“Everything was right for that sale” sums up the second theory
This theory, sometimes called the “situation-response” theory, had its psychological origin in experiments with animals and holds that the particular circumstances prevailing in a given selling situation cause the prospect to respond in a predictable way. If the salesperson succeeds in securing the attention and gaining the interest of the prospect, and if the salesperson presents the proper stimuli or appeals, the desired response (that is, the sale) will result.
The set of circumstances, included factors external and internal to the prospect To use a simplified example, suppose that the salesperson says to the prospect, “Let’s go out for a cup of coffee”. The salesperson and the remark are external factors. But at least four factors internal to the prospect affect the response. These are the presence or absence of desires: (1) to have a cup of coffee, (2) to have it now, (3) to go out, and (4) to go out with the salesperson.
Proponents of this theory tend to stress external factors and at the expense of internal factors. They seek selling appeals that evoke desired responses. Sales personnel who try to apply the theory experience difficulties traceable to internal factors in many selling situations, but the internal factors are not readily manipulated. This is a seller-oriented theory: it stresses the importance of the salesperson controlling the situation, does not handle the problem of influencing factors internal to the project, and fails to assign appropriate weight to the response side of the situation-response interaction.
