Knowledge Structure Differences between More Effective and Less Effective Salespeople

A study of salespeople working for a telephone marketing operation indicates that more effective (above average) salespeople have richer and more interrelated knowledge structures about their customers than do less effective (below average) salespeople in terms of both customer traits and strategies for selling to the customers. No significant differences are found between effective and less effective salespeople on the number of categories used to classify customers. A longitudinal study that tracked entering salespeople over time, from the less effective to the more effective stage, validates the findings of the cross-sectional study. Implications of these findings for sales management practice and the small but growing literature on real-world competence are discussed.