An approach for allocating sales call effort

This article describes a conceptual framework for developing a sales call effort allocation plan that considers, on an account-by-account basis, a variety of influences on the productivity of sales effort. The inputs needed for using the framework are jointly provided by sales managers and sales-people. A practical illustration of the framework is provided, and the benefits and limitations of the framework are discussed.     

Industrial sales people as market actors

We develop the concept of boundaries in the context of sales personnel and their counterparts encountering and negotiating these while they undertake work to shape markets and build relationships. Drawing on a case study from production chemistry, we show that market shaping implies a mutual development of relationships, goods and services exchanged, and boundaries. In particular, we show that while relationships can submerge and obscure parts or dimensions of boundaries to other market actors, normal business activities such as testing new products and adapting products to changes in environmental legislation make visible some material dimensions of the exchange object, which can attract attention from other sellers. Visibility finds an expression as those market objects are exchanged, such that objects can be devices by which other actors join in and position themselves and their objects within markets.     

Industrial sales managers: Satisfaction and performance

This article examines some key variables that affect managerial satisfaction and performance. Some specific supervisory actions are suggested that may improve the field sales managerial satisfaction.     

Industrial sales management in the 1980s

This article offers suggestions for sales management in the 1980s. Experts believe that energy and other resources will decline, government regulation will increase, and increased attention will be given to social responsibility. Several recommendations for dealing with these anticipated pressures are presented.     

Industrial sales emphasis across the life cycle

Life-cycle stages require changes in both operations and management styles. Different personnel sales skills, qualities, and motivation are optimum for the various phases of industrial product life cycles. Early phases require creativity and informality. Growth phases require emphasis on operational planning, staging, training, optimism, problem solving, and stamina. Mature phases demand emphasis on efficiency, administration, judgement, and conservatism. Cutback phases place a premium on “hard-nosed” decisiveness, objectivity, judgement, and courage.     

Industrial sales management: A case for MBO

The system of management by objectives (MBO) is a process whereby the superior and subordinate managers of an organization jointly identify its common goals, define each individual's major area of responsibility in terms of the results expected of him, and use these measures as guides for operating the firm and assessing the contribution of each of its members (Odiorine, 1965; Mali, 1972; Reddin, 1971; and Carroll and Tosi, 1973). Those who manage by objectives place primary emphasis on direction of efforts, and the evaluation of results (Varney, 1972).Etzel and Ivancevich (1974) have indicated several areas in marketing which can benefit from the MBO procedure, including sales management, advertising, market research, new product development, and physical distribution. This article focuses on one of these areas-sales management. The unique characteristics and activities of salesmen and sales managers demand a flexible tool of evaluation; one that can operate within a system that does not permit close “on the job” supervision. The procedures of MBO offer an evaluation blend that is well tailored to this type of situation.This article has three objectives. First, some of the specific problems and needs of industrial sales management are examined. Second, suggested MBO procedures for industrial sales management are outlined. Finally, a discussion on how MBO can operationally deal with the problems and needs of industrial sales management are presented.     

Industrial distributor selling: The roles of outside and inside sales

This paper examines the current practice of industrial distributor selling, focusing on the roles played by the outside and inside sales forces. Based on benchmark survey results, the present composition, responsibilities, and compensation programs of outside and inside sales forces are compared and contrasted. Some predictions are given on likely changes in selling practices, drawing upon interviews with managers, and managerial implications of them, are offered.     

Changes in sales call frequency: A longitudinal examination of the consequences in the supplier-customer relationship

Sales calls are one of the most valuable and expensive resources available to industrial sales managers. The main purpose of this research was to look at the relationship between an increase in sales call frequency and some important outcomes in the buyer-seller relationship. To do so, we adopted a longitudinal research design where data from 357 customers of one industrial supplier were obtained over a two-year period of time. Results indicated that an increase in call frequency has a positive effect on sales volume, perceived service quality, perceived value for money and overall customer satisfaction. Furthermore, these effects tend to diminish as relationships become longer, and are stronger at higher levels of hierarchy in the buying company.     

Outsourcing the sales process: Hiring a mercenary sales force

In today's highly competitive environment, many firms make the decision to outsource a business process on the well-established idea that it is better to contract for services that are not within the scope of a company's core set of competencies. While outsourcing was once limited to peripheral firm activities such as advertising, firms are expanding the types of functions they outsource. For instance, many firms have begun to outsource their sales force, or at a minimum, have begun to consider ‘renting’ a sales force rather than ‘owning’ their own sales force. Being a recent trend, very little is known about what prompts firms to outsource their sales forces, nor the consequences of doing so. As such, this research explores the factors associated with determining whether a firm should outsource their sales force as well as the value to be had by engaging in such a decision. Most importantly, we offer that beyond the standard cost-based analysis, there are numerous issues that deserve consideration and examination before a firm elects to outsource its sales force.     

绝缘硅销售增长迅猛

微软的Xbox 360和索尼的PlayStation 3与IBM、Sun和Dell最新推出的多处理器服务器、以及奔驰、宝马和其他汽车中采用的网络系统之间有什么共同之处？由于在硅昌绝缘体晶片(SOI wafer)的硅表层之下是薄薄的玻璃或二氧化硅绝缘层,因此采用这种晶片的芯片,在提供更快的交换速度、消耗较少的能量、产生较小的电流漏泄的同时,也使其所用的组件能更紧密地结合在一起。尽管由于高昂的成本,迄今为止绝缘硅(SOI)的用途主要还限于那些追求高性能或低能量消耗的任务,但这项技术     

Perceptions of sales force automation: Differences between sales force and management

Differences between management and salespeople in their perceptions of a new technology can affect the acceptance and implementation of that technology. For sales force automation (SFA) systems, the differences in the perceptions held by management and salespeople toward the SFA can affect the successful adoption and implementation of the system by the organization. This paper reports the results of an investigation that focused on the differences in perceptions held by the United States Army's recruiting force and its higher level management toward the Army's newly adopted SFA system, the Army Recruiting Information Support System (ARISS). The results of the study indicate that significant differences exist between the perceptions held by the recruiting force and higher level management toward ARISS, the SFA system. The results offer important insights into managing SFA system deployment and gauging user expectations.     

Purchasing-driven sales: Matching sales strategies to the evolution of the purchasing function

The personal selling field has witnessed the emergence of various sales strategies, including relationship, value, key account, and solution selling. Despite claims about their effectiveness, recent work challenges the relevance of existing sales strategies across buying contexts. Specifically, emerging sales strategies often focus on the user in the customer organization, without being explicitly aligned with the increasingly important purchasing function. To define the critical role of the purchasing function for sales effectiveness, this study collects data from 32 firms in two markets; their purchasing departments reveal four stages of purchasing evolution: passive (price focused), independent (cost-focused), supportive (solution/innovation focused), and integrative (strategy focused). The research demonstrates that each stage of purchasing evolution then requires distinct sales strategies by selling firms and any mismatch of purchasing evolution and sales strategy may be detrimental to sales. This novel view and the supported findings offers several implications for both research and practice.     

Women as industrial sales representatives

The incidence of women in industrial sales is rising, and females can now be found frequently in traditional all-male type industries such as steel, lumber, and heavy machinery. A strong consensus exists among sales managers that women are effective in industrial selling, and the representatives' records sustain this opinion. Women are proving themselves as worthy, capable, and competent, although they do face special problems in this type of work, some of which are role reversal, production pressures, sexual overtures, and loneliness during travel.     

Effectiveness of sales forecasting methods

Effective sales forecasting has become a prerequisite for successful management. Unfortunately, recognition of the need for more effective forecasts has not produced better results. It appears that forecast error is increasing rather than decreasing. This paper reports the findings of a study of forecasting systems in manufacturing firms. The importance of forecasting to firms, users and preparers of forecasts, forecasting techniques employed, use of macroeconomic data, treatment of inflation, forecasting error, and management of forecasting systems are covered in the paper. Conclusions and recommendations for improvement of forecasting systems are developed from the findings of the study.     

Selecting sales and distribution channels

The authors provide three major criteria for evaluating marketing channels. They assert that each channel choice involves some trade-off among the three criteria—almost no channel ever fits a manufacturer perfectly. Two examples are provided in some detail.     

More effective sales force reporting

As the need for marketing intelligence by sales and marketing managers grows more essential, field sales personnel are increasingly being asked to gather and report information. Many executives realize the potential value of using salespersons to supply information useful to management decision making. The sales force is familiar with their territories, their customers' needs and sources of information inside customer organizations, their competitors' marketing activities, and trends in product acceptance. The incremental costs and effort required are low compared to other research methods, since information can be submitted within the context of a regular call report system [2, 6, 8].But salespersons have been found to be inadequate and uncooperative reporters in many instances. Numerous field salespersons believe that reporting infringes on their primary responsibility of selling, and furthermore that management apparently doesn't make use of the resulting information anyway. Thus, while salespersons have access to a wealth of marketing information of potentially great value to the firm, they are often inadequate, unreliable, and unmotivated reporters [4, 5].This article reports the results of a study designed to investigate what management practices contribute to, or detract from, effective reporting of marketing information by salespersons. Current practices in reporting are noted and some recommendations are made to help management improve sales force reporting.