DESIGN OF THE NEW INTERNATIONAL SALES & KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT SKILLS TRAINING CURRICULUM - IO1 Task 1

IO1: DESIGN OF THE NEW
INTERNATIONAL SALES & KEY
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT SKILLS
TRAINING CURRICULUM
Task 1 - research
DECEMBER 2017- MAY 2018

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INDEX
TASK 1: DRAWING UP OF THE METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE TO ANALYSE THE NEEDS OF
INTERNATIONAL SALES AND KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT SKILLS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. STATE OF ART ON UNIVERSITY SALES EDUCATION
2.1. LITERATURE REVIEW AND DESK RESEARCH
Sales role evolution
Sales skills and capabilities
Sales education review
Sales and KAM learning methods
2.2. IN.K.A.M.S. CONTEXT – ANALYSIS AND BEST PRACTICES
2.3. DISCUSSION
3. QUALITATIVE FIELD RESEARCH
3.1. AIMS AND SCOPE
3.2. METHODOLOGY
3.3. RESULTS SUMMARY
Sales perception
Sales activities
Sales skills
KAM skills
3.3. DISCUSSION
4. CONCLUSIONS
5. REFERENCES
6. APPENDIX

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INTRODUCTION
In the current business environment and job market, many companies are looking for a new
generation of high quality international sales managers and key account managers and with
marketing, organizational, relational skills and strategic view. Companies have turned to
universities for a pool of potential sales recruits, because of the relevant contribution that sales
roles have in nowadays organizations and complex business environments, as value creators
(Töytäri, et al., 2011).
In fact nearly 40% of a customer decision is based on the added value the salesperson brings to
the relationship and indeed salespeople operate at the boundaries of their firms with buyers and
are in the best position to not only adapt to initial and ongoing changes in customer needs but
also to anticipate customers’ future desires. In addition, in the context of B2B interactions, it is the
sales force that is generally tasked with this fundamental role of translating the customer’s voice
back into the firm (Blocker et al., 2012).
However, many European universities still do not offer sales and KAM courses in their bachelor
and master's programmes, even if there is evidence of business students having their first job in
sales (62%) and companies in need for additional sales education (90% of interviewed
italiancompanies) for their sales HR (Unioncamere, 2017).
Moreover, Sales Education Foundation (SEF) assesses that the amount of financial resources
required for sales executives training of $ 180 000, which could be saved with hiring high skilled
university-educated students.

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This is why the IN.K.A.M.S. (International Key Account Management and Sales) project aims to
realize a university-based learning programme, focused on International Sales and KAM, which
enables the development of International Sales and KAM skills, with innovative, interactive
teaching methodologies, to develop students’ capabilities and fulfill businesses’ needs.
Therefore IN.K.A.M.S.’s mission is to provide methodologies and content to delivery high quality
university training in the sales field, willing to create "work ready" students.
Intellectual Output 1: Aims and Scope
This Intellectual Output begins with partners’ research, to analyse and evaluate from a
qualitative and quantitative point of view the current offer of university curricula with
literature review and context desk research regarding existing curricula, streams, courses on
sales management, key account management and related issues.
In addition, mapping skills required by the businesses and the ones already developed within the
university context, will allow the partnership to jointly draw up the International Sales and
KAM curriculum, simultaneously making these highly specialized students build key
competences, be easily employed and foster businesses’ growth and customer satisfaction
internationally.
The first task was developed through two main steps: the research on the current state of sales
and KAM international education plus the overview of IN.K.A.M.S. HEI partners current teaching

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system, and the perception/expectancies of the key stakeholders (students, businesses and
academics) towards the issue of higher education in sales.
Indeed, Task 1 represent a fundamental phase to confirm previous research and practice cues,
getting to a clearer perspective on the need of international sales manager and KAM, to put the
mases for Task 2, the actual curriculum design phase, where skills and capabilities will translate
in a set of knowledge and experiences to be built, according to research results and stimuli.

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1. STATE OF ART ON UNIVERSITY
SALES EDUCATION
The IN.K.A.M.S. project desk research analyses and evaluates the current offer of Sales HEI
education within the partners context, through both academic and descriptive sources.
The first step in the definition of the background is a literary review of the most relevant scientific
publications on the current state of sales education, followed by some contributions from the
practitioners’ perspective, represented by sales-related associations and institutions. The second
step is a collection of works about the sales education methodology, with particular reference to
sales skills and capabilities and innovative teaching methods. Finally, the third step is an
international overview of the current state of the sales education in the IN.K.A.M.S. partners’
contexts, via primary and secondary source analysis and best practices.
This work’s aim is to provide an overview over sales education and enhance the actual
importance of this issue: the paucity of sales education in academic settings, which has been
addresses by scholars, firms and professional stakeholders (Agnihotri et al., 2014), with
implications in the international job market and firms’ performances.
The present analysis is therefore intended to address and target the problem, to further help
IN.K.A.M.S. team designing the new curriculum and provide innovative and applicative solutions
towards not only students’ education and employability, but also person-job fit and firm
performances.

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1.1. DESK RESEARCH AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Sales role evolution
Scientific literature on sales enhances the evolution of professional selling and sales
management as a consequence of evolving market forces, combined with businesses' internal
pressures to improve sales force eﬀectiveness across most sectors.
Globalization, technology, competitive intensity, increased emphasis on the customer–seller
relationship, the growth of team selling, and other factors significantly altered how salespeople
work (Ingram, 2004; Wotruba, 1996). These fundamental transformations in the sales
environment led to the fact that a salesperson’s job today is not the same job that
salespeople faced 15 or 20 years ago (Ballestra et al., 2017).
In fact the role of sale and salespeople has dramatically changed in the last 15 years, especially
in B2B context, due to behavioral, managerial and technological forces (Moncrief et al 2017).
More importantly, in the business-to-business environment, the salesperson has become the
most important interface with the customer, becoming both a relationship manager and above all
else a value creator (Blocker et al., 2012).
This evolution process started to be noticed and described by academics even in the 1990s,
when the traditional transactional approach to business, marketing and sales seemed to be
insufficient towards the complexity and the variety of the competitive environment. Therefore, as
a consequence, the traditional approach and has evolved from a focus towards production and
selling, towards a marketing and partnering approach (see figure 1) those ate rich in elements of

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relationship management, customer evaluation and value co-creation, crucial and strategic
concepts not only for the sales process, but for the overall strategy and success of the company.
Figure 1. Business approaches evolution and sales roles
Source: Weitz and Bradford (1999)
This evolution of the competitive environment, of firms’ and practitioners’ orientations towards
business and sales, had the consequence of altering the set of professional selling activities. In
fact the analysis of sales activities reveals a fundamental shift in ‘what a sales person does’,

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compared to what a sales person used to do years ago (Moncrief & Marshall, 2005). This
evolution seem to have happened not only in the process/activity aspects of sales, but also as
evolving attitudes and behaviors in professional selling: in fact selling behaviors those in the past
were linked to success, are not necessarily the right behaviors for today's team selling
environment (Ahearne, Lam, Mathieu, & Bolander, 2010; Evans, McFarland, Dietz, & Jaramillo,
2012).
Some scholars have interpreted these transformations and suggested that modern professional
selling and sales management should evolve from ‘traditional selling’ to ‘customer development’,
regarding at sales management as both a transaction driven and a relationship/consulting
oriented, highly strategic process (Cuevas, 2018), in coherence with the new consideration of
sales process and function as strategic, particularly in the BtoB context.
Another possible classification of sales roles is not under an evolutive point of view, but as an
answer to the sales process complexity. Therefore we observe the creation and development of
many different sales roles as specializations, with different orientations (hunter vs farmer),
activities, competences and responsibilities, mastering different competences and resources, to
collectively build value for the company.

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Figure 2. Sales roles as different specialties
Source: SEF, 2017
In fact it has been noticed, particularly in the business-to-business environment, that the
salesperson has progressively become the most important interface with the customer,
becoming both a relationship manager and above all else a value creator. Therefore, firms are no
longer seeking just product pushers, but solution developers instead (Ballestra et al., 2017).
Thus today, more than ever, sales organizations need salespeople who are different from those
of the past: educated, motivated, adaptable and value creators (Pettijohn & Pettijohn, 2009).
These particular features of the new salesforce could be attributable to business and marketing
university students. In fact, to meet this ever-increasing demand for qualified salespeople,
companies have turned to universities for a pool of potential sales recruits (Amin, Hayajneh, &

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Nwakanma, 1995; Swenson, Swinyard, Langrehr, & Smith, 1993; Weeks & Muehling, 1987; Wiles
& Spiro, 2004) because university students have a rich asset of knowledge of business
processes, changing market environments, complex evolution of customers’ needs and a
strategic and managerial approach, that would make them “work ready” and successful in their
career and in terms of firms performances (Peltier, Cummins, Pomirleanu, Cross, & Simon, 2014;
Weilbaker & Williams, 2006).
Sales skills and capabilities
In this research work, mapping sales skills was a crucial step in the definition of the International
Sales and KAM training curriculum objectives and goals. This allowed to provide a common
definition of sales skills, define the gap between demand and supply in the job market, and create
curriculum that will overcome university traditional business training for further successful
salesforce.
Salesperson skills may be deﬁned as the salesperson’s capabilities regarding his or her sales
presentations, need identiﬁcation, suggestive selling, product knowledge, time allocations, and
orientation toward assisting the customer.
Some definition and lists of sales skills in table 1 (thematic order, increasing strategic view) have
been considered to define IN.K.A.M.S. output profile.

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Table 1. Some sales skills classifications from literature
Skills include: approach tactics; questioning methods; prospecting;
qualifying; need identification; presentation methods; demonstration
techniques; dealing with objections; closing; negotiating; and follow-up
activities.
Pettijohn, Pettijohn and
Taylor (2009)
Among those we can enlist:
Teamworking, time management, reasoning, problem solving, marketing
communication, multimedia software, planning and resource coordination,
decision making, budgeting, intra organizational communication,
interpersonal communication, teaching/coaching, management, sales
knowledge and behavior.
Inks and Avila (2008)
Relationship building, Personality analysis, Coordination, Negotiation,
Human relations, Focus on specific objectives, Diagnosing customer
problems, Presentation skills, Generating visibility, reputation,
Communication, Teamworking, Conflict resolution, Dealing with objectives,
Leadership, information management, approach, diagnosing performance
problems, detail-orientation, teaching, financial analysis.
Weeks and Stevens
(1997)
Interpersonal Skills
1 Ability to express yourself nonverbally.
2 Ability in general speaking skills.
3 Awareness and understanding of the nonverbal communications of others.
4 Ability to control and regulate nonverbal displays of emotion.
5 Ability to present yourself socially, possibly through acting.
6 Ability to manipulate others to control the situation.
7 Awareness and understanding the verbal communications of others.
Salesmanship Skills
1 Ability to prospect for customers.
2 Ability to qualify prospects.
3 Ability to open relationships with prospects.
4 Ability to close the sale.
5 Ability to present the sales message.
6 Ability to service the account.
Technical Knowledge
1 Knowledge of customers' markets and products.
2 Knowledge of your own company's procedures.
3 Knowledge of competitors' products, services, and sales policies.
4 Knowledge of product line, including product features and benefits.
5 Knowledge of customers' operations, such as store and shelf layout, and
employee training.
6 Imagination in supplying products and services that meet the customers'
needs.
Rentz et al. (2002)
Functional competencies relate to the management and development of
customers and to the creation of customer value.
Relational competencies refer to the ability to interact and to connect with
individuals across boundaries (supplier and customer) and across functions.
Managerial competencies denote general administrative know-how, and
Cuevas (2018)

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ability to mobilize and align people towards the achievement of goals in
organizations.
Cognitive competences refer to analytical aptitudes and the extent to
which individuals can process and act upon information.
Source: various authors
These lists of skills at all levels are already expressing the complexity of a sales role, that could
be oriented more towards the sales activity stricto sensu, or otherwise to a more managerial role,
or even to a multi-skilled role, oriented simultaneously towards transaction and relation.
Finally, we report in table 2 a set of roles and related skills of a key account manager, because
first it is similar but different from the sales manager, and second, it helps us finetuning cues on
the key skills for KAM (junior/senior, middle/top manager, domestic/international) depending on
the managerial, divisional, contextual characteristics of the role to perform.
Table 2. KAM competencies
Core competencies needed by
a key account manager
Advanced competencies of a key
account manager
Additional issues for Global
account managers
● Product knowledge
● Knowledge of the customer
● Knowledge of the customer’s
industry
● Ability to inspire trust
● Project management
● Interpersonal skills
● Selling and negotiating skills
● Commercial
awareness/strategic vision
● Consultancy skills and
business performance
improvement
● Advanced KAM planning
● Internal management
● Team leadership
● Advanced marketing
techniques
● Finance
● Cultural
● Systems and processes
● Managing dispersed teams
● Managing conflicts between
global and local interests
● Global logistics and service
● Location
● Communication
Source: Woodburn & McDonald (2012)

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We observe that comparing to more narrowly intended sales roles, KAM has an emphasis on
more consultative and technical aspects of the process and towards the key customer, but that
the list of skills per se does not differ significantly from the sales manager ones, therefore further
elaborations will take into consideration the necessity to develop a solid set of knowledge and
skills which can be then applicable to many business contexts and sales roles, according to the
idea of the importance of sales specialties (see figure 2).
Sales education review
In the search for literature concerning the issue of sales education, it is noticeable that most of
the contributions available are from north American authors and institutions, and this reflects the
superior sensitivity and diffusion of this topic in that context.
World leader HR institutions, practitioners and scholars report the growing need for students with
sales aspirations, given the worldwide shortage of professionally qualified salespeople (Peltier et
al., 2014; ManpowerGroup, 2018; Randstadt, 2018). In fact sales positions have been the
second-ranked most required profession worldwide for more than a decade, but little has
changed, particularly in the university environment, in terms of educative solutions to close the
gap between businesses’ needs and students career opportunity.
Deeter-Schmelz and Kennedy (2011) provide a clear representation of the current state of sales
teaching among international HEI (including European ones).
Their survey mapped the sales-related courses offered by the universities’ interviewees (n=209).
Those types of courses were a little portion of the marketing-related teachings available in those

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HEI and also, as reported in figure 3, the minority of the faculty interviewed confirmed the
presence of sales programmes or steams in their institutions. Moreover, it is noticeable that the
reason to add (or consider adding) those courses and programmes in their teaching offering, was
mainly the strong businesses demand for highly educated and skilled sales professional.
Figure 3. Sales HEI courses worldwide
Source: Deeter-Schmelz and Kennedy (2011)
Besides, their findings also include a list of the most important issues in sales education, the top
three are: lack of qualified teachers, as the most critical issue facing sales education, lack of
student interest in sales education and business demand outpacing the number of students
available.

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This is coherent with the work market trends, but also with the misconceptions and prejudices
related to salespeople, which have a negative effect on students’ their willingness of pursuing a
career in sales. It is indeed known that sales education and experience positively affect students’
perception about a career in sales (Bristow, Gulati, & Amyx, 2006; Karakaya et al., 2011).
Another important contribution comes from foundations and institutions: Sales Education
Foundation, which mission is to provide a more consistent, rigorous approach to sales education,
cast a light on the importance and the effectiveness of formal sales education on employment
and career success. In fac they have observed that sales programme graduates get employed
and promoted 50% faster than their non-sales educated peers, experience 30% less
turnover. Moreover, training one salesperson (on the job or with professional training courses)
can cost more than $180.000, therefore graduates require less training than their non-sales
educated peers, letting firms not only save resources, but also be faster and more effective in
developing and taking the best out of the salesforce, that is crucial to help consumers and
businesses define their needs, understand and evaluate their options, make effective purchase
decisions and forge enduring relationships.
SEF in the “2017 Annual report 2017” asserts that, in the last years, some educations institutions
have successfully introduced sales in university programmes with sales majors and curricula
and that the most effective ones are those implying cutting-edge approaches in professional
sales including quality role plays, actual products and services selling for class, effective
internship programmes in B2B selling, receive training on technologies like Salesforce and

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LinkedIn ecc. In addition, they have noted that some universities are providing engaged learning,
application, and networking, to help students developing knowledge, skills, experience, contacts
and opportunities simultaneously. In a nutshell, they feel that the future of selling is coming to life
through innovative pedagogy and state-of-the-art curricula.
Sales and KAM learning methods
Scholars and practitioners agree that experiential learning is superior in building skills than are
traditional learning strategies (Inks & Avila, 2008), particularly in topics where a behavioral
response is as important as knowledge building. This is particularly true for sales related
teachings, in fact students enrolled in selling courses show to have internalized concepts better
thanks to experiential learning models (Neeley & Cherry, 2010; Healy, Taran, & Betts, 2011;
Cummins et al., 2013).
Thus, some of the most recommended methods for teaching professional selling are: on-campus
field experiences, mentors, career shadowing, role-play, and involving sales experts in roleplay
and other types of training (Marshall and Michaels 2001). The most popular among these
methods are reported to be role-play and videotaping, those scholars consider particularly
effective in Sales, Advanced Sales and Negotiation, confirming the importance of active
teaching methods in courses where behavioral skill development is particularly important
(Inks & Avila, 2008; Inks, Schetzsche & Avila, 2011). Table 3 reports a summary of suggested
innovative and interactive sales teaching methodologies, according to scholars and international
experts on sales education.

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Table 3. Suggested innovative teaching methodologies in sales
METHOD KEY TO SUCCESS SKILLS
Sales presentations • Suggests approach (eg. FEBA
Feature, Evidence, Benefits,
Approach)
• Specification of target audience
• Instructor and other students’
feedback
Communication (Involving,
Handling
suggestions/objectons,
Incisivity, visual image,
Improvisation/Adaptiveness)
Scenarios/roleplaying • allowing the students to select skills
on which they want to work
• varying the behaviors, needs, and
concerns of the buyer
• providing critical feedback to the
student(s) in the role-play and to
any observers
• repetition
Organizing strategies and
tactics
Teamwork
Problem solving
Negotiating
Communication and selling
skills
Experiential assignments • Selling experience (actual sale call)
• Planning a travel agenda
• Coaching
Organization
Budgeting
Interpersonal communication
Sales mentor
(professional/practitioner)
• Observation and learning
• Analysis of KPA in the mentor
industry/business
• Sales process and experience
• Role of technology (CRM ecc)
Development of professional
relationship/network
Observation
interpersonal communication
time management
Source: own elaborations on Inks & Avila (2008); Serviere-Munoz (2010), Inks, Schetzsche &
Avila (2011)
Even if research enhances the evidences of a positive impact of interactive learning
methodologies in sales university courses, there is still evidence of a scarce application of these
good practices and findings within university programmes. In fact from the analysis of course
formats, the majority of the university-based sales management and KAM courses are delivered
in a traditional class face-to-face setting and a very small portion of those courses hybrid
format (face to face and online delivered content), with just three schools reporting this delivery

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method for sales management (8.3%) and the graduate sales or sales management course
(16.7%) (Deeter-Schmelz & Kennedy, 2011). So considering that the most effective examples of
sales education worldwide are those in academic setting and with innovative methodologies, is
time for universities to get involved in this.
1.2. INKAMS CONTEXT
According to what is reported in the preliminary desk research, IN.K.A.M.S. partners tried to map
the current state of sales education within academic (undergraduate and graduate) curricula,
considering partners’ HEI offering and an overview of their country (tipically top universities,
depending on available open source data on courses ecc.).
It was noted an evident paucity of sales or sales-related courses in all the analyzed contexts.
In Slovenia the analysis of the principal public and private universities of the country showed that
only below 10 exams/courses, mostly elective, within 25 HEI analysed (the majority in the private
ones). It is worth mentioning that researchers encountered difficulty in sources availability
because Slovenian universities don’t disclose syllabi of their courses.
Spanish partners noted that there are no teachings in their university in the sales area apart from
negotiation and many marketing courses in bachelors, masters and MBA.
The noticeable exception in the global partners’ desk research findings was Poland, where
private and public universities have sensitively introduced sales education in the recent years,

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particularly in post-graduate and master level. In particular the sales courses were very rich in
content and topics treated within sales courses and specialties:
− Principles of interpersonal communication
− Public speaking
− Principles of building a personal brand
− Influencing other people
− Principles and techniques of sales
− Stress management
− Negotiations
− Customer service
− Principles of client relationship management
− How to attract the attention of strategic clients and how to initiate cooperation
− How to cope with hard moments in the relationship with key clients
− IT system supporting KAM
− Development of sales plans and strategies
− Principles of the sales team building
− Legal principles of the relations with clients and subordinates
− Training and coaching methodology
− Performing and taking part in the interviews.
Bulgarian researchers could investigate in depth all Bulgarian University Business programmes:
they include 8 Sales Management courses, within 36 business university courses (bachelor and
master), mainly oriented to business management, entrepreneurship and marketing.
Finally, in Italy researchers have found that within all the marketing area teachings in Italy (N=
1050 courses), 413 degree courses include at least one marketing related exam, and the 40% of
these exams/subjects are concentrated in 10 universities. In addition, only 15 courses (1,4%)
include the word “sales” (sales management, sales and trade management ecc.).

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1.3. DISCUSSION
Despite the fact that literature provides for some (not numerous) contributions on sales education,
stressing the importance and the urgency of this issue and its real-world strong implications, there
is still a lot to do in order to fill in the gap of university-based sales curricula and businesses
needs worldwide.
Higher education in sales and KAM field is important because job market and complex, evolving
business context require high-skilled and motivated professionals to lead this crucial process for
local and international firms. In addition, these sets of teachings are found to be few, sporadic
and marginal within business administration and marketing degrees, in Europe more than in the
rest of the developed countries.
Furthermore, the debate surrounding didactics and teaching methodologies is un-listened from
the majority of the academic world, and consequently there are a few of sales programmes and
streams internationally, few available sales-related courses, still limited to traditional face-to-face
lectures, whereas it is well known that a solid advanced preparation would be made of a balanced
mix of teaching methods involving knowledge, competence building, observation, in field
experience.
There should be, indeed, more dialogue between HEI didactics, research and professional
training and best practices.
In conclusion we can observe that
The current state of art regarding university sales education is:
• scarce and mainly limited to single exams rather than specialized and work-oriented

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programmes
• fragmented (elements in other business/entrepreneurship/marketing courses)
• mainly elective and as specializations
• more regarded at from private, rather than public, HEI
• taught following traditional methodologies.
Meanwhile:
• Evolving and challenging business contexts require for highly educated and skilled
professionals
• Organizations in need for a stronger strategic approach towards sales
• Sales being the main gatekeeping and value-creating process in BtoB contexts
• Need for skilled salespeople to manage processes and strategy
• Evolved sales skills include ambidexterity: transactional but also relational,
managerial, analytical, strategic capabilities.
Therefore literature and partners’ context analysis are in line with IN.K.A.M.S. initial assumptions,
and also provided us with consciousness and suggestions for undergoing further steps of this
project.

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3. Qualitative Field Research
3.1. AIMS AND SCOPE
The qualitative field resrarch research covers 4 main topics: perception of salespeople, sales
skills, KAM skills, plus extra questions for professors and SMEs representatives. The objectives
were:
• Analysing the perception of salespeople and key account managers;
• Analyse the activities and skills involved in the sales and KAM process according to the
interviewees;
• Define the importance attributed to each sales and KAM activity and skill according to the
interviewees.
3.2. METHODOLOGY
We decide to adopt a focus groups methodology and we carry out several meeting between
December 2017 and March 2018, involving 57 students, 43 SMEs representatives, 23 professors
from the 5 IN.K.A.M.S. countries.
The following research was conducted by partners following a previously designed “focus group
guide” that specified the objectives of research, the subjects to involve and included participation
forms and recommendations to conduct the focus group. The common structure let obtain

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comparable results, and the semi-structured research method (focus group) allowed interaction
and emerging issues during relevations.
These focus group have involved the projects’ three main stakeholders:
o Universities
• 3/5 professors from University partners were involved to analyse the state of the art of
the economic faculty's educational offer and acknowledge the strengths and areas of
improvement to equip the students with Sales & KAM skills.
The selected professors were teaching in the field of conomics/business/marketing/sales,
possibly someone in charge of the teaching/educational coordination of
department/faculty directors ecc.
It was also manageable as a deep interview with the same focus group format.
• 8/12 students were involved to detect the level of possession and exercise of target
skills and needs, not adequately satisfied by the programmes currently offered.
The students were business/marketing/sales courses attendees, from bachelor or
master degree programmes.
o Chambers of commerce and training institutes
• 6/8 SME representatives let researchers assessing the Sales & KAM processes skills
needs and guide the response of University systems, in line with the needs emerged.

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The selected representatives were from SMEs working in a BtoB type of
business/industry.
These SMEs could be from any service or manufacture industry, possibly
internationalized and managing a commercial/sales network.
Diversified in terms of dimensions (micro and small firms). The interviewees’ role in the
organization could be: entrepreneur, commercial/marketing/sales/key account
manager.
The focus group were conducted in the interviewees first language, and the research teams
provided for translation.
Printed participation forms helped with data collection: there was one for every interviewee,
divided per types (professors, students, SMEs representatives).
The focus groups were conducted to ensure the best comprehensibility of the topic and to foster
the discussion by every group of subjects, with different levels of education and experience (focus
group guide also included sales representative, sales manager and KAM job descriptions to help
the moderator clarifying and leading the discussion and data acquisition.
Final reports and results have been presented in English to ensure the best results elaboration
and comparability.
The focus group results have been collected according to a shared format elaborated in parallel
to the focus group guide.

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It is worth mentioning that the focus groups included different parts those needed to be analyzed
and discussed following different types of methodologies, according to the question asked (i.e.
perceptions, rankings and scales). Therefore in the next point we present a summary of the
IN.K.A.M.S. partners elaborations, providing the best and most adequate representation of the
perception, the skills needs and the gap to be closed in terms of education (students) and
employability (SMEs).
3.2. RESULTS SUMMARY
Sales perception
Sales perception was evaluated among the three sets of subjects through the technique of the
metaphor: interviewees were asked to associate an animal and a brief description of salespeople
(attributes). Findings enhanced the presence of the prejudice over sales among all the
interviewee categories, but we chose to deepen students’ analysis, to allow researchers aligning
results with literature.
In fact, according to previous literature, students are considered good potential for sales recruits,
although they often show to have negative perception of sales career, related to stereotypes
(Lee, Sandfield & Dhaliwal, 2007), which also have consequences in the sales applicants and
consequent HR quality. This is why it is particularly important to study students’ perception of
salespeople, because although most of the business graduates first job is in sales, this roles and
career paths are surrounded by prejudices and misconceptions, leading to preventing young
professionals to pursuing such a career.

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Low opinions regarding a career in sales have been attributed by Karakaya, Quigley and
Bingham (2011) to a lack of student awareness about the profession along with unfavorable
sentiments, which evolved from the stereotype of the salesperson portrayed in the mass media.
Indeed, most of the negative stereotyping however come from anecdotes and media-based
evidences, more than on personal experience.
This is the reason why we chose to concentrate on the analysis of students’ perception of
salespeople, which strongly influences students’ intention to pursue a sales career.
Figure 4. Students’ responses to animal metaphor

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Table 4. Students’ responses to animal metaphor: description
animal attributes
lion confident, fierce, powerful, studies
fox tricky, sly with the others, protective with the family
cat patient, has attitude, fast, climbs, obtain what it wants
dog loyal, fast, smart intelligent, good listener, knows its environment
chamaleon adapts
shark attacks, smells the opportunity, fast
snake approache/envelop/attack the prey, moving forward
elephant
intelligent, strong, thick skinned, memory, emotions, big and powerful but knows is not
the king
tiger studies and then attacks, knows when to stay and when to attack
hyena lure the pray
weasel gunning
honey badger corageous, strong, movement
rabbit flexible, quick, catches opportunities
mouse nice, self confident
panther
cheetah
monkey smart, funny, fast and skillful
panda kind, approachable
octopus arms
kangaroo protective and faithful with customer
total
Source: own elaborations
In table 4 we can see that the absolute majority of students refers to salespeople as strong, agile
and aggressive animals, in particular we enhanced the reference to felines (36%) and the
majority of references regarding predators or manipulative animals (67%).

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Proceeding with the attributes analysis, we noticed that the students from the Slovenian
sample seem to have an overall positive perception of sales. Even if they enlisted some mixed-
type animals, including predators, in descriptions then they seem to emphasize their positive
aspects, more than aggressivity (proactiveness, velocity, intelligence) and manipulation (being sly
and transforming). They appear like achievers.
I could say a tiger / leopard because he is watching his prey, and is patient and is waiting, and
when the right moment comes, it attacks and do what it wants. The same would be in the sales,
marketer observes the market, collects data and information, and when there is the right moment
then we come out with our sales campaign. (SLO DS)
Besides, most of the Spanish-sample students associate felines to salespeople and describe this
choice referring to chasing/hunting settings (watching, getting closer, seducing, captivating).
Salesperson is a cobra, because it sneaks up, little by little, until the customer is captured. (SP2)
In addition, both Spanish and Bulgarian students seemed very concerned with the ethical conduct
of salespeople.
The message of selling must be transparent, not cheating. (SP1)
The students from the Bulgarian sample display a peculiar polarization: the general impression
of salespeople is portrayed by aggressive, transforming, agile and smart animals and attributes.
However, during the discussion, some of them added some elements of agility and adaptability,
of observation and study of the context, with some more silent and agile animals. Researchers
report the general agreement and concern on the aggressive behavior and the ethical
implications of a sales career, confirming a strong aversion or prejudice towards sales, despite
the fact that the vast majority of them has acquaintances and experience in sales.

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A ambiguous attitude comes from the sample of students from Italy as well. They expressed both
positive (salesman is adaptable, present but not intrusive, knows how to be appreciated, studies
the situation and knows when to intervein, charismatic, solid, strong but not overwhelming, easily
starts and develops relationships, convincing, good listener, faithful and reliable with his “family”)
and negative (sly, aggressive, manipulative, false) attributes.
These points of view can be summarized in the perception of the complexity of salespeoples’ role
and also in what (students said) salesmen are vs. should be (see the answer shark/kangaroo).
They seem to have in mind the common prejudice on salespeople, in opposition to the marketing
relational paradigm they’re familiar with.
I wrote elephant: chameleon was good, however. Elephant is as I think a salesman should be.
Because of big ears, it’s a good listener, being big is strong, not to be overwhelmed by the client,
has fangs, to bring value for the customer… and finally, it lives in a warm environment (Africa or
India), that represent letting customers feel comfortable and prone to a relationship. Lastly: is
strong, but knows it is not the king (because is the lion is!). (ITA int 5)
The sample of Polish students was in the same page, because most of them refer to salesmen
as a dog (friendly, honest, knows its environment and adapts quickly) or a cat (nice and
independent). Other indications seem to stress the hunting nature, some team tendencies. Even
in this case there seem to be a dichotomy: part of students associated salesmen with kind,
friendly animals such as dogs or cats. The second part of students associated salesmen with
predators such as lions or foxes because of their hunting nature.

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Researchers comment this stressing the importance of relationship with customers based
on trust and understanding, but maintaining, in a way, the hunting/proactivity to acquire
new clients using the hunting nature.
Then we aggregated and ranked the MACs -most associated characteristics- provided by the
interviewees (table 1 in the appendix), by classifying attributes referring to Lee, Sandfield &
Dhaliwal (2007) traits. These researchers interviewed students to have a deeper understanding of
the dimensions of the sales stereotype and ended up having a set of most cited/mentioned
characteristics associated to salespeople, mainly negative, those will guide us as a comparison to
map and compare our findings.
We start pointing out that in our analysis the metaphor method allowed us to obtain more
instinctive results with animals and more elaborations with the request of adding some
characteristics and reasons why to the description. Therefore, we foresee that even if the first
answer (animals) included a majority of aggressive and transforming animals, attributes were
more articulated and included some positive, neutral and negative characteristics of salespeople.
One reason could be that explaining the choice of an animal deviates the concentration from the
stereotype and allow the interviewees to focus more on characteristics, activities and behaviors.
Another reason could be provided by their background or forma mentis, because even if it is well
known that students have had and still have a negative perception of salespeople, based on the
manipulating, pushy and false hard-seller, interviewees are all currently studying in business and
marketing courses, therefore they have in mind the mass-media cultural stereotype on
salespeople, but seem to suggest the importance of sales in creating and keeping the relation

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with the customer, seeming to refer to what a sales person should be according to management
teachings and in particular the marketing relational paradigm.
Figure 5. MACs - Emerged personality traits
In fact, figure 5 summarizes students’ responses, coded through conceptual content analysis and
aggregated in MACs, divided in positive-neutral-negative characteristics. This conformation of
results seem to already enhance this particular, differently from other studies, student seem to
have incorporated more managerial characteristics and strategic view, seeming to reference the
marketing-sales relational paradigm, whereas other studies emphasize personal appearance,
misbehavior (annoying, a nuisance, rude) (Lee, Sandfield & Dhaliwal, 2007), personal/ethic
judgement (disgusting relationships, always lying, sell their value for money) (Ballestra et al.,
2017) and education (Fournier et al., 2014).

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Education is a missing theme in our results, in coherence with the stereotypical idea that
the keys to success for a salesperson are personal intuition, perseverance, manipulation,
with consequent ethical concern, rather than an equilibrated mix of education,
organization, value proposition and co-creation with the customer.
Professors and SME’s perception is not so different from the students evaluations;
Particularly professors seems to be in line with the stereotype but aware of the
transformation of the professional selling role.
Sales activities
Interviewees were asked to enlist 7 activities defining the sales job, and then gave them a rank
according to the perceived importance they assigned to every single activity.
In general, researchers helped with the definition of activities and skills, since many interviewees
confused the twos, and the data elaboration allowed us to obtain a quite articulated set of ranked
activities. We chose to analyze all groups of interviewees, but students and SMEs point of view,
with particular attention to eventual gaps.
Firstly, to code the open answers we used Weitz and Bradford (1999)’s and Malshe and Biemans
(2014)’s scheme of sales activities, respecting the ranks expressed by interviewees.
Secondly, we tried to compare these more uniform responses of the various groups of subjects.
All the groups of interviewees paid attention to communication, selling, relationship and analytical
skills. Professors results were internationally quite eterogeneous, since the Slovenian sample

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tended to be more technical and managerial (organization, motivation ecc.), while Spanish,
Bulgarian and Italian sample referried mainly to the focus towards communication, empathy,
psychology and a strong reference to ethical issues, paired with analytical activities. Polish
sample was quite aligned as well but also implied recurring references to organization and
travelling. However, what most importantly catch our attention was the difference between
students and professionals global results, as reported in table 7.
Table 7. Activities results
n activities
stud
rank
sme
rank
1 contacting/informing customers 3 4
2 selling/negotiating 2 3
3 purchase orders 9 9
4 customer relationships 1 6
5 customer insight 5 1
6 competitor information 6 5
7 market information/opportunities 8 7
8 after sales service 4 8
9 organization/report /budget 7 2
10 training/studying 10 10
We can see that the top three activities are selling/negotiating, customer relationship and
contacting/informing customers.
This is in line with first the sales core activity traditionally intended (as closing/selling/negotiating),
therefore maximum priority is in achieving the sale, finding and informing new customers, and

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second with the relational/partnering paradigm, because of the attention and the effort expected
in following up customers and develop a profitable relation with them.
Results are aligned for the third top-ranked activity as well, which is contacting/informing
customers, which implies interaction, active communication, adaptation, capacity to make offers,
problem solving ecc.
Then, although these scores are very high and translate in top-ranked activities, we encounter
three major gaps in results. In fact, selling is the second/third activity in both our interviewee
categories just because of these gaps, because they assigned the first rank to different activities,
and this affected the total rank. In fact, if we look at customer relationship, it is crucial for
students and important, but average for SMEs representatives, meanwhile we have switched
results for customer insight and organization/report/budget.
In this context we want to enhance the SMEs representatives point of view under this aspect,
because professionals have a clearer vision of the current business needs and of the ideal sales
and key account manager activities and characteristics:
− They globally emphasized the managerial and aspects of sales: planning, organizing,
budgeting, prioritizing, meeting deadlines;
− Entrepreneurs and managers paid attention to ethical behavior, personal integrity and trust
not in general, but as part of the relational selling;
− A recurrent theme in all 5 practitioners’ focus groups was the importance of mentoring and
learning by doing, because university education is perceived as rich but excessively

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theoretical, with the result that students lack of experience and directly applicable know
how, even in the use of tools, software and IT applications.
Therefore, these results seem to configure a quite defined set of activities, and consequently
related skills, prioritizing the core aspects of selling as a process (not only as an activity, as
mere negotiation, as students often think), with strategic and managerial implications, with
particular reference to communication, activity planning and budgeting, technical preparation
(most of all competitive, market and data analysis), and also stressing the importance of
relationship building and management, according to the relational selling approach.
Sales skills
Researchers then asked interviewees about their perception of what were the most important
sales skills, enlisting some key skills/characteristics a salesperson should have or develop.
We synthetize results according to Cuevas (2018): states that modern sales manager needs to
master four key competency areas: functional, relational, managerial and cognitive.
• Functional competencies refer primarily to those that relate to the management and
development of customers and to the creation of customer value.
• Relational competences refer to the ability to interact and to connect with individuals
across boundaries (supplier and customer) and across functions.
• Managerial competences denote general administrative know-how, and ability to mobilize
and align people towards the achievement of goals in organizations.

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• Cognitive competences refer to analytical attitudes and the extent to which individuals
can process and act upon information.
We coded results in terms of skill indication and reconducted them to our four categories, then
counted results and aggregated them for research unit and then for subjects (students and SMEs
representatives).
Functional skills are, as expected, the most numerous category, counting for technical skills,
listening, presenting, communicating, negotiating, market knowledge ecc.
According to point 2, students give much more importance than professionals to the relational
aspect of sales, while SMEs respondents emphasized functional and managerial skills. It is
worth mentioning that managerial set implied objective setting and achievement, but also
flexibility, boundary spanning, leadership, strategy, vision ecc. Finally, cognitive skills were
equally found important. They implied both very good analytical skills (not basic
market/customer/competitor knowledge), intuition and creativity.
KAM skills
Interviewees were then asked to rank the 17 single skills of the ideal KAM, according to
McDonald and Rogers (1998)’s framework. These scholars ate authorities in the field of sales and
key account management education, and they identified four sets of skills or qualities that would
enable the ideal Key Account Manager to fulfill the expectations of both the selling and the buying
company at higher relationship levels (i.e. Mid-KAM, Partnership KAM, or Synergetic KAM). The

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four skills or qualities are personal qualities, subject knowledge, thinking skills, and
managerial skills.
Source: McDonald & Rogers (1998).
The aggregate results (total average and total rank in table 8 or in appendix) suggest that
interviewees put a lot of attention on subject knowledge skill set, however they simultaneously
give importance to product knowledge and understanding of business environment / markets,
while feeling that financial knowledge, legal knowledge and computer literacy are the least skills a
KAM should master. Therefore, this skill set results quite polarized yet clear in indicating the most
priority interest areas.
Figure 6. Skills and qualities of the ideal key account manager

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In addition, thinking skills are also important as a whole, considering that credibility and
boundary spanning scored quite low.
The key capabilities for a KAM are therefore communication, product knowledge, market
knowledge and strategy, according to the idea that a KAM performs a consultant, more than a
commercial role, with strategic, relational, long-term perspective towards few critical/strategic
customers.
Students seem to pay a higher attention on selling/negotiating and creativity comparing to
SMEs, those focused more on market knowledge, strategy, resilience/persistence.
The set of characteristics ranging 6-7 are credibility and integrity, mostly determined by
academics, those refer to different skill set but define personal traits, inferring also on the
person’s ethics, which is a recurrent issue when analyzing salespeople (Pettijohn, Pettijohn, &
Taylor, 2007). This result could still suggest the role of the prejudice over sales, being in the top-
half ranking results or, otherwise, the importance of this characteristic in a strategic/relational
role as the KAM is.

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Table 8. Point 4 results per interviewees category (academics/professors, students, SMEs
representatives)
Note: rank color coding - dark important (1-3), average (4-14), light less important (15-17)
Skills/qualities Specific item
Aca
rank
Stud
rank
Sme
rank
Personal qualities Integrity
Resilience / persistence
Selling / negotiating
Likeability
Subject knowledge Product knowledge
Understanding of
business environment / markets
Financial knowledge
Legal knowledge
Computer literacy
Languages / cultural knowledge
Thinking skills Creativity / flexibility
Strategic thinking / planning
Boundary spanning (e.g. ability to look
from different perspectives)
Managerial skills Communication skills
People management / leadership
Credibility
Administration / organization
3.3. DISCUSSION
Overall, although this findings and prior literature demonstrate that students have different
perceptions of sales depending on students’ past experience, education paths and culture
(especially on ethics, see, Panagoupulos et al.2011), they globally seem to perceive salespeople
to have a good understanding of customers’ needs, and that salespeople are strong, fierce,
adaptable, confident and intelligent.

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In this analysis on the perception of salespeople, imagination seemed to be quite defined and
linked on salespeople’s professional, rather than personal aspects.
The general attitude towards salespeople in this case seemed more professional and oriented to
a transactional vs relational perspective. Students having in mind the first one tended to
emphasize aspects like manipulation, hunting ecc., tipically involved in –old school, hard-selling
approach– selling activity (more than the selling process), including communicating,
presenting, negotiating, prospecting ecc., but many of them stressed the reliability, loyalty,
knowledge aspects, typically related to long term relationships of value co-creation. Probably the
solution can be found in the deeper understanding of students of the sales process as a whole
and emphasizing their professionality in managerial and strategic terms, as the first-ranked
attribute concept seem to refer to (meditating could be translated as “strategic thinking and
acting”).
In conclusion, findings show there seem to be a contraposition between the sales stereotype
(aggressive, sales-oriented) and the ideal qualities of salesforce (relational, customer-oriented).
The sales stereotype seems to include:
• the perception of sales as hunting, where the salesmen is the predator or a
sly/manipulative/transforming creature
• the lack of education, as if sales’ success factors were just intuition, adaptability,
persistence and manipulation
• sales defined not as an articulated process but limited to selling/closing activity, reflecting a
hard-selling perspective over sales, made of prospecting and “attacking” (no reference to

23
strategy, planning, organizing, budgeting, travelling, reporting ecc.)
• prejudice over salespeople is present and persistent in business students. Even if they often
look at the traditional hard-seller as a comparison term, as a benchmark of what it is and
should be avoided, compared to the relational/partnering seller, which has a strategic and
long-term approach towards sales and is strong in loyalty, ethics, preparation, problem
solving and value co-creation.
On one hand, the negative perception of salespeople is still present, and it can be due to hard
selling practices, stereotype extension to the category, memorability averse selection and mass
media misrepresentation. On the other hand, students seem to define the ideal salesmen as
someone reliable, trustworthy and friendly, often referring to the importance of the relation with
customer based on knowledge, trust, value co-creation ecc.
We noticed that findings are in line with literature, stressing the importance of sales roles and
their evolution. However, literature has a scientific sight over the transactional approach,
therefore scholars tend to stay away from the stereotypical view when evaluating sales roles,
because in that approach they still see a fundamental contribution to the business. In fact,
scholars suggest that modern sales management should comprehend both the transactional
selling and the consultative selling, achieving simultaneously efficiency and efficacy, catching
opportunities and developing customers.
We see that literature provides some examples of how this apparent contradiction or tradeoff
between the two orientations could actually be overcome by simultaneously considering the

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traditional/transactional and the relational/partnering approach towards sales,
simultaneously achieving efficacy and competitive advantage.
This could be done through a university curriculum implying traditional teachings for sales
management and KAM theoretical basis, plus some innovative learning techniques to be
designed and implemented those will enrich students of the actual insight on the job, behavioral
learning and practical experience (case studies, edutainment, internship ecc.) to answer to
prejudice with direct experience and reasons why.
Speaking of activities and skills, the most important ones through the lenses of both students
and SMEs representatives were
• selling/negotiating
• customer relationship
• contacting/informing customers
in line with the traditional and relational paradigm simultaneously.
However, customer relationship is key for students, whereas SMEs representatives give
priority to market and competitive analysis, customer insight and
organization/report/budget, coherently with their different levels of knowledge, experience and
needs towards sales.
This particular set of results is interestingly in line with some sales roles references those could
be used in task 2 (curriculum design) in terms of job description/role of the salespeople to be,
attending IN.K.A.M.S. courses. In fact Moncrief, Marshall and Lassk (2006)’s define different

23
types of sales roles, namely Consultative Seller - New business/Channel developer - Seller and
Key Account Seller, whose main activities are actually the ones indicated by both categories.
Particularly relationship selling was found to be the key activity to properly run the role of
Consultative Seller, whereas analytical and computing activities were pivotal for Business
Developers, and product support/after sales activities are important to Key Account
Sellers.
This stresses even more the necessity to foster advanced learning from future salespeople, also
adding computing skills (even if this skill set was bottom-ranked in point 4) and exposure to
selling experience, because of the misrepresentation that prejudice and again, lack of experience
or knowledge of the job can create.
Then we saw that the most important skills set for a sales manager is in line with results of point
3, with functional skills on top, much emphasis on relation for students and relatively more on
managerial skills for businesses. The first set of skills include a lot of communication, negotiation
and presentation, therefore some elements of psychology or role playing could be enriching
traditional learning. In addition, relation and problem solving could be taught via case studies and
experiments.
Finally, perception of KAM skills is coherent with the rest of the analysis.
Key capabilities for a KAM are communication, product knowledge, market knowledge and
strategy, according to the idea that a KAM performs a consultative, more than a commercial role,
with strategic, relational, long-term perspective towards few critical/strategic customers, although
students continue focusing on selling/negotiating and creativity comparing to SMEs, those

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focused more on market knowledge, strategy, resilience/persistence.
Therefore, curriculum design should consider, again, the analytical, strategic, managerial side,
and also the technical side, the importance of analysis customer follow-up and servilitization of
the offer.

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4. CONCLUSIONS
This task and research phase was fundamental to align cues, evidences and objectives to pursue
the curriculum design and IN.K.A.M.S. project further steps.
Here we summarize the main issues and solutions related to IN.K.A.M.S. field of research and
goals.
- Job market and complex, evolving business context require high-skilled and motivated
professionals to lead this crucial process (sales management and KAM) for local and
international firms
- Higher education in sales and KAM field is important to educate young motivated and skilled
further Intenational Sales and KAM.
- University based Sales and KAM courses and curricula are few, sporadic and marginal
within business administration and marketing degrees, in Europe more than in the rest of the
developed countries.
- The majority of (the few) courses and curricula are delivered to traditional face-to-face
lectures, whereas it is well known that a solid advanced preparation is made of a balanced
mix of traditional and innovative teaching methods involving knowledge, competence
building, observation, in field experience.
- University based learning is vital to provide further professionals (students) with advanced
knowledge, skills and experience to be easily employable, fulfill firms’ needs and foster value
creation and business growth faster, cheaper and more effectively and strategically.

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- Modern organizations need to have a strategic approach over sales management, as it is one
of the main value driver in BtoB relationships. Therefore evolved sales skills include
ambidexterity: transactional but also relational, managerial, analytical, strategic
capabilities.
- There is still a prejudice over sales and salespeople preventing students aiming to pursue a
career in sales, which is in fact one of the top-required professions worldwide. Prejudice
tends to be a benchmark for what business students perceive the salesperson is (traditional
hard-seller) and should be (relational/partnering seller, which has a strategic and long-term
approach towards sales and is strong in loyalty, ethics, preparation, problem solving and
value co-creation).
- Top ranked activities and skills, the most important ones through the lenses of both
students and SMEs representatives were: selling/negotiating, customer relationship,
contacting/informing customers (in line with the traditional and relational paradigm
simultaneously).
- Students prioritize customer relationship, whereas SMEs representatives give priority
to customer insight and organization/report/budget, coherently with their different levels
of knowledge, experience and needs towards sales.
- Students having a marketing background emphasize the importance of
relation/partnering
- Firms enhance the importance of knowledge, experience and hard skills (analytical,
strategic, managerial)

23
- Professors seem perform the same prejudice towards salespeople as well as their
students. In sales learning programmes they would emphasize the role of
communication and ethics, and also the field experience.
- Curriculum design reference profile according to findings seem to be coherent with the
following references:
Moncrief, Marshall and Lassk (2006)’s types of sales roles: Consultative Seller - New
business/Channel developer - Seller and Key Account Seller, whose main activities are
actually the ones indicated by both categories.
Professional profile – Sales channel manager 1.
Association of Key Account Management - KAM certified competencies2.
- Key competence area to be developed according to findings: Sales strategy, Sales process,
Sales activities, Ethics, Relationship selling, Key account management, Analysis (market,
competition, customer), IT usage and leverage, Sales force management
1 http://www.atlantedelleprofessioni.it/Professioni/Operatore-e-Operatrice-delle-reti-di-vendita/Carta-d-identita
2 https://a4kam.org/kam-qualifications/diploma-competencies-in-detail/

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