Salespersons’ Skills-Set in Marketing Exchanges: Implications for Pharmaceutical Companies

Abstract

The emphasis of this research study is about salespersons’ skills-set (customer orientation, adaptive selling) and its influence on customer behaviors in terms of repeat purchase and word-of-mouth. In addition to this, study also aims at exploring the mediating role of salespersons’ relational behavior between skills-set and customer behaviors. Since personal selling keeps on developing its dynamics, sales force is progressively accomplishing more than just communicating organizational message. Salespersons required additional skills-set including customer orientation and adaptive selling to cope with the modern behavioral challenges of customers. Quantitative research methodology was implied in which data was collected with the help of convenient sampling technique. Encouraging response rate of 80% was received from pharmaceutical employees out of 600 questionnaires. The responses received reveal significant positive impact of skills-set on customer behavior. Mediation effect of salespersons’ relational behavior indicates salespersons focusing on cooperative intentions and mutual disclosure which are considered to be strong components of building relational behaviors. In high pressure selling techniques, salespersons possessing relational abilities are more likely to perform well. On this basis, it is recommended that with relational behaviors salespersons can better identify customer needs and wants. Secondly, salespersons will be in a better position to alter their selling techniques.