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For a variety of reasons, corporations have turned their attention to diversifying the sales force. If firms are to attract racial minorities, sales recruiters must be aware of differences in how African-American students perceive sales careers. This study evaluated 488 African-American and Caucasian business students in terms of their appeal for and perceptions of sales careers. The findings of this study dispel the assumption that African-American college students find sales to be less appealing than Caucasian students. For the majority of sales career options, no racial differences in appeal of the sales career existed. In the case of real estate sales, African-American students rated sales careers as being more financially rewarding and requiring higher levels of education. A discussion of the findings is provided for managers.

Since the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings in 1991, the general public has become more aware of sexual harassment in the workplace. Sales managers are involved in the hiring, promoting, motivating, and evaluating of salespersons and therefore must understand how actions can be misinterpreted and therefore lead to accusations of sexual harassment. The purpose of this article is to explain the legal ramifications of sexual harassment to sales managers and to offer guidelines for sales managers to help eliminate sexual harassment in the work environment. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Issues concerning the human side of sales and operations planning (S&OP) are discussed. Identification of S&OP customers and their needs are vital to the effectiveness of the process.

Five bases of social power - reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power and expert power are set out in this study of how sales managers' social bases of power affect job attitudes by sales personnel. Factors used in evaluating worker attitudes are job satisfaction and motivation, job performance, commitment to the organization and role conflict and ambiguity. Questionaires were given to salespeople employed by a small department store chain. Noncoercive power was found to have a better effect on personnel resulting in more job satisfaction.

Early research about selling has focused on the techniques involved, but recently more emphasis has been put on interpersonal interactions. The authors of this article have developed a classification system to organize the literature to make it easier to understand and use. The approaches are one-way - static, one-way - dynamic, two-way static, and two-way - dynamic. This research could have implications in terms of how sales personnel are selected and trained. Researchers can use it to classify the literature and indicate future directions for research.

The vertical-dyad-linkage model (VDL) is offered as a tool to explore the infrastructure of a sales team. Building on the philosophy found in most sales management literature that salespersons are to be managed as individuals, VDL theory allows an exploration of the underlying social organization that is present in all sales forces. Thus, the style that a manager uses with a particular salesperson will vary depending on the exchange relationship established (cadres, hired hands). The objectives of the paper are to explore the general tenets of VDL theory, to assimilate the theory in sales management, to provide implications for sales managers and salespeople, and to discuss the important implications for sales management research. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Truly successful salespeople acknowledge the assistance of the people whose contributions make it possible for them to close deals. Key contributors to closing a deal include a leader who may be a division head, general manager, vice president or president. These people lead by example and create a team culture of self sacrifice. Inside sales and support staff people are also pivotal to the closing of any sale. They field telephone calls, prepare quotations and issue purchase orders, among other functions. The marketing department people are also vital to the success of a close., Share the accolades with everyone who contributes to closing a deal Whenever a salesperson closes a deal, gets a road order or signs a major contract with a key account, [...]