Current Events in Business Research
By using business research companies can focus on developing and implementing strategies that can significantly impact their bottom line. Identifying proper research methods that will effectively provide a hypothesis and eventually design and implement a plan of action companies can increase their odds of profitability and future growth. The following information will illustrate a research process that was implemented to potentially identify factors that affect life insurance agents’ sales performance. Identifying Research Problem
The first step and perhaps one of the most critical steps in carrying out business research is to isolate and identify the problem. In the research study we are considering the problem identified is how a company can be assisted in accurately predicting short and long term sales forecasts by analyzing factors that affect the sales performance of its life insurance agents.
By analyzing this data the goal is to produce a predictive model of agent and agency performance in an attempt to figure out the most important predictors of successful sales performance. This model would allow increased focus and training based on the predictors to maximize sales by the life insurance agents and their prospective agencies as a whole.
Research Method Used The type of method used in the study is the reporting study type. Using this method the researchers considered characteristics of agents including formal education, professional education and various types of training used in the industry. The researchers also considered other studies in an effort to provided baseline and comparison models to use in helping develop their hypothesis.
How Research is Solving the Problem
This study went beyond what other studies failed to do, because it provided further analysis and comparative data to further study and investigate productivity. Much of the prior research seemed to only
References: Churchill, G., Ford, N., Hartley, S., & Walker, O. (1985). The Determinance of Sales Person Performance: A Meta- Analysis. Journal of 'Marketing Research, XXII, 103-118. Lamont, L.& Lundstrom, W. (1977) Identifying Successful Industrial Salesmen by Personality and Personal Characteristics. Journal of 'Marketing Research, XIV, 517-529