Sales as a Vocation: The Moral Ethos of Personal Sales

In: International journal of politics, culture and society, Band 3, Heft 2, S. 237-253

Abstract

Training programs in life insurance sales are investigated, with focus on how training programs define the sales process, & concomitantly form the identity of the salesperson. The bipolar character of the sales process is demonstrated: ie, sales is both a strategic interaction driven by the maximization of commissions & the performance of a service driven by fiduciary obligations to clients -- along with the dual identity of the salesperson -- who is conceived both as a ruthless opportunist & as a service professional. It is argued that the bipolar conception of the sales process & the dual identity of the salesperson generate antinomies that are irresolvable in principle. Modified AA