Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant difference in the perceived effectiveness between a motivational style of sales coaching and a teaching style of sales coaching among the highest performing sales representatives in a large health and fitness organization in the Southern California fitness industry. Methodology. The subjects in this study were 25 randomly selected participants among the highest top 10% performing noncommission sales representatives within a private health and fitness organization within Southern California. All voluntary participants responded to a 16-question survey, using a 5-point Likert scale to rate their perceived effectiveness of 16 different behavioral action items within teaching-based and motivation-based styles of sales coaching. Findings. Based on a 2-tailed t test, it was determined that a significant difference exists between a teaching-based style of sales coaching and motivation-based style of sales coaching. As a whole, aside from the isolated action items rated, a teaching-based style of sales coaching was perceived to have a greater positive effect on sales performance. Conclusions. The data in this study support the implication that a teaching-based style of sales coaching has a greater positive effect on sales performance than a motivation-based style of sales coaching. Recommendations. Further research is advised: expanding this study beyond the geographic limitation of Southern California may eliminate the possibility the Southern California geographic market having an influence on the results; replicating the study within more organizations as well as in industries other than the health and fitness industry may allow for a greater understanding of the perceived effects of motivation and teaching on sales performance among other industries with other products and services; replicating the study among low-performing sales representatives may provide a group to compare this study's findings to; conducting an experimental design to test motivation and teaching on sales production will provide results based on true experimentation as opposed to perception; and replicating the study at varying levels of product price point and sales process complexity may provide insight into the perceived effects of teaching and motivation at different levels of product value and sales processes.