The Identification of Selling Abilities Needed for Missionary Type Sales

This field study using salespeople, sales managers, and physicians identified 14 abilities necessary for successful pharmaceutical salespeople, the prototypical missionary sales position. Six of the abilities were identified by all three parties and make up the core requirements while one ability was recognized by physicians and not the other two groups. Finally, this research offers suggestions, based on the 14 identified abilities, for recruiting and sales training efficiencies to improve salesperson performance.