Confidence and Enthusiasm in Sales Presentations

Confidence and enthusiasm are considered critical to sales performance, as well as job performance and satisfaction. However, the literature has little discussion of how confidence and enthusiasm impact the overall sales process. We examine the National Collegiate Sales Contest (NCSC) scoring system within marketing classes and note that there are significant differences in individual scores on confidence and enthusiasm; these differences separate our sample into three distinct classes of personal sales learners. The paper confirms the importance of confidence and enthusiasm in student role-play presentations and notes the implications for instructors and practitioners in sales training programs.