Nature of Salesmanship — Art, Science or Profession

A recurring question in the study of salesmanship is: what kind of activity is it — an art, a science, or a profession? The honest answer is that it carries elements of all three, and understanding each strand tells us a great deal about the nature of the work.

Salesmanship as an art. An art is the skilful application of knowledge to achieve a desired result, perfected through practice. Salesmanship is very much an art because success depends on how the salesman does his work — his tact in handling different customers, the words he chooses, his ability to read a buyer's mood and adapt his approach. Like any artist, a skilled salesman is partly born with the aptitude and partly makes himself through constant practice. Two salesmen with identical product knowledge can achieve very different results, and that difference is the art of selling.

Salesmanship as a science. A science is an organised body of knowledge based on established principles that can be studied and applied systematically. Salesmanship qualifies as a science too, because it rests on tested principles drawn from psychology (understanding buyer behaviour, motives and the mental stages a buyer passes through), from economics (needs, wants and demand) and from management. These principles can be learned, taught and applied deliberately — which is exactly why salesmanship can be studied as a subject at all. The systematic study of why people buy and how to guide them through the buying decision is the science of selling.

Salesmanship as a profession. A profession has certain marks — a specialised body of knowledge, formal training, a code of ethics and a spirit of service to society. Modern salesmanship is steadily acquiring these marks. There is now organised knowledge to be studied, formal sales training in firms and colleges, and a growing emphasis on honesty and service to the customer. To this extent salesmanship is developing into a profession, though it is not yet as fully regulated (with licensing and enforced ethical codes) as law or medicine. …