Chapter 9

SELECTION, PLACEMENT, AND

SOCIALIZATION OF SUCCESSFUL
SALESPEOPLE
SELECTION AND PLACEMENT OF
SUCCESSFUL SALES PERSONNEL
•Selection of sales personnel refers to the process
of selecting the best available person for the job.

•Placement is concerned with ensuring that job

demands match an individual’s skills, knowledge,
and abilities, along with preferences, interests,
and personality.

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IS SELECTION THE MOST IMPORTANT
ELEMENT IN FIELDING A SALES FORCE?

The selection of the right people is, without a

doubt, extremely important to the success of the
sales district, the region, and the total sales force.

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PURPOSES AND IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION AND
PLACEMENT

 Selection and placement procedures provide the fuel that

runs the sales force.
 Sales managers want to improve productivity.
 The proper match between person and job can improve
productivity and reduce operating costs.

Mark 4373 - Sales Management Ch 9 4

FIGURE 9.1 MAJOR INFLUENCES AND COMPONENTS OF SALES
FORCE SELECTION

Mark 4373 - Sales Management Ch 9 5

WHAT ARE PREDICTORS?

 The various pieces of information about the person are

often called predictors. They are referred to as tests when
used to make selection decisions.

Mark 4373 - Sales Management Ch 9 6

SOURCES FOR COLLECTING
INFORMATION
 Skills, knowledge, and ability.
 Preferences, interests, and personality.
 Other category: employment tests, interviews, etc.
 Other characteristics: physical examinations, reference
checks, etc.

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 FIGURE 9.2 MAJOR STEPS IN SALES PERSONNEL SELECTION
PROCESS
1 . A p p lic a t io n

6 . P h y s ic a l 2 . I n it ia l
E x a m in a t io n I n t e r v ie w

Yes D e c is io n N o

5 . R eferen ce 3 . In -d e p th
C h ecks I n t e r v ie w s

4 . T e s t in g
Mark 4373 - Sales Management Ch 9 8
Job related?

 Any information collected from the applicant

should be related to the job.
 Information classified into the “other
characteristics” category usually represents
minimum qualifications for a job.

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THE JOB APPLICATION BLANK
An orderly, convenient method of collecting necessary
information for determining an applicant’s minimum
qualifications.

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Using the Application Blank

 When reviewing an application blank, the sales manager

should look for the following:
 Minimum job requirements.
 All dates accounted for.
 Number of jobs and length of time spent on each job.
 Reason given for leaving jobs.
 Pattern of growth.

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One on one Interview
Selling one’s self
 The personal interview usually involves the one-on-one,
face-to-face meeting of two strangers, both seeking to sell
themselves to the other.

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 TABLE 9.1 INTERVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE SALES
MANAGER AND THE APPLICANT

FOR THE SALES FOR THE APPLICANT

MANAGER
Act as a screening device to create
the pool of qualified applicants.
Confirm application blanks, written
tests, and feedback from references
relative to SKAs, PIPs, the other
category, and other characteristics
Judge if the applicant can be
successful in the short and long run
Act as a screening device to create a
pool of qualified jobs
Determine skills, knowledge and
abilities required
Determine what will be received from
the job, such as training, compensation,
promotional opportunities

Meet the potential employee and Meet the potential boss and determine
determine if a match exists if a match exists

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 The Interview Quadrant

SUCCESSFUL-LOOKING
The successful- The successful-
PERFORM- looking failure looking success PERFORM-
ANCE FAILURE The The ANCE
unsuccessful- unsuccessful- SUCCESS
looking failure looking success
UNSUCCESSFUL-LOOKING

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Types of Interviews:
 In a structured interview, the recruiter asks questions,
often from a standard form.
 In an unstructured interview, the recruiter asks few
preplanned questions and often begins with open-ended
questions such as “Tell me about yourself” or “Why do
you want to sell for IBM?”.
 The Stress Interview – An interviewer may place the
applicant in a stressful situation to ascertain how the
person might cope with stress when selling.

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Non-verbal cues
 Body movements.

 Gestures.

 Firmness of handshake.

 Eye contact.

 Physical appearance.

 One of the reasons nonverbal cues are so powerful is that, in most

cases, interviewers are not aware of them as possible casual agents of
impression formation. Interpretation of nonverbal cues varies with
each person.

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Dressed for Success

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FIGURE 9.3 FIVE PHASES OF THE SALES INTERVIEW

1. P re p a ra tio n

2 . O p e n in g th e I n te rv ie w

3 . T h e I n te rv ie w P ro p e r

4 . E n d in g th e I n te rv ie w

5 . P o s t-in te rv ie w
A c tiv itie s

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Four basic guidelines to interviewing

 Collect information that relates directly to job

performance.
 Consciously wait until the interview is over to
make a final decision.
 Always remember that weaknesses can be offset
by strengths and potential.
 The interview is only one method of
obtaining information on the applicant
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TESTS
Employment test refers to a procedure, technique, or
measurement instrument for ascertaining characteristics
such as aptitudes, capacities, intelligence, knowledge,
skills, or personality.

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Managers must decide whether:
• Not to use tests.
• To administer tests and interpret the results
themselves.
• To administer tests and have someone else
interpret the results.
• To turn the testing over to consulting
industrial psychologists.
The majority of sales managers use tests as only
one part of the selection process.
To be used successfully, tests must have reliability
and validity. Mark 4373 - Sales Management Ch 9 21
Types of Tests

 Aptitude tests.
 Intelligence tests.
 Interest tests.
 Knowledge tests.
 Personality tests.

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The polygraph test measures blood pressure,
respiration, heartbeat and skin response and plots
these on a graph.

Polygraph tests are seldom used to screen

applicants for outside sales jobs for national
companies and primarily are used by smaller
companies.

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The major problems with testing are:

 Tests are misused and not understood.

 Applicants can become “test wise.”
 Whether to use assessment center… a centralized
organizational unit within the firm.

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Screening tools

 References are the names of persons from whom

information can be obtained on an applicant’s
ability and character.
 Almost all companies require their prospective
employees to undergo physical examinations. As a
general rule, if the applicant gets this far in the
process, he or she has the job unless health
problems are discovered.

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EVALUATING SELECTION AND PLACEMENT
DECISIONS

 The quality and effectiveness of selection and placement

decisions depend on sales managers hiring as many
applicants as possible who turn out to be good
performers.

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Costs to consider:

 Actual costs.
a. Recruiting and assessment costs.
b. Induction and orientation costs.
c. Training costs.
 Potential costs.
a. Costs associated with hiring a person who subsequently
fails.
b. Costs associated with rejecting a person who would have
been successful on the job.

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Benefits of Effective hiring:
 Lowering the cost of turnovers and absenteeism.
 Lowering training time.
 Meeting individual territorial sales potential.
 Increasing customer satisfaction by having the same salesperson
call.
 Improving morale.
 … thus lowering the total costs associated with operating the sales
force.

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THE SOCIALIZATION OF SALES PERSONNEL

 … the process by which salespeople learn the sales culture and

behaviors appropriate for their roles in the organization. Done
properly it:
• Increase performance and job satisfaction.
• Reduce job anxieties and the fear of failure.
• Reduce turnover.
• Impart a positive image of the company, job duties,
and future expectations.
• Save the manager’s time and thus reduce costs.

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