Industrial sales call planning

This article deals with the call planning process in commercial and industrial sales. The role of call planning and its relationship to sales effectiveness is developed in the context of time trade-offs among sales activities. A conceptual model of the call planning process is then provided. Previous research related to the components of the model and their interrelationships is reviewed. The article concludes with a discussion of implications of the model and previous research with respect to salesperson and management practice.     

Adoption of digital sales force automation tools in supply chain: Customers' acceptance of sales configurators

Digitalization changes both buying processes and sales processes and, consequently, the dynamics and division of work between buyers and suppliers in the supply chain. This has major implications for industrial marketing and supply chain management. In this study, we analyze the impact of sales configurators, which are used to create valid configurations of market offerings that fulfill customer requirements. The usefulness of sales configurators can be investigated from both the sellers' and buyers' perspectives. In this research, we focus on the latter, and we specifically investigate the antecedents of customers' acceptance of sales configurators in a supply chain. In our analysis, we concentrate on system-level antecedents, which have been neglected by the existing literature. Our research yields better knowledge of how digital sales technologies can be used by customers for improved effectiveness and perceived value. The results demonstrate that ease of use and system adaptability contribute strongly to the perceived effectiveness, and eventually to the perceived usefulness, of sales configurators. Yet, surprisingly, perceived enjoyment is identified as having the most significant effect on perceived usefulness.     

New replacement part buying

This article reports on buying industrial equipment in the paper manufacturing industry. An analysis of written call reports by sales representatives at 26 paper mills, and interviews with sales representatives indicated that several generalizations on industrial buying behavior for this industry are possible. Buying behavior for the equipment part describes five decision stages and five overlapping buying centers.     

The sales recovery audit: Learning to walk the talk

Little research attention has been devoted to the impact of salesperson failure and recovery management on customer relationship development. This paper develops a theoretically anchored and externally validated sales recovery audit for the purpose of assessing sales organization performance in these matters. Results based on a survey of 177 sales managers indicate that practice of sales recovery efforts lags behind their perceived importance as they relate to organizational success. The sales recovery audit presented here can be a useful tool to continuously evaluate and enhance sales recovery efforts for the purpose of building a stronger relationship selling organization.     

Financial Incentives and Salesperson Time Orientation in New Product Launch: A Longitudinal Study

The success of a new product launch critically depends on an engaged and dedicated sales force. Salespeople who are involved in a new product launch must overcome significant uncertainty associated with the new product's performance, which can affect success expectations and, in turn, sales effort for the new product. Moreover, success expectations may drop in the first few months of the launch period, due to initial negative market feedback or general decline in sales force enthusiasm. Diminished expectations may start a vicious circle effect where lower success expectations for the new product lead to lower sales effort that, in turn, leads to lower performance, which further lowers expectations, and so on. Based on insights from attribution‐expectancy theory, this study investigates two distinct mechanisms to counteract the potential downward spiral in success expectations and sales effort devoted to a new product. Specifically, this research examines the role of financial incentives and salespersons' long‐term orientation in creating and maintaining high new product success expectations and sales effort during a new product launch. To investigate how the effect of these factors changes over time, success expectations and sales effort are examined across two critical points in time: the start of a new product launch and at completion of the first sales cycle. To test the model empirically, the North American sales force (n = 129) of a business unit of a global firm is surveyed longitudinally during the launch of a new line of industrial products. The data are analyzed using a partial least squares model. The results show that initial success expectations have a significant effect on sales effort later in the launch, and that this relationship is mediated by success expectations later in the launch. Success expectations and sales effort early in the launch are also shown to impact the perceived attractiveness of the financial incentives offered, but this does not translate into higher success expectations or sales effort at the end of the launch. In contrast, the long‐term orientation of salespersons is key to maintaining higher success expectations and sales effort at the end of the launch.     

Non-linear relationship between industrial service offering and sales growth: The moderating role of network capabilities

In an effort to approach the mixed findings regarding the relationship between a firm's industrial service offering and its performance, this study analyzes the impact of the industrial service offering on sales growth and the moderating role of network capabilities. The proposed research model is tested based on data from 91 Finnish manufacturing firms. Our results demonstrate a non-linear effect of the service offering on sales growth. We also find that network capabilities enhance the effect of the service offering on sales growth. For managers of manufacturing firms, the results imply that the active development of a comprehensive service offering should be implemented in conjunction with the development of organizational capabilities, such as network capabilities, to create value and promote improved performance.     

The moderating effect of control systems on the relationship between commission and salesperson intrinsic motivation in a customer oriented environment

Using a social psychology theory, Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET), the authors show how commission compensation can be viewed as a sales performance contingent reward and the extent of its use to reward performance, coupled with a sales control system, impacts salesperson intrinsic motivation in a relationship selling environment. In essence, the sales control mechanisms modify the impact of the commission based on whether it is perceived as controlling or informative. This is empirically tested using a sample of business-to-business salespeople. Partial support for three hypothesized relationships is shown providing preliminary evidence that CET is a way to study the integration of commission compensation rewards, sales control systems, and motivational impact. Implications of the findings for theory and for managers are considered, along with suggested directions for future research.     

Sales technology within the salesperson's relationships: A research agenda

The average cost of a sales call has declined approximately 15% over the past decade, while average salesperson compensation has doubled. These statistics illustrate an important benefit of technology: salespeople are more productive. To better understand the impact technology has played on sales and sales management, this paper examines the impact of sales technology from four perspectives: the salesperson, the field sales manager, the sales executive, and the customer. Noting that the needs and evaluations of technology vary, depending upon the functional position and viewpoint, a research agenda is offered that reflects these various perspectives.     

Forecasting business needs in the telephone market

The last decade has seen substantial changes in the environment in which U.S. telephone companies operate. As regulated monopolies, telephone companies are experiencing effective competition in several areas of their operations. Additionally the consumerist movement has made regulatory agencies more aware of the requirements of the numerous markets served by the utilities. With “good” telephone service available at reasonable cost throughout the United States, users and telephone companies are more aware of secondary product attributes such as style (decorator sets) and auxiliary features (the ability to place one caller on hold and answer another call). These changes reflect the evolution of the marketing function within the telephone companies and the increasing use of marketing research for product line expansion and sales forecasting. What has caused this shifting perspective on the function of marketing? How have the utilities responded? The following discussion deals with these questions as well as the ways in which marketing research has aided the telephone company in forecasting sales to business customers.     

Pipeline management for the acquisition of industrial projects

The management and controlling of the industrial project acquisition process, with its staged, funnel-like structure, has been neglected in empirical research so far—even though an effective acquisition process is crucial for economic success. In addition to profitability, the main goal of industrial companies is to implement a pipeline process that ensures that the pipeline is always filled with acquisition projects and results in a constant stream of orders over time. The projects considered are characterized by complexity, uniqueness, and discontinuity. Based on a large-scale survey among German industrial companies, we describe the industrial project acquisition process, where the projects mentioned above are sold on a non-continuous basis to industrial customers. We assess how the industrial project acquisition process is really structured, whether a sales funnel management is applicable and utilized by sales management to monitor and control this process, and whether a sophisticated sales funnel management contributes to enhanced economic success.     

企业 R&D 投入与企业绩效关联度分析——基于中美上市工业企业的实证研究

技术创新主要源自于具有导向性的研究和开发活动,是影响企业竞争力和可持续发展至关重要的因素。本文以中美范围内工业制造行业的 209家上市工业企业为样本,结合企业 2009~2015 年相关数据,实证分析了R&D投入与企业绩效的关系。研究结果表明研发支出和企业经济绩效之间具有非线性关系,可用倒U型曲线来描述,R&D 投入具有动态边际效应,研发投入为销售额的4％时,企业相应的经济效益达到最优水平。最后,本文建议企业应该加大R&D投入力度,同时注重研发投入的最佳阈值,以获得最大的产出效益,提高企业技术创新的竞争能力。     

Sales force technology usage—reasons, barriers, and support: An exploratory investigation

Increasingly, salespeople are being asked to adopt and use a variety of technologies to increase their selling productivity and efficiency, including sales force automation and customer relationship management technologies. However, little research has investigated what happens once sales force automation (SFA) technology is adopted. This paper explores the reasons why salespeople use SFA technologies, the perceived barriers to SFA usage and how management can increase the usage of SFA technology. First, a qualitative study was performed to gain insight about salespeople's automation technology usage and the reasons why some salespeople fully use or do not utilize technology. After the initial study, 130 salespeople were surveyed. More productivity/efficiency was the main reason why salespeople use technology, the lack of management and technical support proved to be the main barrier to usage, and training proved most effective in increasing usage of SFA technology. Sales managers are provided with implications of the findings.     

A framework of brand value in B2B markets: The contributing role of functional and emotional components

The creation of value is admittedly a critical task for marketers regardless of industry. This paper focuses on a type of value that has traditionally been perceived as irrelevant to industrial markets and argues that brand value facilitates the progression from goods and services value to relationship value. To address the limited amount of research on B2B branding from the suppliers' point of view, we complement insights gained from a literature review with ten exploratory interviews with B2B supplier managers, and develop a framework of brand value applicable to industrial markets. This identifies both the functional (i.e., quality, technology, capacity, infrastructure, after sales service, capabilities, reliability, innovation) and emotional qualities (i.e., risk reduction, reassurance, trust) important for the development of industrial brand equity. Situational (e.g. nature of the purchase) and environmental factors (e.g. the economic situation) affecting suppliers' perceptions of the importance of brand in a B2B context and the role of functional versus emotional brand qualities are discussed. The value of the brand as a driver for the development of business to business relationships is also highlighted. The framework provides a basis for B2B practitioners to build their brands in such a way as to make a functional as well as an emotional connection with buyers that is more likely to lead to a supplier–buyer relationship.     

Assessing the evolution of sales knowledge: A 20-year content analysis

1012 articles appearing in 15 prominent journals over the period 1983-2002 were content analyzed in order to assess the state of published research in the domain of selling and sales management. The results provide a comprehensive, two-decade look at the key topical, theoretical, and methodological patterns prevalent at the aggregate level as well as within selected journals. Without question, the sales field has generated a considerable body of knowledge representing a range of issues, empirical approaches, and conceptual foundations. However, this review reveals several longer term trends that may challenge the sales community to consider new approaches to designing and executing sales research. Implications of these findings for researchers and industrial marketing practitioners are discussed.     

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.     

Sales communication competence in international B2B solution selling

Increasing demands for international solution selling call for a better understanding of the interpersonal communication competence required of sales professionals. Accordingly, this study investigates discipline-specific needs regarding the interpersonal communication competence required by business-to-business (B2B) salespeople. Empirical data was collected via 39 in-depth interviews from international B2B salespeople, sales managers, CEOs and sales communication educators. As a result, we have formed a new conceptualization of sales communication competence in international B2B solution selling comprising four components: (1) a behavioral communication component, (2) an affective communication component, (3) a cognitive communication component and (4) sales acumen. Managerial implications are presented with recommendations for future research.     

From complexity to transparency: managing the interplay between theory, method and empirical phenomena in IMM case studies

Theory, method and empirical phenomena are the three cornerstones of research. In this paper we contemplate the interplay between them when case research in industrial marketing is concerned. Developments in research depend on what empirical phenomena we are able to capture, how theories are developed to understand and explain these phenomena and what methods we use and/or develop in the process. While the emphasis is often put on one of these aspects alone, this paper focuses on the links and interplay between theory, case method and empirical phenomena in the development of research in industrial marketing. Specifically, we seek to provide common ground between orthodox (deductive) and unorthodox (abductive) approaches to managing the interplay by making a pragmatic call for transparency in research procedures. In this endeavour we use the papers included in this special issue as examples of various aspects of this interplay. We conclude by suggesting that there is a gamut of approaches possible to case research in industrial marketing, each with its specific links to theory and empirical phenomena, and that this is promising for the development of research in the field, as long as it helps reduce, rather than increase, the complexity of the case studied.     

A descriptive model of the trade-show budgeting decision process

Spending decisions for industrial trade shows are studied here. A discriminant analysis procedure identifies those factors that separate products that use trade shows from those that do not. The product category, fraction of sales made to order, industry sales level, importance of the product to the customer, and purchase frequency were found to be most instrumental. Another model evaluates the level of spending for products that use trade shows. The sales of the product and stage in the life cycle are shown to be most important in the budget-setting process. The potential use of these results for industrial communications and promotional planning and evaluation decisions is discussed.     

The effect of social conflict on relationship loyalty in business markets

This study examines the impact of perceived social conflict on existing buyer-seller relationships. The results indicate that as the level of social conflict increases, perceptions about the loyalty of the relationship decrease. Perceived importance of the relationship had no impact on conflict or relationship loyalty. Ramifications of these findings for selling, sales management, and sales training are discussed.