Greg W. Marshall

The Current State of Sales Force Activities

Abstract Despite major changes in sales organizations and the sales environment over the last decade, no systematic updating of sales force activities has been undertaken since 1986. This article reports the process and results of a sales activities update, including 49 new activities not previously reported in the 1986 study. The resulting list of new sales activities is presented and discussed, and the importance of the findings to sales organizations and sales researches is addressed.

Formal and informal management control combinations in sales organizations: The impact on salesperson consequences

Abstract Selecting an effective form of management control in sales organizations is important in achieving favorable salesperson consequences. We examine an alternative perspective to behavior-based management control in sales organizations. The conceptualization consisting of high, bureaucratic, clan, and low management control combinations is examined as a framework for management control research in sales organizations. In this study, hypotheses are developed concerning various salesperson consequences of the control combinations. The hypotheses are tested using a sample of 1042 salespeople from a broad range of industries and companies. The findings suggest that salespeople who work under a more visible control system (high control) perform better, are more satisfied, and display lower burnout and role stress, compared to salespeople working under bureaucratic, clan, and low control combinations. The managerial implications are discussed and several future research directions are proposed.

Exploring internal customer service quality

An often overlooked aspect of service delivery in business‐to‐business settings is the issue of service quality among internal organizational units. Yet, in practice many organizational departments are service providers primarily to customers within the organization. For example, management information systems, human resources, and purchasing departments all share an important function supporting other employees as they perform their jobs. Managers of those internal service functions are becoming more concerned with delivering high levels of service quality to their internal customers. This article explores the dimensionality of customer service quality as perceived by a set of internal customers of an organizational buying unit, and examines the potential for segmentation of internal customers. Managerial implications and recommendations are presented to aid organizations desiring to improve internal service quality.

A meta‐analysis of the relationship between sales orientation‐customer orientation (SOCO) and salesperson job performance

Purpose – In the years since Saxe and Weitz developed a scale to measure the selling orientation and customer orientation (SOCO) of a salesperson, research findings on the effect of SOCO on salesperson job performance have shown mixed results. This article aims to synthesize the findings from the empirical studies to identify the direction and the strength of this relationship. In addition, it aims to investigate the moderating effect of customer type (business or end user consumer) and type of job performance measure used (subjective or objective).Design/methodology/approach – Research questions were addressed by a meta‐analysis of 16 studies containing 17 effect sizes from 3,477 respondents.Findings – Meta‐analysis results reveal an attenuated weighted mean effect size (r) of this relationship of 0.14, with a 90 percent confidence interval of 0.04 to 0.23. The disattenuated mean effect size (rc) is 0.16. Findings also reveal that neither customer type nor type of job performance measures moderated the S...

A Contemporary Taxonomy of Sales Positions

The sales job of the early twenty-first century has evolved due to myriad rapidly changing environmental factors. Customer relationship focus, technology, global competition, shifting customer preferences and demands, forced downsizing, increased competitive pressure, and other factors have contributed to altering the salesperson role—what salespeople do. Yet outdated taxonomies are referenced when researching and writing about sales jobs. This paper develops an empirically generated sales position taxonomy based on changing selling activities and strategies. First, a set of 105 activities are factor analyzed to create 12 dimensions of selling. Second, the factor scores are entered into a cluster analysis. The resulting factor score centroids allow for interpretation of a taxonomy of six categories of contemporary sales jobs.

Research Priorities in Sales Strategy and Performance

A set of research issues and questions concerning strategic aspects of the sales function is developed, using as a framework the following “best practices” from industry identified by the Chally Group (1998): (1) establishing a customer-centric culture; (2) market segmentation; (3) market adaptability; (4) information technology; (5) sales, service, and technical support systems; (6) customer feedback and satisfaction; and (7) selecting and developing sales personnel. The article highlights the potential for sales academicians who pursue these research topics to contribute substantively to the effectiveness and efficiency of the sales function in modern organizations.

Total Quality Management and Internal Customers: Measuring Internal Service Quality

An important tenet of Total Quality Management holds that each employee should treat other organization members with whom she interacts as valued customers. To know if such internal service efforts...

Activity-Based Costing: Accounting for a Market Orientation

Abstract Market- and customer-oriented activities represent a major resource investment for a firm. Activity-based costing (ABC) provides an enhanced means for marketers to assess the cost-versus-benefits of such activities. This article describes the usefulness of ABC to marketers at various levels of decision making: unit level, product level, channel level, and segment/customer level. Examples are provided to illustrate the potential for improved marketing decision making when ABC is utilized versus traditional accounting systems.

Workplace isolation, salesperson commitment, and job performance

Workplace isolation has been recognized as a critical issue facing salespeople in field offices. Studies have recognized that field salespeople are physically and psychologically isolated, but there is little empirical research on the effects of perceived isolation on important job outcomes. One important issue that has yet to be considered is the effect of workplace isolation on trust in supervisors and coworkers. The current study uses a sample of pharmaceutical salespeople to replicate previous results pertaining to workplace isolation effects and to test an integrated model of workplace isolation, salesperson satisfaction, trust, organizational commitment, and overall job performance. The results reveal that perceptions of workplace isolation negatively affect trust in supervisors and coworkers and that the relationship between trust (in supervisors and coworkers) and organizational commitment is mediated by satisfaction with supervisors and coworkers. Further, the findings confirm previous research that indicates that organizational commitment is positively related to salesperson job performance.

Critical success factors in the personal selling process: An empirical investigation of Ecuadorian salespeople in the banking industry

This article identifies the selling techniques that are critical success factors (CSFs) for salespeople who sell banking products and services in Ecuador. The study examines the selling techniques that differentiate top and bottom sales performers in the Ecuadorian banking industry. Both self‐reported and supervisor ratings are used to measure salesperson performance. The results suggest that differences in performance between top and bottom performing salespeople relate to the use of five selling techniques: examining records at the prospecting stage of the selling process; approaching prospects using statements about the salesperson, the bank, or the names of persons who referred the prospect; using customer friendly language during the sales presentation; being knowledgeable of the benefits of the banks’ products and being able to clarify the products’ benefits; and ensuring post‐purchase satisfaction of existing customers.