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This study examines the state of academic research in selling and sales management (S&SM) from the years 2003-7, ten years after the data collected by Moncrief, Marshall, and Watkins (2000). Sales articles are reviewed that appeared in 19 marketing journals and evidence is provided on the state of the S&SM discipline by comparing the number of authors, authorships, and publications versus a comparable five-year period a decade ago. Of interest are the universities that produce and employ faculty in S&SM and to identify those schools and geographic regions that are publishing the majority of articles. Publication distribution trends across journals are also examined. A dramatic increase in non- U.S. authors and authorships is noted versus the prior study. Overall, the findings indicate that, perhaps contrary to some popular misconceptions, the state of S&SM research is healthy, vibrant, and evolving. DOI 10.2753/PSS0885-3134300305

Firms regard technology as a strategic tool to enhance sales effectiveness, improve customer service, and reduce costs. Within the context of sales technology, the focus of the paper is on the effect of technology mediation in consumer selling environments. Extant research has typically been at a micro-level and concentrated in two distinct areas: (1) salesperson adoption of sales technology and its effect on salespeople's performance and (2) consumer adoption of technology and the use of technology in decision making. The paper examines the simultaneous effect of technology-mediated selling on both salespeople and consumers, at both micro- and macro-levels. DOI 10.2753/PSS0885-3134300203

In this paper, we examine long-term knowledge-dissemination trends and future prospects for personal selling and sales management research. We augment data from a more than two-decade, 1,200+ article content analysis of sales research with perceptual data from a survey of leading sales researchers worldwide. The content analysis exposes a marked decline of published sales manuscripts at the most prestigious marketing journals. Three lenses are then offered to better understand this trend--the methods chosen, the theories leveraged, and the topical areas pursued. Survey data from sales scholars provide additional insights into these issues. Overall, we highlight a remarkable congruence between the largely disconcerting publishing pattern of sales research in recent decades and the sentiment of sales scholars as to why this might have transpired. We conclude with a broader discussion and set of recommendations for the continued advancement of sales research in marketing going forward.

This study builds on previous research concerning sales manager selection by examining the characteristics of effective sales managers from two perspectives--that of sales managers and sales representatives. Results of this exploratory study indicate that sales representatives assess the effectiveness of sales managers through the manager's broad knowledge base along with communication, listening, and human relations skills to develop a role as 'supporter' of the sales force. Sales managers, on the other hand, believe that their knowledge base along with effective utilization of communication, listening, human relations, and organization skills allow them to be more of a 'participant' in the sales process, thus strengthening their position as an effective sales manager. The implications of this and other findings are discussed in the manuscript.

A consensus notion in sales research is that superior performance requires high levels of effort. Studying the effect of individual and situational factors on effort has significant implications for managers and academics. This study shows that supportive leadership leads to higher salesperson effort directly and through a mediating process that involves intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. Also, results indicate that the positive effect of supportive leadership on the salesperson's intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy is amplified when serving demanding customers. Implications for sales managers and future research opportunities are discussed.

Hobfoll's conservation of resource (COR) theory is used to predict how net resource loss (defined in this study as 'sales failure impact') influences the type of attributions used by salespeople to account for a sales setback. Partial support for the theory was found where salespeople employed external attributions to conserve resources following a loss perceived as having high sales failure impact. The role of self-efficacy and internal locus of control are also used to explain when salespeople choose internal attributions or to 'spend' resources as predicted from COR. Implications for both sales research and sales management are discussed.

Until now, sales researchers have not done any empirical work in the area of deviant workplace behavior. This is surprising, given that recent survey data suggest deviant salesperson behavior is running rampant out in the field: 60 percent of sales managers have caught their reps cheating on expense reports, 47 percent suspect their reps have lied on sales calls, and 36 percent believe salesperson behavior has gotten worse in recent years. In an effort to understand workplace deviance in a professional selling context, this paper empirically examines the effect of various organizational/management factors on three types of deviance--organizational, interpersonal, and frontline. Using survey data collected from 160 business-to-business salespeople from multiple companies and multiple industries, we demonstrate that bureaucracy, future orientation, two forms of organizational justice, management role modeling, and intrafirm competition impact the various forms of salesperson deviance as well as citizenship and salesperson service behavior. The research concludes with a consideration of managerial implications and areas for future research.

Despite widespread recognition that relationship selling should focus on long-term, mutually satisfying buyer-seller relationships, current conceptualizations overlook two important components: salesperson failure analysis and recovery efforts. This paper proposes that salespeople should be trained in five intertwined skill set areas of failure analysis and recovery efforts: failure identification; failure attribution; recovery strategy selection; recovery implementation; and tracking, monitoring, and evaluating effectiveness. This paper is intended to (1) stimulate empirical investigations regarding these two important areas of study and (2) provide a framework to facilitate sales training in failure analysis and recovery efforts., The past decade has brought growing acceptance to relationship selling, which stresses the development of long-term, mutually satisfying buyer--seller relationships (Frankwick, Porter, and Crosby 2001 ; Ingram 1996; Jolson 1997). [...]

The sales literature reports that a greater number of offerings increase sales performance, but the enlarged product line should result in increased information requirements for salespeople. Strategies of sales force specialization imply that too much information can reduce sales performance. Yet theoretical and practical guidance regarding when information becomes detrimental to sales performance is sparse. Information overload theory is used to identify when performance suffers because of large amounts of information. The results of this study offer preliminary evidence that a self-report measure of information overload can offer guidance to sales managers in identifying when information becomes detrimental to sales force performance., Conventional wisdom suggests that increases in the number of products or features offered by a sales force should result in improved sales performance by appealing to a broader target market [...]

Sales research has established the importance of experience in buyer-seller interactions. While this is intuitively appealing, the experience variable has had minimal attention at the international level. This study explores the relationship between experience and the problem solving strategy of international salespeople. Specifically, experience is defined based on three popular measures used in the extant literature: tenure with the organization, general sales experience, and international sales experience. Results indicate that a U-shaped relationship exists between tenure in the organization and problem solving. A plateau effect was identified between sales experience and problem solving early. These results run counter to findings in domestic studies assessing experience and negotiation encounters., Job postings for international sales positions typically include qualification statements such as 'international experience required' or 'at least five years' international experience.' In fact, for most employers, international experience is [...]

Adaptive selling behavior (ASB) is an important factor in salesperson success with customers. Although significant progress has occurred in understanding the ASB concept, a number of conflicting issues remain related to its determinants and outcomes. This paper presents a review of the AS B literature, highlights noteworthy areas of disagreement, and empirically examines the relationships among learning orientation, ASB, sales performance, and job satisfaction with a sample of Korean automobile salespeople. The authors offer a number of implications for research and practice, and suggest directions for future ASB research to further improve our understanding of this topic., For decades, sales managers and sales researchers have directed considerable attention to identifying and validating salesperson characteristics predictive of higher performance levels. More recently; academic and practitioner interest has focused [...]

This study investigates several proposed relationships between consulting-oriented sales force programs and long run growth of industrial organizations. To operationalize the proposed model, the work introduces twenty-two new measures of consulting-oriented sales programs. Relationships are tested using a sample of industrial sales managers and corresponding, longitudinal firm performance data. Initial consulting-oriented sales training is the strongest influence on firm performance. Evidence suggests combining this training with consulting-oriented ongoing training, evaluation, and compensation programs., Introduction As Cespedes (1995) notes, despite the intensifying rate of improvement on most manufacturing performance indices, overall competitiveness measures for manufacturing firms declined because key competitive factors are shifting into [...]

Within the literature of sales management, researchers have explored different configurations of job characteristics, organizational commitment and job satisfaction. In this paper, we offer a new configuration that includes interactive effects of job characteristics and organizational commitment on job satisfaction. Utilizing structural equation modeling, we test our proposed model against three alternative models among expatriate, guest worker, salespeople in Saudi Arabia. The proposed model produces the best fit. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed., Introduction Models relating the differing job characteristics of salespeople to the levels of both their organizational commitment and their job satisfaction are legion in sales, marketing and management literatures (e.g., [...]

The concept of partnership or the bonding of the buyer to the seller by superior post transactional services has been well received by members of today's quality-driven market place. However, relationship selling is a multi-stage process that emphasizes personalization and empathy as key ingredients in identifying prospects, developing them as customers, and keeping them satisfied. This article takes readers on an arm chair journey through each of the phases of the process with detailed illustrations of typical issues and procedures. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The typical objective of a sales quota-bonus plan (QBP) is to enhance salespeople's performance by granting them a bonus when they reach a prespecified performance level (a sales quota), set higher than the performance level they would achieve otherwise. Even though QBPs are short-term plans, they have long-run profit impacts through their effects on a sales force morale and feelings of equity (or inequity). This is why devising sales quota plans has always been a difficult task. This paper's objective is to discuss how different QBP structures and related quota setting procedures are likely to be selected by management, depending on such situational characteristics as management's objectives, constraints, and available (or collectible) information. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The concept of organization culture has received a great deal of attention in both academic and practitioner oriented literature. However, considerably less effort has been directed at addressing organization subcultures. This paper examines the salesforce subculture. Key concepts are defined and a process for managing the salesforce culture is presented. In addition, propositions designed to guide research integrating the study of culture and traditional sales management concepts are provided. Finally, methods for operationalizing relevant constructs are addressed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Previous studies of sales performance have not used process measures to evaluate the sales interaction as it occurred. The purposes of this paper are to propose the use of a process measure of adaptability and to determine whether observed adaptability behaviors could predict sales success. Salespeople's observed adaptability was positively related to two measures of sales success in a sample of telemarketing sales representatives. A process measure of adaptability could be used to facilitate the selection of sales trainees by encouraging marketers to hire people who exhibit more adaptability during interactions. Sales training could also be used to teach current salespeople to adjust their dominance levels in order to project more adaptability in sales interactions. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher. )

Training accurately predicted sales forces' performance nearly 50% of the time in a national research study of paper and plastics merchant wholesalers' sales force effectiveness. The top performing sales forces front-load the length of training for new salespeople and broaden its methods, sources, and contents. Managerial recommendations are to: (a) reallocate training budgets that balance new and experienced salesperson's training, (b) re-focus on training content to balance strategy-oriented training with knowledge and interpersonal communication skill areas of training content, (c) diversify training sources and methods for new salespersons' training, and (d) involve suppliers and customers in merchant sales force training. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Today, many suppliers utilize relationship selling as an increasingly important element of their marketing strategy. The goal of the relationship selling effort is to earn the position of 'preferred suppler' by developing trust in key accounts over a period of time. Relationship selling required the learning of new skills particularly in the areas of understanding customer needs and relationship development. Coaching strategies and programs developed for teaching transactional selling skills - probing, handling objections and closing - are antiquated and in some instances dysfunctional. Coaching must now teach a new way of thinking about selling and managing. This article draws on 10 years of consulting experience in large and small corporations in North America and Europe and describes a new approach - Insight Coaching - an action oriented teaching strategy to help salespeople build trust in their key accounts. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

From 1982 to 1985, the direct selling sector of our economy slumped badly. Most direct selling companies searched for traditional solutions to this dilemma, such as slicker promotions, better recruiting, and so forth. One company, Mary Kay Cosmetics, stood out by pioneering a miniature revolution in direct sales. In particular, one individual became a key player in guiding and directing this revolution -- Dr, Blair Stephenson. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The authors compare several approaches to the evaluation of field salespeople to see if an improved analytical framework can be created. Based on performance data from 56 industrial salespeople, results suggest sales increase with experience and with the number of customer calls. The findings also provide support for the sales force career cycle and a new multi-attribute performance matrix. The use of a matrix approach allows mangers to review and compare the accomplishments of the sales force along several dimensions at the same time. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Salesforce control systems tend to focus on outcomes rather than behaviors. The use and effectiveness of behavior-based control systems is limited, particularly with industrial sales-people, who generally operate in the field much of the time where their behavior cannot be closely observed or supervised by management. The authors propose Behavioral Self-Management (BSM) as a means of controlling the methods salespeople use to achieve results. Specific BSM techniques applicable to selling and strategies for encouraging salespeople to engage in self-management are reviewed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Little empirical research has been reported on multinational sales force management, and none on organizational aspects. Reported here are results from a 14 MNC-135 subsidiary survey of overseas sales management practices. They show that MNCs use independent sales organizations to augment company personnel in affluent markets, in physically-large countries, and where markets are geographically-dispersed or culturally fragmented. In addition, about one sales force in five covers more than one national market. Industry factors are important in the structuring of sales forces, suggesting that industry practices are carried into overseas markets. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

This paper presents and then applies a model for the implementation of segmentation in sales management. The theoretical foundations for using segmentation in sales management are discussed. A process model is presented and its eight stages are described: enter, agree focus, identify segments, validate segments, select targets, develop strategy, implement and track. The model is then applied to a company using a commercial data base to identify strategic segments and to target individual customers. Particular problems with the implementation in sales management are identified and discussed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Castleberry and Tanner (1986) introduced the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) conceptually into the sales literature. This study evaluates the scale with 189 salespeople using LMX-7 investigating its reliability, dimensionality and convergent and discriminant validity. MANOVAS were run to determine different variables which may differentiate the 'cadre' from the 'hired-hand'. Demographics, personality traits, and outcome variables were investigated. The results support the use of LMX for future research and offer practitioners ample 'food for thought'. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Selection of the appropriate communication style by the selling unit can be explicitly managed; but effective selection requires an understanding of the situational nature of communication style selection as it pertains to the stages of an exchange relationship. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a normative model that describes how sellers might adapt their communication style to best fit the buyer's primary interpersonal communication style and the relevant stage of the exchange relationship. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

This study explores the role of the sales force in formulating and executing marketing strategies. Specifically, the relationships between sales force activities such as providing information about customer needs, hiring and training salespeople, and assessing new market segments and four marketing strategies (market penetration, product development, market development, diversification) are examined. Results indicate that the use of sales force activities is related to a firm's strategic choices, and that the relationships vary by firm size and type of offering., Introduction As firms pursue increases in revenue and profits, they select from a variety of marketing strategies. Implicit in these strategic choices is the need for appropriate implementation and control [...]

Kennedy, Mary Susan, Linda K. Ferrell, and Debbie Thorne LeClair (2001), 'Consumers' Trust of Salesperson and Manufacturer: An Empirical Study,' Journal of Business Research, January, 73-86. [Dwyer] This empirical study [...]

Recently, a number of authors have argued in favour of a relationship approach to selling and sales management. Despite this call, there has been little in the way of research to identify the impact of adopting relationship selling at an organizational and tactical level. Based upon multiple in-depth interviews with experienced salespeople, we propose the conditions under which relationship selling is appropriate, and argue that relationships with customers evolve through a two-stage process that involves balancing short-term performance based behaviors with long-term relationship building behaviors. Findings cause us to argue that organizations adopting a relationship approach to selling require flatter organizational structures and need to foster more flexible organizational cultures., Introduction Owing to their boundary-spanning role, the field sales-force of a company has traditionally been a vital link between the firm and its customers (Morris, Avila and Teeple 1990). Salespeople [...]

Hanover, Dan, 'Independents Day,' Sales & Marketing Management, 153 (April), 65-68. Many companies today are realizing that they can offer customers value-added services through their independent reps. As the role [...]

Rasmusson, Erika (2000), 'Watch this Channel,' Sales & Marketing Management, 153 (June), 80-90. This article concerns the changing sales situation in the online market. Based on interviews with salespeople and [...]

The paper discusses the need for improved preparation of sales role-plays. The lab setting is discussed as to making it look as close to a customer's office as possible. Precall [...]

Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) offers a way to better understand nuances of the salesperson-sales manager relationship. The study reported here employs leader-member exchange theory to evaluate how sales employees develop trust with their managers. Findings show that salespeople's perceptions of procedural justice positively influence salespeople's commitment to the organization, and thereby their satisfaction with the job. Suggestions are provided concerning how sales organizations can train managers to manage consistently and thereby build trust and commitment in salespeople., In recent years, a large body of research has focused on the relationships between salespeople and their managers. The leadership behavior of sales managers has been found to influence the [...]

The author describes a project coordinated between a personal selling class and a sales management class. The project is intended to help students in the personal selling class improve the [...]

The author suggests that when incentive programs are cashed based, and tie 'extra commissions' to sales goals, they can sometimes be disincentives. The incentives are viewed as compensation and lose their effectiveness as motivators. Thus, some companies today are modifying their incentive programs to reward top performers with travel or merchandise rather than money. It is also recommended that management constantly promote the incentive program with regular updates of who is ahead of the others in order to encourage the salespeople to compete., Sanchez, Diane (1999), 'Putting Motivation Back in Sales Incentive,' Sales and Marketing Management, 151 (August), [...]

Printed as an abstract in the proceedings, the article describes a study that examines the use of sales contest by all pharmaceutical firms operating in South Africa. Given a response rate of 61.3 percent, the authors report that half of the responding companies had a mean of seven or more sales contests over a three-year period with the most common objective being to increase market penetration and stimulate specific product sales. Travel and cash were the most frequently used rewards. Evaluative criteria included comparisons of precontest sales to during-contest sales and post-contest sales. The authors emphasize that companies must consider negative issues such as neglect of non-contest products and post-contest sales slumps., Abratt, Russell and Manfred Klein (1999), 'Sales Contests as a Sales Force Motivator: Some Empirical Evidence From The Pharmaceutical Industry,' in Developments in Marketing Science, Charles H. Noble, ed., Coral [...]

This author argues for the importance of measuring customer relationships effectively and makes a start at developing a framework to use in developing a measure of customer relationships. At a minimum, the measurement should be clear about: (1) the identify of the customer, (2) the way that provider makes his presence known, (3) the extensiveness (depth) of the customer relationship, (4) the duration (length) of the relationship with the provider, and (5) the intermediaries or other participants in the relationship (in addition to the customer and provider)., Wyner, Gordon A. (1999), 'Customer Relationship Measurement,' Marketing Research, 11 (2), 39-41. [...]

As buyer-seller relationships become more elaborate, the role of the salesperson is often one of relationship manager. This paper develops the idea of the relationship manager as a 'relationship promoter,' and includes a list of associated responsibilities (called relational performance contributions) and skills (called relational power sources) needed to fulfill the role. The author develops and tests four hypotheses related to the effectiveness a relationship promoter and relative differences in effectiveness between national and international relationships. Data were collected from relationship mangers in 224 German companies. The results offer support for the hypotheses. Specifically, the results support the notion that a relationship promoter has a positive effect on the success of the buyer-seller relationship, and that this positive effect is stronger in international relationships. Finally, the results suggest organizations with customer and innovation orientations are more likely to develop and support relationship promoters., Walter, Achim (1999), 'Relationship Promoters: Driving Forces for Successful Customer Relationships,' Industrial Marketing Management, 28 (September) 5, [...]

The objective of this study was to examine how to avoid or break conflict spirals. The authors state that conflict spirals occur when a negotiator initiates a contentious communication, the other negotiator responds with a contentious communication, and then the first negotiator responds in the same manner. Conflict spirals have a momentum that makes them difficult to end once they begin and, in conflict spirals, their substance gets repeated or reciprocated. The authors tested hypotheses about the effectiveness of three strategies for breaking conflict spirals in negotiations. The authors also investigated the relationship between outcomes and the frequency of conflict spirals. The authors discovered several methods for breaking conflict spirals. First, simply not reciprocating was found to be an effective way to avoid conflict spirals. Second, combining a contentious reciprocation with a noncontentious communication was effective in stopping conflict spirals. Third, labeling the process as ineffectual was another method of breaking or avoiding conflict spirals. The authors conclude that negotiators should know both how to reciprocate noncontentious communications and how to not reciprocate., Brett, Jeanne M., Debra L. Shapiro and Anne L. Lytle (1998), 'Breaking the Bands of Reciprocity in Negotiations,' Academy of Management Journal, 41, No. 4 (August), [...]

See also 24, 38. [54] Babakus, Emin, David W. Cravens, Ken Grant, Thomas N. Ingram, and Raymond W. LaForge (1996), 'Investigating the Relationships Among Sales, Management Control, Sales Territory Design, [...]

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Evans, Kenneth R., John L. Schlacter, Roberta J. Schultz, Dwayne D. Gremler, and William G. Wolfe (2001), 'An Assessment of the Effects of Salesperson-Sales Manager Perceptual Congruence on Salesperson Job-Related [...]

McIntyre, Roger P., Reid P. Claxton, Kenneth Anselmi, and Edward W. Wheatley (2000), 'Cognitive Style as an Antecedent to Adaptiveness, Customer Orientation, and Self-Perceived Selling Performance,' Journal of Business and [...]

Pettijohn, Charles, Linda S. Pettijohn, Albert J. Taylor, and Bruce C. Keillor (2001), 'Are Performance Appraisals a Bureaucratic Exercise or Can They Be Used to Enhance Sales-Force Satisfaction and Commitment?' [...]

Pullins, Ellen Bolman (2001), 'An Exploratory Investigation of Sales Force Compensation and Intrinsic Motivation,' Industrial Marketing Management, 30, (July) 5, 403-413. [Inks] This paper explores the relationships between sales force [...]

A conceptual framework for examining the roles of telemarketing in selling strategy is proposed. A typology of telemarketing jobs is developed and related to face-to-face selling jobs. Important telemarketing strategy issues are examined from managerial and research perspectives. Finally, research propositions are presented and discussed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

An innovative method for measuring the effectiveness of sales efforts and analyzing overall sales performance is presented that eliminates the effects of seasonality, irregularities in the marketplace, and 'emotionalism' from the analysis. The method depends upon the accurate development of 'Berry ratios' to relate current period sales to historic sales by period, with the removal of time-related factors, in order to better identify the results of sales and advertising efforts. The sales performance analysis techniques presented by hypothetical example (sales of a participant in the printing industry and trade) can be used to assess sales by territory to regional sales statistics, total firm sales to total industry sales, and sales as opposed to economic index data.

Impression management as a tool for sales people is the manipulation of communication techniques to create a desirable impression among prospective buyers. Specific manipulation techniques are examined and explained. The issue is also analyzed from the perspective of the sales manager, with methods for testing sales people's impression management abilities and training techniques for improving these abilities.

To date, no single performance appraisal technique lends itself to all the purposes to which performance appraisals should be applied, is impervious to the errors that confound appraisals, is legally defensible, and readily accepted by subordinates. Since the various performance appraisals possess different strengths and weaknesses, the authors, by combining Management by Objectives, Behavioral Observation Scales, and Forced choice Ratings, have proposed an evaluation system that meets the above-mentioned criteria. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

See also 15. [47] Darmon, Rene Y. (2005), 'Joint Assessment of Optimal Sales Force Sizes and Sales Call Guidelines: A Management-Oriented Tool,' Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 22 (3), 206-219. [Jaramillo] The authors propose a technique for optimal sales force sizing and allocation. The method combines two long-established approaches for estimating optimal sales force sizing--the workload approach and the response function approach. The workload approach estimates appropriate sales force size by dividing the total workload by the workload a salesperson can handle. The response function approach relies on the notion that markets are less responsive to selling efforts as new salespeople are added to the sales force. Thus, the response function approach assumes a marginally decreasing relationship between sales effort and sales revenues. The proposed method calculates optimal sales force as a function of the optimal number of calls and optimal time spent on accounts. These factors are estimated using (1) accounting data (e.g., average number of calls, gross margins) and (2) judgmental manager estimates (e.g., call frequency, expected sales under a no-call policy). This paper also provides an application example.