Joseph D. Chapman

Assessing the Relationships Among Performance Measures, Managerial Practices, and Satisfaction When Evaluating the Salesforce: A Replication and Extension

The performance appraisal practices used by industrial firms when evaluating members of the sales force are investigated. A formal model of the relationships among major aspects of the appraisal process is proposed and tested. Results are presented from a survey of 104 senior sales managers. Significant relationships are identified between what is being measured, how the appraisal is conducted, and managerial satisfaction. The findings also suggest that evaluation programs remain relatively unsophisticated and unsystematic in most firms.

An Innovative, Experiential-Learning Project for Sales Management and Professional Selling Students

This article presents an innovative, experiential-learning project that incorporates students from two different courses: sales management and professional selling. Sales management students actually manage sales students on an outside sales project. Students apply classroom knowledge to a real-life sales project for a local community organization. The sales project discussed in this article is a fundraising project for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Product Differentiation And Positioning: Confused Concepts

This article examines two common marketing terms: product positioning and product differentiation. Many authors use these terms interchangeably, yet most marketing texts treat product positioning and product differentiation as two separate concepts. This article attempts to identify the underlying concepts of both product differentiation and product positioning. Product differentiation is shown to be a special case of product positioning; therefore, it is suggested that marketers may want to abandon the concept of product differentiation in favor of product positioning.

An Exploratory Study on Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Rebates

Rebates are a form of sales promotions that have seen increased use over the past few years, with the difficulty in compliance increasing over time. To avoid fraudulent rebate claims, manufacturers have established such stringent rebate requirements that many consumers are unable to satisfy them and realize the rebates. A number of ethical considerations will be addressed. The purpose of this paper is to conduct preliminary research leading to an understanding of consumers’ attitudes toward rebates. Consumers indicated that rebate programs work to the advantage of the manufacturer. Finally, some recommended changes for rebate programs are discussed.