The document summarizes research conducted on sales education in Italy. Focus groups were held with students, professors, and small-to-medium enterprise representatives. The research found that students view salespeople in both positive and negative ways and have a limited understanding of the full sales process. Professors acknowledged issues but also opportunities to improve sales education. Representatives emphasized skills like communication, planning, and relationship building. Overall, there remains a prejudice around sales that could be addressed by more innovative, experience-based education that treats sales as a specialized field of study.

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Research results – ITALY
Intellectual Output 1 – Task 1
Tarragona, URV
17th May 2018

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AGENDA
1. Desk research
▪ Italy
▪ UNIVPM
2. Focus groups
▪ Students
▪ Professors
▪ SMEs

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State of art of Italian university sales education
• Scarce and mainly limited to single courses rather than specialized and
work-oriented programmes
• fragmented (elements in other business/entrepreneurship/marketing
courses)
• taught following traditional methodologies
1. Desk research

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1. Desk research
• Marketing area teachings in Italy (N= 1050), within 126
universities, 413 degree courses include at least one
marketing related exam, 40% of these courses/subjects are
concentrated in 10 universities.
• Only 15 courses (1,4%) include the word “sales” (sales
management, sales and trade management ecc.).
Source: Società Italiana di Marketing 2017, http://www.simktg.it/MTF//Content/formazione/ODM2017.pdf

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1. Desk research
• Authors and practice suggest that active learning techniques are fundamental,
particularly for those areas where a behavioral response is required, like selling an
sales management (Inks & Avila 2008)
• Teaching methodologies currently adopted in marketing (and sales) university courses
(Società Italiana di Marketing 2017)
Source: Società Italiana di Marketing 2017

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1. Desk research
UNIVPM
• No sales-dedicated BA or MSc programmes
• No sales-oriented major/streams
• Single courses dedicated to sales-area topics (3)
• Sales-related content within other courses
• No post-master programmes involving sales

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1. Desk research
UNIVPM
Sales-area courses at bachelor and master level
Course Degree programme Level Teaching
hours
ECTS
INTERNATIONAL SALES
MANAGEMENT
International Economics
and Commerce
Master 44 6
INTERNATIONAL MARKET
STRATEGIES
Economics and
Management
Master 88 12
RETAIL MARKETING AND
SALES MANAGEMENT
Economics and
Management
Master 44 6
BUSINESS MARKETING Economics and
Management
Master 44 6

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2. Focus groups
PARTICIPANTS
PROFILE STUDENTS PROFESSORS SMEs
N. 12 3 8
DESCRIPTION
Master’s degree
students
• 11 Marketing
• 1 Business
Administration
Education experts
• Economic history
(undergraduate), Bank
History (master)
• Accounting - base and
advanced (undergraduate)
• Macroeconomics (master),
PhD programme
• 4 Enterpreneurs
• 1 ICT specialist
• 1 Marketing
manager
• 1 Export manager
• 1 institutional
SMEs
representative
AGE RANGE 22-26 51-54 37-58

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2. Focus groups
People/experience in sales
Students
– 60% know people working in sales
– 42% has worked in sales
Professors
– education experts / pedagogy supervisors
– teach in different fields, no experience in sales
SMEs reps
– all of them know salespeople very well
– 75% has direct experience in sales

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2. Focus groups
What animal would you associate to a salesperson?
Students results : link between prejudice and the consideration of sales as a career
We observed the presence of three kinds of answers
Elephant
Dog
Lion
Tiger
Eagle
Chamaleon
TRANSACTIONAL PERSPECTIVE RELATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Fox
Cat
Shark-Kangaroo
AMBIGUOUS / INBETWEEN
RESPONSES

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METAPHOR QUOTES
CAT: REASSURING WITH THE BOSS/CLIENT, SUSPICIOUS AND SLY, IT LETS YOU THINK YOU’RE
IMPORTANT BUT FOR ITS SCOPES, NOT INDIFFERENT BUT INTERESTED, CHARISMATIC AND IN LONG
RUN RELATIONSHIPS. Student 1.4.
I SEE THE SALESPERSON AS A SHARK: AGGRESSIVITY, BUT NOW COMPETITION IS NO MORE BASED
ON THE PRICE, AND ALSO HERE WE SPEAK ABOUT B2B, SO / I SEE SALESMAN AS A KANGAROO, YOU
KEEP THE CLIENT CLOSE TO YOU AND YOU TAKE CARE OF IT. Student 2.1.
SALESMAN IS AN ELEPHANT: CHAMELEON WAS GOOD, HOWEVER,
ELEPHANT IS AS I THINK A SALESMAN SHOULD BE, BECAUSE OF BIG EARS, GOOD LISTENER,
BEING BIG, NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED BY THE CLIENT, FANGS, TO BE VALUABLE FOR THE CUSTOMER,
WARM ENVIRONMENT (BECAUSE AFRICA OR INDIA) MAKES CUSTOMER FEEL COMFORTABLE AND PRONE
TO A RELATIONSHIP, IS STRONG BUT KNOWS IS NOT THE KING (BECAUSE IS THE LION)
Student n.2.4.
TRANSACTIONAL
PERSPECTIVE
FOX: SLY, MANIPULATIVE, WAITS FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT AND OCCASION TO ACQUIRE A
CUSTOMER, START A RELATION, TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY
Student 2.3.
TIGER: OBJECTIVE ORIENTED, AGGRESSIVE, FIRM, MAINTAINS THE POSITION; AND FOX:
COMMUNICATIVE,SLY, KNOWS HOW TO APPEAR RELIABLE EVEN LYING, KNOWS THE PRODUCTS’
STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES, KNOWS HOW TO LEAD/DRIVE THE CONVERSATION
Student 1.6.
RELATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE
AMBIGUOUS /
INBETWEEN
RESPONSES

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- Positive: salesperson is present but not intrusive,
studies the situation and knows when to intervein,
charismatic, solid, strong but not overwhelming, easily
starts and develops relationships, good listener,
faithful and reliable with his “family”.
- Neutral: convincing, knows how to be appreciated ,
adaptable.
- Negative: sly, aggressive, manipulative, false.
These points of view can be summarized in the complexity
of salespeoples’ role and also in what salesmen are vs.
should be (see the answer shark/kangaroo).
Attribute N mentions
Smart 5
Sly 5
Loyal 4
Predator 3
Strong 3
Meditative (Observe+Attack) 2
Manipulative 2
Flexible 2
Agile 2
Confident 2
Independent 2
Protective 2
Friendly 1
Persistent 1
METAPHOR ATTRIBUTES

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2. Focus groups
Professors results
- education experts, no direct experience
- They had in mind international, dynamic succesful B2B salespeople
- Answers: Shepard dog, Lion, Fox in line with students’ responses!
- Prejudice still present (maximum importance to communication, psichology, goal-orientation ecc.)
What animal would you associate to a salesperson?
FOX, BECAUSE YOU MUST BE SLY
RATHER THAN INTELLIGENT TO SELL
Professor n. 2

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2. Focus groups
SMEs reps results
- Answers: raptor, chamaleon, lion, cat, tiger, peacock, shepard dog, fox
- Prejudice is present and built on experience and stereotype
- They know sales role has evolved
What animal would you associate to a salesperson?
LION, IS THE KING, HE ROARS BEFORE ATTACKING, HE MAKES NOISE, HE MAKES YOU MAKES KNOW AND
FEEL HE EXISTS, MAKES YOU FEEL (3 BUT SLEEPS SO MUCH! AHAHAH) MUST BE STRONG, HE ALWAYS
TRAVELS, IS ALWAYS CONNECTED ... DETACHMENT WHEN NEEDED, SO MUCH STRENGTH. Professional 1

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STUDENTS
RELATIONSHIP WITH
THE CUSTOMER
Emphasis on ANALYTICAL
ACTIVITIES, market strategy,
analysis, targeting etc, those
are actually belonging to the
marketing field more than the
sales one.
FOCUS ON THE
ACTIVITY RATHER
THAN THE SALES
PROCESS (pre-selling,
selling itself, and post-selling
just interms of “relationship”).
Soft skills: communicative,
good listener, empathic,
persuasive, reassuring,
reliable, honest, charismatic
Hard skills: analytic,
knowledgeable, organized
COMMUNICATION
ORGANIZATION
ETHICS
EMPATHY
Mostimportant:capacitytobuild
RELATIONSWITH
CUSTOMER,self-management
andORGANIZATION,
TIMEANDBUDGET
MANAGEMENT,
consistency,empathy,initiative,
persistency
Hard skills: Organization ,
knowledge and DATA
MANAGEMENT,
customer management
Soft skills: patience and
endurance, capacity of
understanding and meeting
customers’ needs.
• Students concentrate their answers on the selling
activity rather than on the whole sales process. They
mainly refer to studying the market, communicating and
negotiating
• No references to managerial or planning activities,
including budgeting
• Attention to the relation with key customers: relational
paradigm
• They seem to refer more to personal qualities ratherr
than professional and technical skills, again referring to
the importance they attribute to communication and
negotiation
2. Focus groups
SALES ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS

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PROFESSORS
Attention on COGNITIVE
(knowledge/study),
STRATEGIC(targeting
and positioning), and
OPERATIONAL
(communication, interaction,
presentation, gate-keeping,
order processing)
ASPECTS.
KNOWLEDGE
COMMUNICATION
ORGANIZATION
ETHICS
EMPATHY
SMEsREPS
Most important: capacity to
build RELATIONS
WITH CUSTOMER,
self-management and
ORGANIZATION,
TIME AND
BUDGET
MANAGEMENT,
consistency, empathy,
initiative, persistency
Hard skills: Organization ,
knowledge and DATA
MANAGEMENT,
customer management
Soft skills: patience and
endurance, capacity of
understanding and meeting
customers’ needs.
• Small dimention of the sample: professors’ responses
were quite eterogeneous
• The focus is on analytical, managerial, organizational,
communication features
• Strong references to the ethical aspects of communicating
and selling
2. Focus groups
SALES ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS

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2. Focus groups
SMEsREPS
Most important: capacity to
build RELATIONS
WITH CUSTOMER,
self-management and
ORGANIZATION,
TIME AND
BUDGET
MANAGEMENT,
consistency, empathy,
initiative, persistency
Hard skills: Organization ,
knowledge and DATA
MANAGEMENT,
customer management
Soft skills: patience and
endurance, capacity of
understanding and meeting
customers’ needs.
• Direct xperience and contact with salespeople
• References to the sales process as a whole: planning, goal
setting organizing, budgeting, analyzing, contacting,
communicating, selling as understanding and adapting to
customer needs, following-up, results checking
• References to the effort and the endurance of being
constantly on the boundary (inside the firs-with the
customer) and on the road
SALES ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS

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KAM SKILLS RANK
skills/qualities specific item aca rank stud rank sme rank
personal qualities Integrity
personal qualities
Resilience /
persistence
personal qualities
Selling /
negotiating
personal qualities Likeability
subject knowledge Product knowledge
subject knowledge
Understanding of
business environment / m
arkets
subject knowledge Financial knowledge
subject knowledge Legal knowledge
subject knowledge Computer literacy
subject knowledge
Languages / cultural
knowledge
thinking skills Creativity / flexibility
thinking skills
Strategic thinking /
planning
thinking skills
Boundary spanning
(ability to look
from different
perspectives)
managerial skills Communication skills
managerial skills
People management /
leadership
managerial skills Credibility
managerial skills
Administration
/ organization
ACADEMICS FOCUS ON
KNOWLEDGE AND
ETHICS
STUDENTS FOCUS ON
COMMUNICATION
AND CREDIBILITY
SMEs FOCUS ON
SELLING AND
LEADERSHIP
KEY
very important
average
least important

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2. Focus groups
• MARKETING STUDENTS look at salespeope as both negative
(manipulative, insincere, unfaithful ecc) and positive (should be loyal
trustworthy, prepared, correct) - Transactional VS Relational paradigm
• Limited view of the actual sales job and sales process: excessive focus
on sales as an instant and face-to-face interaction,
negotiating/persuading and selling.
ATTENTION TO NEGOTIATION, RELATION AND ANALYTICAL SKILLS
FINDINGS SUMMARY: STUDENTS

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2. Focus groups
Professors acknowledge the issue, the evolving role of
salespeople and the opportunity to insert sales programmes as
specialties/streams. Sales prejudice still present.
FINDINGS SUMMARY: PROFESSORS
ATTENTION TO ANALYSIS, PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND ETHICS

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2. Focus groups
• SMEs REPS have clear in mind what sales activity and process is.
• They focus on communication but also on technical skills, planning,
organizing, budgeting
• They stress the necessity of preparation (never stop learning about
market, product, technology, customer), being present with customer but
equilibrated (when doing or not doing) and in field experience.
FOCUS ON STUDYING, PLANNING, ORGANIZING
FINDINGS SUMMARY: SMEs REPS

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2. Focus groups
Key points
▪ Prejudice over salespeople is still diffused
▪ Need for educated, managerial, relationship-oriented professionals
▪ COMMUNICATING, SELLING AS CONSULTING, ANALYSIS, PLANNING
▪ Role of experience: innovative education methodologies, learning by doing
▪ Sales as a teaching: as a specialization/stream, advanced course
FINDINGS SUMMARY