Search

Few sports spectacles were as exciting as watching the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing! Millions tuned in around the world as Michael Phelps shattered previous Olympic records to become the […]

Whether you're conducting a one-on-one interview, motivating your sales team or delivering a keynote address, your success as a leader is defined by your ability to persuade with clarity and […]

When it comes to sales, you may be affected by social consciousness in more ways than you realize. While it's easy to recognize that job pressures shape your performance--for example, [...]

EVERY INDUSTRY AND profession goes through changes, and the sales profession is no different. Just because a certain sales technique or mindset worked in the past doesn't mean it'll work [...]

Not all sales interactions run smoothly; even the best salespeople inevitably hit a bump in the road. Maybe you've hit that bump because you unwittingly mishandled a situation, or because […]

For a variety of reasons, corporations have turned their attention to diversifying the sales force. If firms are to attract racial minorities, sales recruiters must be aware of differences in how African-American students perceive sales careers. This study evaluated 488 African-American and Caucasian business students in terms of their appeal for and perceptions of sales careers. The findings of this study dispel the assumption that African-American college students find sales to be less appealing than Caucasian students. For the majority of sales career options, no racial differences in appeal of the sales career existed. In the case of real estate sales, African-American students rated sales careers as being more financially rewarding and requiring higher levels of education. A discussion of the findings is provided for managers.

While you boast of new distribution channels, your dealers may be abandoning your company for the competition. Want to win back their loyalty? Run meetings just for them It's a […]

This article is the first in a three-part series on diversity in the sales profession. In October: The frustrations of gay reps. In November: Are women succeeding in sales management? […]

Luring salespeople away from the competition may have its benefits, but the drawbacks can be numerous It happens in every industry. Whether it's Coke and Pepsi, Nike and Reebok, or […]

Offering holiday gifts to employees and customers raises questions of ethics and taste. Here's a grab bag of ideas on how to be appropriately generous Rick Baker of Harry and […]

Since the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings in 1991, the general public has become more aware of sexual harassment in the workplace. Sales managers are involved in the hiring, promoting, motivating, and evaluating of salespersons and therefore must understand how actions can be misinterpreted and therefore lead to accusations of sexual harassment. The purpose of this article is to explain the legal ramifications of sexual harassment to sales managers and to offer guidelines for sales managers to help eliminate sexual harassment in the work environment. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

A Game That's No Fun Customers are a lot like people. They hate to be kept waiting. Keep a customer waiting needlessly, unreasonably, thoughtlessly and things can happen. Or fail […]

Issues concerning the human side of sales and operations planning (S&OP) are discussed. Identification of S&OP customers and their needs are vital to the effectiveness of the process.

About two years ago, I read a compelling book by Malcolm Gladwell called The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference (Back Bay, 2000). Gladwell puts forward the [...]

Profile: Rudi's Organic Bakery Industry: Wholesale organic bakery Challenge: As food costs rose and making sales became more challenging, the leadership at Rudi's Organic Bakery needed a meaningful way to [...]

By Cheryl Dangel Cullen We've got the experience to sell, the know-how, and we've got the price list memorized, so why should we spend a few days at a training [...]

By Richard Gottlieb Sales: A model of civility in an uncivilized world Every once in a while I like to ask salespeople the following question: 'Do you know a salesperson [...]

The influence of anti-citizenship behavior (ACB) on team learning prospects is analyzed by focusing on sales teams.

DON'T BLAME sales executives if they're feeling a bit schizophrenic lately. Shifting strategies quickly can do that. After spending months figuring out how to incorporate the Internet into their sales […]

Offering employees creative benefits that improve their lives pays off in attraction and retention TALENTED WORKERS ARE in demand. They can afford to be choosy when looking for a new […]

NOW IS THE TIME of year when most people would rather be poolside than inside. What can managers do to motivate reps who aren't hitting their quotas this summer? George […]

SUMMER SUNSHINE CAN cast a cloud over managers who worry about losing business while their salespeople are on vacation. But Worldtrak, a Minneapolis-based software company, knows how to ensure that […]

WHEN SALESPEOPLE AND creative types clash, headaches are sure to follow. Just ask Scott Gostyla, CEO of Hydrogen Media, an interactive technology firm in Tampa Bay, Florida. "The first time […]

'My manager told me to develop five patter lines. He says two hours of talk will result in improved KPIs, You know I will hit the phone in per cent [...]

Five bases of social power - reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power and expert power are set out in this study of how sales managers' social bases of power affect job attitudes by sales personnel. Factors used in evaluating worker attitudes are job satisfaction and motivation, job performance, commitment to the organization and role conflict and ambiguity. Questionaires were given to salespeople employed by a small department store chain. Noncoercive power was found to have a better effect on personnel resulting in more job satisfaction.

Early research about selling has focused on the techniques involved, but recently more emphasis has been put on interpersonal interactions. The authors of this article have developed a classification system to organize the literature to make it easier to understand and use. The approaches are one-way - static, one-way - dynamic, two-way static, and two-way - dynamic. This research could have implications in terms of how sales personnel are selected and trained. Researchers can use it to classify the literature and indicate future directions for research.

The vertical-dyad-linkage model (VDL) is offered as a tool to explore the infrastructure of a sales team. Building on the philosophy found in most sales management literature that salespersons are to be managed as individuals, VDL theory allows an exploration of the underlying social organization that is present in all sales forces. Thus, the style that a manager uses with a particular salesperson will vary depending on the exchange relationship established (cadres, hired hands). The objectives of the paper are to explore the general tenets of VDL theory, to assimilate the theory in sales management, to provide implications for sales managers and salespeople, and to discuss the important implications for sales management research. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Sales force assimilation, or socialization of recruits, is a significant task of sales managers yet little research exists on the subject. Organization sales socialization is investigated through a revision of Feldman's 1976 model, to assist sales managers in assimilation strategies and appraisals. A framework is produced to measure the effect of sales force selection processes against sales force socialization, to pertinent job-related outcomes. A test of the model was conducted with a survey sent to 2,000 senior executives, of which the 189 returned questionnaires formed the data base for testing the assumptions. Results reveal the importance of recruits being given a realistic job picture before hiring.

How you cope with change can make or break your career in management Want to be a successful manager? You'd better learn to cope with change. This is true if […]

Automation doesn't always make sales easier. The 350 salespeople at Merck Frost learned that the hard way. In late 1990, the Canadian subsidiary of Merck Pharmaceuticals had just outfitted the […]

AT ISSUE: Should managers be friends with their salespeople? The relationship you have with a manager should mirror what you have with a client. It should be professional--not the kind […]

The Web site of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Task Force is headed by a bold-faced quote from Sun Tzu's The Art of War and a cutout of the New […]

WHICH SALESPERSON WILL MAKE THE BEST MANAGER? By KENNETH FRIEDENREICH AND HOWARD STEVENS SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT When a sales management position opens, conventional wisdom supposes that the logical candidate to […]