Areas of Expertise

Business to business marketing with particular interests in the salesperson/customer interaction, Sales strategy, Sales Management, Organizational buying behavior

Academic Degrees

• PhD, University of Georgia, 1976
• MBA, Indiana University, 1969
• BA, Indiana University, 1967

Professional Experience

• Visiting Professor, I.E.S.E, Barcelona, Spain, 2000
• Visiting Professor, University of Aarhus, Denmark, 1991-1992
• Chairperson of the Board, American Marketing Association, 1994-1995
• Advisory Board, U.S. Census Bureau, 1997-2003
• Board of Governors, Academy of Marketing Science, 2004-2010
• Editorial Board/Senior Advisory Board, Journal of Professional Selling and Sales Management, 1986-current
• Editorial Review Board, Journal of Marketing, 1992-2002
• Shell Oil Company, 1969-1974

Awards, Honors & Certificates

• Lifetime Achievement Award, American Marketing Association, Sales Management and Personal Selling Special Interest Group, 2007
• Exceptional Inspiration and Guidance Award, Kelley School of Business, 2004
• Excellence in Research Award, American Marketing Association, Sales Management and Personal Selling Special Interest Group, 2002
• Pi Sigma Epsilon Award for outstanding article of the year, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 1981, 1986, 1996
• Faculty Fellow, American Marketing Association, Doctoral Consortium, 1990, 1991, 1993
• Eli Lilly Endowment Teaching Fellow, 1977

Selected Publications

• Spiro, R. L., Bradford, K., Brown, S., Ganesan, S., Hunter, G., Oneymah, V., Palmatier, R., Rouzies, D., Sujan, H., and Weitz, B. (2010). The Embedded Sales Force: Connecting Buying and Selling Organizations. Marketing Letters, 21, 239-253.
• Spiro, R. L., Rich, G. A., and Stanton, W. (2008), Management of a Sales Force (12th ed.), Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
• Spiro, R. L., and Hartman, K. B. (2005). Recapturing Store Image in Customer-Based Store Equity: A Construct Conceptualization. Journal of Business Research, 58(8), 1112-1120.
• Cron, W. L., Marshall, G. W., Singh, J., Spiro, R. L., and Sujan, H. (2005). Salesperson Selection, Training, and Development: Trends, Implications, and Research Opportunities. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 25(2), 123-136.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  Building on the forces of change in selling identified in the introductory paper of this Special Issue of JPSSM, we identify and explicate trends, managerial implications, and research opportunities in two important domains of the selling field: training and development (TD) and selection. Part One focuses on TD of salespeople, and argues why a fresh perspective on salesperson TD is essential. Then, taking a knowledge, skills, and ability (KSA) approach, a framework for future TD content is proposed around three levels of KSAs: task-related KSAs, growth-related KSAs, and meta-KSAs. Part Two, on selection, focuses on several important predictors of salesperson success: cognitive ability tests, personality inventories, and biodata. Then, assessment methods are reviewed. Finally, we summarize with a discussion of emerging trends and research opportunities. The focus of the discussion is on both enhancing salesperson performance and affording scholars new research opportunities.

• Dixon, A. L., Spiro, R. L., and Forbes, L. P. (2003). Attributions and behavioral intentions of inexperienced salespersons to failure: An empirical investigation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31(4), 459-467.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  This research aimed to determine how inexperienced sales representatives (rookies) interpret and respond to failure situations. The study looked a 296 rookie financial services sales representatives' performance attributions for a previous unsuccessful sales interaction and their intended behaviors for a future selling situation. The results were compared with Dixon, Spiro and Jamil's 2001 findings for experienced sales representatives (veterans). Results suggest that rookies are likely to engage in several inappropriate behaviors in response to failed sales encounters.

• Dixon, A. L., Spiro, R. L., and Jamil, M. (2001). Successful and Unsuccessful Sales Calls: Measuring Salesperson Attributions and Behavioral Intentions. Journal of Marketing, 65(3), 64-78.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  Applying attribution theory to consumer behavior issues is quite common. In the managerial arena, previous research suggests that salespeople's attribution processes affect their expectancies for success and future behavior. However, no published research has developed adequate measures that might be used to examine the full range of attributional responses for sales success or failure and the behaviors that are likely to follow such attributions. The goal of this research is to develop a complete set of attributional and behavioral scales for sales success and failure and validate such scales in a real-world context--among field sales representatives. Following Churchill's (1979) recommended process, the authors develop a complete set of attributional and behavioral intention scales that is applicable to a field sales force setting. The authors then measure 228 financial services representatives' performance attributions for a previous sales interaction; their intended behaviors for a future, similar selling situation; and their personal characteristics. The authors test the validities of the scales and examine the usefulness of applying the scales within a theoretically justified nomological network of relationships.

• Strahle, W. M., Spiro, R. L., and Acito, F. (1996). Marketing and Sales Strategy: Strategic Alignment and Functional Implementation. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 16(1), 1-20.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  Many authors have argued that when a firm selects a particular marketing strategy, at the business-unit level, the organization should make functional level decisions which are aligned with the marketing strategy. This study examines the alignment between business-unit level marketing strategies and functional level sales objectives and activities for a specific products. In the study, marketing executives from 25 firms were asked to identify the marketing strategies and corresponding sales objectives for four of their current products. Three hundred and sixty-seven sales managers from the same firms were subsequently asked to identify the sales objectives for the products identified by their respective marketing managers and to rate the importance of various sales activities for these products. The results confirm, as many authors have speculated, that there are often discrepancies between marketing executives and their sales managers with regard to specific product strategies. Extensive post-survey interviews offer some interesting insights as to why discrepancies occur.

• Spiro, R. L., and Weitz, B. A. (1990). Adaptive Selling: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Nomological Validity. Journal of Marketing Research, 27(1), 61-69.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  A 16-item scale is developed to measure the degree to which salespeople practice adaptive selling--the degree to which they alter their sales presentation across and during customer interactions in response to the perceived nature of the sales situation. This paper-and-pencil scale assesses self-reports of five facets of adaptive selling: (1) recognition that different sates approaches are needed for different customers, (2) confidence in ability to use a variety of approaches, (3) confidence in ability to alter approach during an interaction, (4) collection of information to facilitate adaptation, and (5) actual use of different approaches. The reliability of the scale is .85. Support for the nomological validity of the scale is found by failure to disconfirm relationships with an antecedent (intrinsic motivation), several general personality measures of interpersonal flexibility (self-monitoring, empathy, locus of control, and androgyny), and a consequence (self-reported performance).

• Strahle, W., and Spiro, R. L. (1986). Linking Market Share Strategies to Sales Force Objectives, Activities, and Compensation Policies. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 6(2), 11-18.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  The lack of research on the strategic relationship between marketing and sales reflects a more general lack of research on the linkages between marketing other functional areas of the firm. The purpose of this article is to examine the linkages between the four basic market share strategies, "build," "hold," "harvest," and "divest" and the corresponding functional level sales strategy. Each market share strategy implies a primary sales objective. Review of the life cycle and product portfolio literatures offers insights into the nature of the relationship between marketing strategy and functional-level sales strategy. Examination of tables leads to the general observation that there is decreasing attention focused on the strategic functional-level activities as one progresses from a "build" strategy to one involving "divest" or "liquidate." While some of the authors restricted their discussions of strategy to either consumer products or industrial products, the prescriptions on the general level are the same.

• Williams, K. C., and Spiro, R. L. (1985). Communication Style in the Salesperson-Customer Dyad. Journal of Marketing Research, 22(4), 434-442.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  The authors report a study designed to evaluate the use of communication style by salespeople and their customers. Using a paradigm suggested by Sheth in which the communication styles of customers and salespeople are categorized as task oriented, interaction oriented, or self oriented, they assess whether communication styles are related to sales. They first develop scales to measure these styles and then test whether the styles affect the sales outcome. The results suggest that communication styles are a determinant of the success of the sales interaction.

Edited on July 28, 2022