manne ;
di ec ly
o
indi ec ly.
Th ough
indus ial s udies
conduc ed
in
England
du-
ing
he
Second Wo ld
Wa ,
he
ound
ha
he e
we e
ou
componen s
o
mo emen
- ocus,
p essu e,
ime
and
low; each
o
hese
e o
elemen s ha ing wo
quali a i e limi s
(o
pa ame e s).
Fo
example:
ocus
o
a en ion could be di ec
...
o
indi ec ;
p essu e
could
be hea y
...
o
ligh ;
and
so
on.
Th ough
his s udies
Laban
came
o
ecognize
ha
a
pe son's
ene gy- elease
pa e ns
-
dynamic,
b isk,
slow,
con olled, ne ous, e c. -we e
somehow
ela ed
o
pe -
sonali y.
Task o ien a ion (pe spec i e)
Despi e his pe cep ion,
Laban
did
no
speci ically link
he
'e o
componen '
o
pe sonali y.
This
honou
belongs
o
Wa en
Lamb
(1965)
who
ex ended
Laban's
analysis
o
a s udy
o
how
he
indi idual shapes -gi es
di ec ional ocus
o
-his
e o
mo emen s.
He
did
his
in e ms
o
he
h ee space
dimensions,
namely
heigh
( ising/ alling), wid h
(sp eading/enclosing),
inclina ion
(ad ancing/ e ea ing).
P ac ical esea ch
In a
numbe
o
p ac ical s udies,
Lamb
2•3,
and
la e
his
collabo a o
Pamela
Ramsden
4
showed
he
ela ionship
be ween
body
mo emen
and
pe sonali y.
They
conclu-
ded
ha
each indi idual has
an
'ac ion
p o ile'
o
'signa u e'
ha
is
exclusi ely his
o
he s.
They
also
ound
gene al ypes
o
pe sonali y p o ile which
occu
again
and
again.
Lamb
and
Ramsden
hen
applied
hei
indings
o
g oup beha iou : in
pa icula ,
o
managemen
beha-
iou
and
eam building.
Fo
example:
hey
assessed
' op
managemen '
in a
numbe
o
o ganiza ions
and
conclu-
ded
ha
'ideal combina ions
o
pe sonali ies
could,
and
should, be me ged oge he
o
o m
a
" op
eam"
'.
No ably, hey we e able
o
pinpoin
indi idual manage-
men s eng hs
and
weaknesses
and
make
ecommenda-
ions o a
'balanced',
ully-in eg a ed
managemen
eam
in which he skills
and
abili ies
o
all
he
execu i es we e
used
o
he ull.
I should be men ioned he e
ha
Lamb
and
Ramsden's
esea ch in o pe sonali y
h ough
'body
mo emen '
is no
en i ely new.
O he
esea che s,
o
example,
K e sch-
me 5
and
Sheldon6•7•8 ha e linked
'body'
and
'pe sonali-
y'
bu
in a sligh ly di e en con ex .
K e schme
and
Sheldon's esea ch
is
based
upon
s a ic (non-mo ing)
mo.dels, s udies
o
ana omical
body
shape
o
physique,
while
Lamb
and
Ramsden's
is
dynamic-based analysing
ac ual physical mo emen . '
s.
A . J. Bus. Mgm 1982, 13(1)
Beha iou al ac ion s udies
Speci ically, Lamb
and
Ramsden assess
12
key beha-
iou al ac ion endencies h ough an assessmen
o
'body
mo emen '. (Fo a discussion
o
hese, please e e o he
e e ences.) Six
o
hese ac o s ela e o an indi idual's
ac ion mo i a ion; h ee o his o he social in e ac ion;
and h ee a e measu es
o
po en ial ac i i y. Table 1
shows hese beha iou al ac ion endencies as adap ed by
he au ho o salespeople:
Table 1 Key beha iou al ac ion endencies (sales-
people)
A. Indi idual ac ion mo i a ion
I. In es iga ing
(p oduc
knowledge, ac - inding, e c.)
2. Explo ing (looking o al e na i e sales possibili ies)
3.
De e mining (ha ing i mness
o
pu pose)
4.
Con on a ion
(ha ing ecogni ion
o
immedia e needs
o
company)
S.
Deciding (seizing
oppo uni ies)
6.
An icipa ing (assessing consequences
o
sales ac ion)
B.
Social in e ac ion mo i a ion
7.
Communica-
(in i ing
and
impa ing knowledge
and
in o -
ing
ma ion)
8.
P esen ing (in luencing, pe suading, making a posi i e
demons a ion)
9.
Ope a ing
(spu ing people
on
o
ac ion)
C.
Measu es
o
po en ial ac i i y
10.
Dynamism (d i e in
e ms
o
exe ion)
11. Adap abili y ( eadiness
o
change
one's
own posi ion and
a i udes)
12. Iden i ying
(o
sel wi h o ganiza ion, i s pe sonali ies,
me hods,
aims, e c.)
The au ho wishes
o
poin
ou
he e ha while Lamb and
Ramsden's basic amewo k
is
used in he ollowing
discussion, some
o
he dis inc ions -e.g. be ween 'ac-
ion mo i a ion'
and
' ask o ien a ion' a e his own hypo-
he ical cons uc s,
and
a e
no
d awn by Lamb and
Ramsden.
The
salesman's 'ac ion p o ile'
Jus as many salesmen use a ou inized selling echnique
such as AIDA (A en ion -In e es -Desi e -Ac ion)
o 'sell' o he consume , so he 'ac ion p o ile' p ac i-
ione uses a simila echnique -AIC (A en ion -In-
en ion -Commi men ) in s udying he salesman's
'body language'.
The gene al ela ionship be ween he 'men al' AIDA
echnique
and
he 'physical'
AIC
echnique
is
as ollows:
Selling echnique Ac ion p o iling
(men al) (physical)
A en ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A en ion
In e es } ·
Desi e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In en ion
Ac ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commi men
Compa e he abo e decision-making p ocess wi h ha
de ined by He be A. Simon. 8 He s a ed ha he
decision-making p ocess consis ed
o
h ee s eps:
he in elligence phase - inding condi ions calling
o a decision;
25
he decision phase -in en ing, de eloping and
analysing possible cou ses
o
ac ion;
he choice phase -selec ing a cou se
o
ac ion.
Now selling (o buying om he consume 's poin
o
iew)
is
an exe cise
in
p oblem-sol ing. Typically, he
cus ome has a p oblem -
'I
ha e a back-ache' and seeks
a solu ion which migh be o go o he doc o
o
buy a
i me bed. The s eps
in
sol ing any p oblem a e usually
gi en
by
managemen au ho i ies as hese:
P oblem ecogni ion;
In o ma ion ga he ing;
Sea ch o a solu ion;
E alua ion
o
al e na i es;
Decision-making;
Po en ial p oblem analysis.
I
is
possible o co ela e his men al p oblem-sol ing
p ocess wi h physical body ac ion. Fo example,
in
e ms
o
'body language', he indi idual who is, say, ocusing
a en ion on a p oblem
is
likely o show di ec ing
mo emen s (si ing up and paying a en ion) wi h enclo-
sing shapes (limi ed mo emen , concen a ion
o
pu -
pose), and so on.
I
is
i ually impossible wi hou ideo apes,
o
ac ual
demons a ion, o show how he a ious phases
o
he
decision-making p ocess and physical ac ion in e ela e.
Ca ol-Lynne Rose sugges s ha
' he
ac ion sequence
(beha iou al sequence) consis s
o
wo complemen a y
p ocesses - he ac ual asse ion
o
e o , and he new
pe spec i e which he ac ion i sel c ea es'. 9 Taking Wa -
en Lamb's pa adigm she shows ha an indi idual who
in es iga es a p oblem will (ine i ably) explo e new ideas
o ac ion, so ha ' ecogni ion
o
a p oblem' leads o 'in-
o ma ion ga he ing'. Someone who
is
de e mined o
ind a solu ion o a p oblem will balance ha asse i e e -
o by ge ing he possible solu ion
'in o
pe spec i e'
(con on he ac s) o see
i
i
ies in wi h he ha d
eali ies
o
wha
is
needed. Again, any decision ha
is
made will be modi ied by conside a ion
o
an icipa ed
p oblems ha may occu upon implemen ing he solu-
ion.
In ac ion p o iling hese physical e o s (asse ion)
and shaping (pe spec i e) mo emen s a e assessed by a
ained p ac i ione in o de o de e mine an indi idual's
beha iou s yle . . . and e en ually
o
see
i
one
beha iou al s yle complemen s ano he (Top- eam plan-
ning). Table 2 shows
Lamb's
model o s udying be-
ha iou wi h he adi ional p oblem-sol ing s eps
supe imposed
by
he au ho .
No e ha indi idual beha iou al di e ences come
abou bo h as a esul
o
he amoun
o ,
and way
in
which
'ene gy
is
eleased' and he indi idual's 'goal pe cep ion'
o ' ask o ien a ion'.
I
is
qui e possible, wi hin his
amewo k, o ind wo salesmen who could be classed as
'ope a o s' who wo k in en i ely di e en ways. Sales-
man A could be all-ac ion - ushing a ound, oppo u-
nis ic, impulsi e, eac i e. Salesman B could equally
spend his ime
in
ac ion, bu his me hods migh be mo e
e ined, o ganized and sys ema ic. The di e ence lies no
so much
in
wha hey a e ying
o
achie e ( hei objec-
i es and end-goals a e he same), bu in
how
hey se
abou i ( hei me hodology).
Pa
o
his beha iou al di e ence can be explained
away in e ms
o
each indi idual's pe sonali y
and
s.-A .
Tydsk .
Bed y sl. 1982,
13(1)
26
. s (physical ac ion)
Table
2
The
p oblem-sol ing p oces
E o
mo emenls
(Asse ion)
Shapin~ mo emenls
(Pe specli e)
Ene gy elease (How much?) ATTENTION Focus
o
di ec ion (In wha way?)
(2) Explo ing
(I)
In es iga ing .
(P obe. sea ch, sc u inize, _ieasmg
ou in o ma ion, ac - indmg).
I (a) P oblem ecogni ion I
(De eloping ideas o
ac ion;
b inging new hings in o
he
a ea
o
a en ion).
I (b)
In o ma ion
ga he ing J
(3)
De e mining INTENTION (4)
Con on ing
(Fi mness
o
pu pose, pe -
sis ance agains di icul odds).
I
(c)
Sea ch o solu ion !
(Weighing up e idence, looking
a
eali ies
and
he eal issues).
j (d) E alua ion
o
al e na i es j
(5)
Deciding
COMMITMENT
(6) An icipa ing
(Implemen ing ideas and selec ing
p io i ies o ac ion).
I (e) Decision-making I
dynamism, pa
in
e ms
o
he indi idual's
ac io_n
mo i a ion and pa
in
e ms o ask o ien a ion. The e
1s
a
syne gy
wo king he e.
Selec ing
he
igh
pe son
o
he
job
T adi ional selec ion echniques do no assess how he in-
di idual ackles a job -whe he
he
plans and execu es
well,
wha
his
·wo k
pa e ns a e like. Tes s like 'In-baske
exe cises'
me ely
assess
he applican 's p io i y o de ings
- o
see
i he applican can iden i y which asks should
be
ackled i s and
in
wha sequence. Such echniques
assess
he
applican 's logic, no his mo i a ion. They do
no p o ide in o ma ion as o whe he he salespe son
is
going
o
si
on
his
backside doing no hing unless
'kicked'?
Whe he
he
is
a go-ge e ? Whe he he will
display ini ia i e
in
ge ing he business?
'Ac ion p o iling', a he leas , can help ensu e ha he
applican
has
he ' igh ' cha ac e is ics equi ed by he
job
in
he igh p opo ion and
will
succeed.
Wha a e he igh p opo ions? Clea ly his
is
a
managemen
decision
depending upon he ype
o
p o-
duc , ype o cus ome and ype
o
skills equi ed.
Managemen migh decide, o example, ha he ideal
salesman's p o ile should
be
low on concep ualizing, high
on ac i a ing. Con as his wi h he esea ch chemis ,
sys ems
analys , o s a egic planne , whe e hinking
abou he business and all i s p oblems/oppo uni ies
is
o i al impo ance, ac i a ing
less
so.
When d awing up he 'ideal' p o ile, i should no be
o go en ha selling equi es a wo-way in e ac ion
be-
ween
he salespe son and cus ome and he e a e wo
pa ame e s
by
which one can judge he likely success
o
he salesman o saleswoman:
he indi idual equi emen s necessa y o succeed;
he
social
equi emen s necessa y o succeed
Bo h
a e
c ucial.
Lamb's
esea ch
has
indica ed
ha
he
cus ome
is
helped
along
he
way
o a
buying
decision
by
he
sales-
man
in
he
ollowing
way:
Ac ion
sequence
A en ion
In en ion
Commi -
men
..
(Pos -decision analysis
and
pe -
cei ing likely consequences
o
ac ion).
l( )
Po en ial p oblem analysis I
Cus ome 's need Salesman's ac ion
mo i a ion esponse
Need o communi- Asks ques ions and
ca ion gi es in o ma ion
abou
p oduc s
Need o cla i y Es ablishes needs
ideas
and
demons a es
p oduc s
Need o buy
......
Reaches ag eemen
and
handles any
objec ions
The abo e
is
he pa e n
o
mos success ul sales in e -
iews:
he salesman asks he cus ome ques ions ( ac -
inds) and looks o a sui able i em
o
sa is y he
cus ome 's need (p oduc selec ion).
He
communica es!
Once he has es ablished wha he cus ome wan s, he
demons a es he ideal p oduc
o
he cus ome . He
p esen s!
And only once he salesman
and
cus ome ha e
eached ag eemen ha his
is
he igh p oduc , can he
salesman w i e up he o de . He ope a es! The ideal
se-
quence he e o e
is
communica e -p esen -ope a e.
Wha happens i he salesman immedia ely ecognizes
wha he cus ome needs and ells
ha
cus ome wha
he/she should buy. Will he be success ul? Qui e likely
no !
As
he old
adage
says ' elling
is
no
selling'. A one-
way sales pi ch om he salesman
o
he cus ome
will
no ge he cus ome in ol ed in he buying si ua ion.
In sho , i he salesman
is
no socially sensi i e and
esponsi e, he
is
unlikely o succeed as a salesman, no
ma e how excellen his o he pe sonal cha ac e is ics
and wo k habi s a e. Ac ion p o iling can
no
only p o-
ide aluable in o ma ion abou he indi idual's wo k
habi s, bu also how socially sensi i e (open
o
closed)
he
is.
The
need
o
ac ion
p o lllng
A he p esen ime coun less housands
o
ands a e
spen on employing salesmen who ail, wi hou eally

S.A .J.Bus.Mgm
1982, 13(1)
knowing why hey ail. In o de o imp o e he less suc-
cess ul salesman's p o iciency a g ea numbe
o
aining
p og ammes ha e been de eloped
o
imp o e selling
skills.
Bu his, su ely,
is
pu ing he ca be o e he ho se?
O
e en
g ea e impo ance
han
knowing
how
o
p omo e
he buying decision (i.e. selling skills)
is
who should be
doing he selling.
The
selec ion
o
he igh sales s a
wi h he co ec pe sonali y p o ile seems c ucial
o
any
o ganiza ion ha wan s
o
boos i s sales u no e . In
sho , s ep one
is
ge he igh pe son o he job. S ep
wo hen
is
gi e he p ope aining linked
o
iden i ica-
ion
o
indi idual aining needs.
Ac ion p o iling helps o selec be e candida es
h ough a s udy
o
he applican 's physical beha iou
pa e ns in he selec ion in e iew. In pa icula , i a -
emp s o answe hese h ee ques ions:
Wha is he salesman's How does he salesman's
Ac ion Mo i a ion? indi idual mo i a ion sys-
em ope a e?
Is
he a
' hinke '
o a
'doe '
o
some combina ion
o
hese?
Wha
is
he salesman's How does he salesman
Task O ien a ion? ackle asks -wi h ca e
and
o e hough ,
o
is
he e o e ly p ecise analy-
sis,
o
does he ush in o
hings
and
commi men s?
Wha
is
he salesman's How well does he ge on
Social In e ac ion wi h o he s? Does
he
en-
Mo i a ion? cou age a social 'gi e and
ake'
o does he o ce up
ba ie s?
27
No g ea claims a e being made o his echnique, as
ye in i s in ancy, and i should he e o e be used and
esea ched in conjunc ion wi h o he exis ing echniques.
Ne e heless, he e seems o be a need o mo e publici y
and g ea e applica ion
in
pa icula ,
o
Lamb's con i-
bu ion o cu en pe sonnel heo y.
Possible esul s? G ea e job sa is ac ion o he sales
s a ( h ough co ec placemen ); inc eased sales o he
company ( h ough be e salesman/cus ome ela ion-
ships); and g ea e bene i s o he selling indus y
as
a
whole ( h ough inc eased pe sonnel e iciency and e ec-
i eness).
Re e ences
I. LABAN, R., & LAWRENCE, F.C. E o . MacDonald
and
E ;ins, London,
1947.
2.
LAMB,
W. Pos u e and Ges u e:
An
In oduc ion
o
he S udy
o
Physical Beha iou . Ge ald Duckwo h &
Co.,
London,
1965.
3.
LAMB, W ., & TURNER,
D.
Managemen Beha iou . Ge ald
Duckwo h & Co., London, 1969.
4. RAMSDEN, P. Top Team Planning: A S udy
o
he Powe
o
Indi idual Mo i a ion
in
Managemen . Cassell and Co. L d.,
London,
1973.
5.
KRETSCHMER, E. Physique and Cha ac e . Ha cou , B ace,
New Yo k, 1925.
6. SHELDON,
W.H.,
STEVENS, S.S. & TUCKER, W.B. The
Va ie ies
o
Human Physique. Ha pe .
New
Yo k,
1940.
7. SHELDON,
W.H.,
DUPERTIUS, C.W. & McDERMOTT,
E.
Alas
o
Men. Ha pe ,
New
Yo k, 1954.
8.
SHELDON, W.H., STEVENS. S.S. & TUCKER, W.B. The
Va ie ies
o
Tempe amen . Ha pe ,
New
Yo k,
1942.
9. MARCH,
J.G.
& SIMON, H.A. O ganiza ions.
John
Wiley &
Sons, 1958.
10.
ROSE, C. Ac ion P o iling: Mo emen Awa eness
o
Be e
Managemen . MacDonald & E ans, 1978, p.13.