Earl Honeycutt and Sharon Hodge co-authored an article, “Turnover in the Sales Force: A Comparison of Hunters and Farmers,” published in The Journal of Selling & Major Account Management, Volume 9, Number 2 (Spring).
In their study, 675 salespersons from eight firms were interviewed as they exited hunter or farmer sales positions. Honeycutt and Hodge’s data analysis confirms that hunters were asked to leave the firm at significantly higher rates than farmers. When turnover reasons were analyzed based upon gender, men were let go at a significantly higher rate than women, while women cited personal issues, work environment, and a desire to return to school.
Honeycutt is professor of marketing and director of the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center. Hodge is associate professor of marketing and chair of the Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship. They collaborated with James Killian, chief psychologist and Director of Consulting Services at Chally Group Worldwide.