Oral communication and sales effectiveness

Abstract

The relationship between oral communication and sales effectiveness was investigated. 2 equatable groups of working sales people, a more effective "high" group and a less effective "low" group, were compared in terms of selected aspects of their communication behavior. Findings indicated that evaluations of basic oral communication skill (including listening) reliably differentiated between the 2 groups. Sales methods such as using "emotional appeals" and "dramatizing" also distinguished between the more effective and the less effective sales people. Results suggested: that evaluations of basic oral communication skill by a trained interviewer should be one valuable indicator of sales success; that communication training programs should subordinate fragmental, relatively isolated details of communication behavior to consideration of generalized communication skill; and that sales people who are inferior in basic oral communication skill will also be less effective in utilizing specialized persuasive techniques. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)