Salesperson Selection, Training, and Development: Trends, Implications, and Research Opportunities

TLDR

The paper identifies and explicates trends, managerial implications, and research opportunities in salesperson training and development and selection, arguing for a fresh perspective on TD and highlighting key predictors of success such as cognitive ability, personality, and biodata, with the aim of enhancing performance and opening new research avenues. The authors propose a KSA‑based framework for future TD content organized into task‑related, growth‑related, and meta‑KSAs, and review assessment methods for selection. The paper concludes with a discussion of emerging trends and research opportunities.

Abstract

Building on the forces of change in selling identified in the introductory paper of this Special Issue of JPSSM, we identify and explicate trends, managerial implications, and research opportunities in two important domains of the selling field: training and development (TD) and selection. Part One focuses on TD of salespeople, and argues why a fresh perspective on salesperson TD is essential. Then, taking a knowledge, skills, and ability (KSA) approach, a framework for future TD content is proposed around three levels of KSAs: task-related KSAs, growth-related KSAs, and meta-KSAs. Part Two, on selection, focuses on several important predictors of salesperson success: cognitive ability tests, personality inventories, and biodata. Then, assessment methods are reviewed. Finally, we summarize with a discussion of emerging trends and research opportunities. The focus of the discussion is on both enhancing salesperson performance and affording scholars new research opportunities.