Date of Award

4-2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Heather Crandall

Abstract

This thesis explores the professional sales interaction through the lens of interpersonal communication theory. Many sales people lack formalized sales training and are heavily compensated and rewarded for productivity. Sales interactions are often viewed as business transactions with little or no regard to the human aspect of the interaction. By respecting and valuing the human aspect of the interaction, a salesperson will have a foundational value system in which to apply ethics and training. Rather than viewing the sales transaction through traditional techniques, sales interactions are viewed through three interpersonal communication lenses; Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Pearce and Cronen’s Coordinated Management of Meaning, and Michael Thompson’s book The Congruent Life. These lenses are meant to provide a new perspective on what is at the heart of each sales interaction, the human spirit and social construct. Sales dialogue is not only meant to generate revenue and profit, it is meant to build a better social world and to positively affect the human spirit of all involved in the transaction.

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