Salesperson Attributes Preferred by Buyers in the Industrial Chemical Industry

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether buyers and members of the buying group have the authority to choose between suppliers, and to determine the preferred attributes of sales representatives in the South African chemical industry from the perspective of the buying group. The results show that buyers and members of the professional buying group do indeed have the authority to choose suppliers. The results also show that buyers most prefer representatives who can solve problems, followed by representatives with technical knowledge, and then representatives who are efficient and follow through. These are the three most important attributes from the buyers’ perspective, and they are followed in decreasing order of importance by representatives who are easy to contact, representatives who readily provide information and samples, and representatives with industry experience. The research concludes with the finding that sales representatives who adopt the attributes which have been highlighted in this study will be more successful.