Inside sales agent’s sales activities influence on work outcomes and sales agent tenure through autonomous motivation

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Conde ◽  
Victor Prybutok
Keyword(s):  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Autonomous Motivation ◽  
Sales Performance ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Sales Manager ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sales Process ◽  
Sales Agent ◽  
Operational Data

Purpose Previous sales research remains limited to analyzing the influence of sales activities with sales agent tenure. To date, research on this subject has focused on the downstream direct or indirect impact of sales activities to sales performance, failing to consider whether sales activities impact a sales agent’s tenure. This paper aims to assess the effect of sales activities on sales performance and sales agent engagement on sales agent tenure through the lens of autonomous motivation to better understand sales activities as an overall sales process antecedent Design/methodology/approach Through the utilization of secondary sales operational data, this research demonstrates the influence of sales activities on multiple sales agent outcomes, while depicting the importance of sales managers creating an autonomous motivational climate. Findings This research demonstrates the direct relationship between sales activities to job engagement and sales performance. However, sales activities have a negative relationship to sales agent tenure, which require a sales manager to create an autonomous motivation to mediate the relationship between sales activities and sales agent tenure. Practical implications Organizations are provided with sample methodology and analysis to better determine how a culture grounded in autonomous motivation mediates sales activities and can be a catalyst for improving sales agent tenure. Then, provide a better understanding of the effect of actual sales activities on important sales department work outcomes. Originality/value The model is the first to test holistically the influence of sales activities on sales performance, sales agent engagement and tenure jointly by using actual secondary operational data. This study provides a glimpse of the real world balance a sales manager must consider between climate and activities. Plus, this study takes initial steps to study sales agent engagement, an under-researched construct in sales research.

A new perspective on sales outcome controls: an inside sales perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Conde ◽  
Victor Prybutok ◽  
Kenneth Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Negative Influence ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
Control Research ◽  
Sales Agent ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose Previous sales control research has limited the definition of outcome controls exclusively to sales outcomes in an outside sales context. In addition to sales outcome controls, inside sales managers use phone operational outcomes to influence inside sales agent performance, supporting the need to expand the broader definition of outcome controls. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to explore the need to bifurcate outcome controls into two distinct variables: sales and phone operational controls. Researchers know little about the application of sales outcome controls beyond sales-only outcomes, which, in turn, limits the definition of outcome controls. Design/methodology/approach Through the utilization of survey, secondary operational data and sales manager’s feedback, this paper demonstrates that the definition of outcome controls needs to be divided into two distinct areas, sales and phone operational controls for inside sales agents, which, in turn, acts collectively to impact an inside sales agent’s job performance and satisfaction. Findings This research demonstrates that inside sales managers depend on both sales and phone operational outcome controls to drive sales agent performance, varying in degrees by industry. Even as inside sales managers focus on creating an employee-centric autonomous motivational work culture, the overarching controlling factors associated with phone operational outcomes dampen an inside sales agent’s performance and job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications To the best of the authors’ knowledge, as the first sales control research to examine an inside sales context, this study provides support to further study sales controls in an inside sales context. This research can be enhanced by examining business-to-consumer inside sales environments, behavior controls, greater sample size and additional work outcomes such as turnover and tenure. Practical implications The findings have important implications because they can help practitioners understand the effect that both sales and phone operational outcomes have on sales agent performance. It also illuminates the need for inside sales managers to be less controlling in their focus on phone operational outcomes, as such a practice has a negative influence on key sales agent job outcomes. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to triangulate multiple data sources to illustrate the need to evaluate both sales and phone operational outcomes as broader components of sales outcome controls. The study of sales controls in a different sales context suggests that sales management controls may differ by sales context, opening the door to extend the vast sales control literature beyond its current context of outside sales.

“I didn’t want to do, but I am happy to now!” Affect, voice and in-role performance

Kybernetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenduo Zhang ◽  
Huan Xiao ◽  
Xueqin Gou ◽  
Miaomiao Li ◽  
Junwei Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Role Performance ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emotional Resistance

Purpose Previous research has examined the effects of discrete affects on voice; however, the role of trait and state affects in voice literature has received little attention. This study aims to address this important issue from a conservation of resources perspective, by exploring the influence of daily positive affect and emotional resistance to change on the voice of employees and their resulting work outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study collected data about 285 daily episodes from 57 employees over five consecutive days, using an experience sampling method (ESM) through mobile surveys. The study found that emotional resistance to change was negatively related to employee voice and in-role performance. Findings Voice mediated the negative relationship between emotional resistance to change and in-role performance. The study also found that daily positive affect buffered the negative effects of emotional resistance to change on voice. Originality/value These findings extend the research concerning affect and voice; the study provides integrative insight into how affect dynamically influences organizations.

Women’s experience of perceived uncertainty: insights from emotional intelligence

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 366-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masood Ul Hassan ◽  
Arslan Ayub
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Change ◽  
And Gender

Purpose Few organizational change studies identified the aspects of change that are salient to individuals and gender in specific and that influence their work outcomes. This paper aims to assess the potential mediating effect of emotional intelligence and the moderating effect of gender in the relationship of perceived change-related uncertainty and work outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes the measurement model and the structural model using SmartPLS (v 3.2.7) on a sample of 413 employees working in the telecom sector collected through a non-experimental face-to-face method. Findings The findings support that emotional intelligence mediates the negative relationship between perceived change-related uncertainty and work outcomes. Moreover, emotional intelligence and gender have a significant interaction effect on work outcomes. Research limitations/implications The study uses the ability-based model of emotional intelligence to assess its impact on the proposed theoretical framework. Practical implications The findings suggest that organizations should hire more females at the workplace as they are less in number although they are more emotionally intelligent. As well as, females should be given equal opportunities to reach the top managerial positions by breaking the glass ceiling. Originality/value The study adds insights into existing knowledge; for instance, the study reveals that emotional intelligence competency is a sine qua non to personal control that delivers exceptional results in the context of perceived change-related uncertainty. The study also investigates the interaction effect of gender with emotional intelligence to scaffold the emotional intelligence competency over gender differences.

Compensation and control sales policies, and sales performance: the field sales manager's points of view

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inés Küster ◽  
Pedro Canales
Keyword(s):  
Individual Performance ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Compensation System ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Sales Manager ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organization Effectiveness ◽  
Sales Organization ◽  
Points Of View

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship among the compensation system (fixed or commission) applied to salespeople, the system by which they are controlled, and the effects of both on individual performance and sales organization effectiveness. Previous research has been extended in a different country/context, and from the field sales manager's points of view.Design/methodology/approachFirst, a cluster analysis was used to obtain a set of groups of salespeople characterized by their main compensation system (salary and/or commission). Also, ANOVA is used to analyze the significance of the differences due to the different compensation system.FindingsThe empirical data reflect the results of research involving 108 field sales managers and show that the compensation system used for the salespeople has significant effects on individual salesperson performance and sales organization effectiveness and is related to the control system used by the company. Companies with a compensation system based on a fixed salary use behavior control more than companies with a compensation system based on commission; salespeople who receive a greater proportion of compensation as a fixed salary give better individual performance than those who are paid by commission; salespeople who receive a greater proportion of their pay as a fixed salary are more effective than those paid largely by commission. Results do not show relevant differences among countries.Research limitations/implicationsAny generalisation of results is limited by the characteristics of this study, in particular by the sample used and the particular situation of the country analysed (Spain). At the same time, and because the study relies on the subjective judgment of sales field managers' perceptions, the measurement of some concepts is subject to various cognitive biases.Practical implicationsCompensation for salespeople is one of the most important issues in saleforce management as it has a significant effect on motivation, which is critical, given the conditions of their working environment.Originality/valueThis paper analyzes the field sales manager's points of view and not that of the salesperson or the sales team. This provides a closer perspective because field sales managers operate between the salesperson and sales manager. This paper presents a framework based on Baldauf et al.'s and Piercy et al.'s previous research, with two main contributions. The first contribution is the proposed direct analysis of the relationships between various antecedents of effectiveness. The second contribution is the consideration of two dimensions of the effectiveness construct: financial efficacy and field sales manager satisfaction.

Developing proactive salespeople – a study and recommendations for sales management

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Michael L. Mallin
Keyword(s):  
Sales Management ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Sales Performance ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Proactive Behavior ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it provides the results of a study of key characteristics of proactive salespeople and the impact of salesperson proactive behavior on selling performance. Second, it provides recommendations for sales management to implement organizational strategies designed to develop, train and coach salespeople to be more proactive. Design/methodology/approach In all, 278 business-to-business salespeople were surveyed to identify key traits and outcomes of proactive salespeople. The average subject was 28 years of age with 5 years of selling experience. Scales from the management, organizational behavior and sales performance literature were used to identify the degree that subjects engaged in proactive behavior in their selling role, a self-assessment of their sales performance and individual traits thought to predict higher levels of proactive behavior. Findings The findings revealed that proactive salespeople exhibited high levels of selling behavior performance – an important contributor to measurable selling results. In addition, proactive salespeople were intrinsically motivated, confident in the tasks of selling and willing to take calculated risks. Practical implications Practical implications suggest that sales managers can play a key role in fostering proactive behavior among salespeople through development, training and coaching. First, sales managers can play a role in the development of salesperson intrinsic motivation by stressing the importance of asking good questions to understand their customer’s problems to the extent that they can be proactive and recommend solutions for change. Second, training programs to make salespeople more confident should center on fully understanding product/service functionality and applications to typical customer problems. Finally, coaching tools such as win–loss reviews, post-call analysis/feedback and role-playing are useful mechanisms to reinforce the right type of risk-taking selling behavior decisions. Originality/value The value of this research is to shed light on the importance of salesperson proactive behavior as a means to drive selling organizational performance and fostering long-term customer relationships. Understanding the drivers of proactivity among salespeople is the first step for sales management to be able to operationalize organizational strategies to develop, train and coach salespeople to be more proactive in their selling approach.

Influencing salespeople’s work outcomes through authentic leadership

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 926-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garazi Azanza ◽  
Marjan J. Gorgievski ◽  
Juan Antonio Moriano ◽  
Fernando Molero
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
Work Teams ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between sales managers’ authentic leadership style and salespeople’s positive development. Design/methodology/approach Multilevel regression analysis was used to examine the data from 40 work teams from several Spanish retail companies (190 salespeople and 40 sales managers). Findings In line with previous studies, the analyses indicated that sales managers’ authentic leadership style as perceived by employees significantly predicted salespeople’s work engagement and psychological capital (PsyCap). Contrary to the expectations, salespeople’s perceptions of sales managers’ authentic leadership did not relate to sales managers’ self-ratings of authentic leadership, but instead related to sales managers’ gender (women were perceived as more authentic) and higher perceived frequency of leader–follower interaction. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by testing if sales managers’ variables (gender and self-ratings of authentic leadership and perceived frequency of leader–follower interaction) predict salespeople’s perceptions of authentic leadership, which in turn, predict salespeople’s positive development (work engagement and PsyCap).

Sales complexity and value appropriation: a taxonomy of sales situations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deva Rangarajan ◽  
Bryan Hochstein ◽  
Duane Nagel ◽  
Teidorlang Lyngdoh
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Value Appropriation ◽  
Value Capture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Grounded Theory Research ◽  
Sales Process ◽  
The Right

Purpose The increasingly complex business-to-business (B2B) sales process necessitates that sales managers strike the right balance between appropriate resource allocation, while also maintaining the profitability of the organization. While previous research has mainly focused on how changes in the business environment pose distinct challenges to salespeople, very little research has focused on how sales managers should react to these complex situations. Drawing upon the extant sales research, this paper aims to point to a gap in the literature of how sales managers deal with the complexity associated with the sales process and deal with the same. Design/methodology/approach Methods from the grounded theory research approach were used to conduct 18 in-depth interviews with B2B sales managers. Purposive sampling was used to identify the participants. Findings A taxonomy of sales situations that reflects the changing complexity of the sales function and how sales managers need to orchestrate their resource allocation decisions to ensure appropriate value capture from B2B relationships emerged within the themes. This paper highlights four fundamental tenets of sales situations that account for both the complexity of the sales process and the value appropriation challenge that sales managers face. Practical implications The taxonomy will help sales managers have a better understanding of the changing complexity in the B2B sales process and help them with decisions making. Sales managers can orchestrate their resource allocation to achieve value appropriation. Originality/value This paper develops a new taxonomy of the sales situation. It unravels the changing complexity of the B2B sales process and discusses how value appropriation can be achieved by sales managers.

The use of social media among business-to-business sales professionals in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith E. Niedermeier ◽  
Emily Wang ◽  
Xiaohan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sales Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sales Professionals ◽  
Sales Process ◽  
Successful Business ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the role of social media usage among business-to-business sales professionals in China. Specifically, the authors seek to define and explore the unique ways in which Chinese salespeople use social media, with a special emphasis on the role of guanxi. Guanxi is a complex cultural construct that revolves around the exchange of favors to build trust and connection for business purposes. Design/methodology/approach – Three in-depth interviews of sales managers from two industries along with survey data from 42 pharmaceutical sales representatives were collected to gain an understanding of the general usage and attitudes toward social media in the sales process in China. Findings – Results indicated that virtually all the salespeople in the sample were highly familiar with social media and integrated it into the sales process. Furthermore, all participants indicated that their companies were highly supportive of the use of social media with their customers. More importantly, salespeople in China view social media as a critical tool in building guanxi with their customers. Findings from this exploratory study are used to create a conceptual framework for understanding the important role of social media in building guanxi in China. Research limitations/implications – While the sample is limited to three managerial interviews and 42 survey responses, the data indicated a near universal acceptance and use of social media among Chinese salespeople. Most importantly, social media appears to be the modern gateway to the ancient and culturally unique construct of guanxi that is absolutely indispensable to successful business-to-business sales performance in China. Practical implications – The structural challenges within China make trust and emotional connection essential to any potential business relationship. Trust is at the core of guanxi. Any firm hoping to succeed in China must understand guanxi and the use of Chinese social media to help build it. This study adds to the knowledge and understanding of guanxi and begins to elucidate the uses of social media as a tool to build and maintain it. Social implications – Social media appears to be the modern gateway to the ancient and culturally unique construct of guanxi that is absolutely indispensable to successful business-to-business sales performance in China. This study deepens our understanding of not only guanxi but also how the modern phenomenon of social media is affecting it. Originality/value – This is one of very few studies to investigate the use of social media among salesforces in China. More importantly, the authors know of no other study linking social media with guanxi.

Examining the use of sales force management practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 974-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Reid ◽  
Richard E. Plank ◽  
Robert M. Peterson ◽  
Gregory A. Rich
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Sales Management ◽  
Sales Force ◽  
Sales Manager ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Market Place ◽  
Sampling Frame ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand what sales management practices (SMPs) are being used by managers in the current market place, changes over time, insights that can be gained and future research needs. Design/methodology/approach Data for this paper were collected via a cross-sectional internet-based survey using a sampling frame provided by a professional sales publication. ANOVA was used to analyze 159 sales manager respondents. Findings Empirical results indicate that several differences are evident across the 68 SMPs items gathered, especially in terms of the size of the sales force and establish some data on using technology in sales management. However, in spite of significant changes in the sales environment, many SMPs have had limited change. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this paper include a sample frame drawn from a single source and via the internet and, thus, may have excluded some possible respondents from participation and somewhat limit generalizability. Practical implications The results of this paper raise a number of important issues for sales managers to consider. First, which SMPs should they be using? Managers need to give serious thought as to which practices they choose to use. Second, why are so many of them not making more extensive use of sales force technology? Third, is it wise for sales managers to be relying on executive opinion as their most extensively used forecasting method or should they be emphasizing another approach? A fourth issue is the continued heavy emphasis on generating sales volume as opposed to profits. Originality/value The data provide a rare and updated understanding of the use of SMPs by sales managers.

How sales manager experience and historical data trends affect decision making

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1484-1504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas DeCarlo ◽  
Tirthankar Roy ◽  
Michael Barone
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sales Manager ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Sales Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Benchmark Analysis ◽  
Performance Trends ◽  
Trend Data

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine how trends in historical data influence two types of predictive judgments: territory selection and salesperson hiring. Sales managers are confronted frequently with decisions that explicitly or implicitly involve forecasting with limited information. In doing so, they conceptualize how the magnitude of these trend effects may be affected by the experience managers have in making these types of judgments. Study 1 provides evidence of a curvilinear relationship between experience and reliance on the trend data whereby the sales territory selections of novice sales managers exhibited greater susceptibility to informational trends than did the evaluations of naïve and expert decision-makers. A benchmark analysis in Study 2 further revealed that the salesperson selections made by novice and expert sales managers were equally biased, albeit in opposite directions, with novices overweighting and experts underweighting historical performance trends. Implications of these findings are discussed, as are avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employ an online experimental design methodology of practicing managers. For Study 1, they use regression, whereas Study 2 uses a deterministic process to develop a priori predictive benchmark forecasts. Ordinary least squares is then used to estimate manager’s decisions, which are then compared to the predictive forecasts to determine accuracy. Findings – Study 1 provides evidence of a curvilinear relationship between experience and reliance on the trend data whereby the sales territory selections of novice sales managers exhibited greater susceptibility to informational trends than did the evaluations of naïve and expert decision-makers. A benchmark analysis in Study 2 further revealed that the salesperson selections made by novice and expert sales managers were equally biased, albeit in opposite directions, with novices overweighting and experts underweighting historical performance trends. Originality/value – The present inquiry is the first to provide insights into an important issue that has been the subject of equivocal findings, namely, whether experience in a judgmental domain exerts a facilitating or debilitating effect on sales manager decision-making. In this regard, some research supports the intuition that experience in making a particular type of decision can insulate managers from judgmental bias and, in doing so, improve decision quality (see Shanteau, [1992a] for a summary). In contrast, other work provides a more pessimistic view by demonstrating that the quality of decision-making is either unaffected by or can erode with additional experience (Hutchinson et al., 2010). To help reconcile these conflicting findings, the authors presented and tested a theoretical framework conceptualizing how trends may influence predictive judgments across three levels of decision-maker experience.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document