THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SALES SKILLS AND SALESPERSON PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN THE MALAYSIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY

The objectives of this paper are to understand the influence of sales skills dimensions namely: interpersonal skills, salesmanship skills, technical skills and marketing skills on salesperson performance in Telekom Malaysia (TM) Berhad, a major Malaysian telecommunication corporation. Data was gathered based on quota sample of 114 salespersons in the company, and the findings show that effects of interpersonal skills positively influenced salesperson performance. However, unexpectedly, the findings also revealed that salesmanship skills, technical skills and marketing skills do not influence salesperson performance.