The question of whether a strong performance in an academic program improves sales productivity among salespeople has been examined in several ways, with mixed results. The present study uniquely approaches the problem by utilizing an empirical approach to the problem with a random sample across a number of industries utilizing a tested multi-item measure of performance. The results do not support the subset of conventional wisdom that endorses the use of academic performance as an indicator of potential star salespeople. Implications for sales force recruiters and marketing educators are discussed.
Herché et al. (Wed,) studied this question.