Sales trainer roles, competencies, skills, and behaviors: A case study

Numerous studies have examined different issues related to evaluating the effectiveness of sales training programs. Limited needs assessment, lack of training objectives, no alignment between training objectives and corporate goals, and sales training content, are all potential factors that can influence the effectiveness of training programs. Yet, little attention has been paid to the role of a central actor in the training process — the sales trainer. The evaluation of sales training programs is incomplete without taking into consideration the qualifications of the trainer. Through a case study, this paper suggests there are 8 roles that are associated with the sales trainer position. To effectively execute these roles, this exploratory investigation identified 18 related skills that are grouped into 5 competencies. Recommendations are offered regarding the relevance of this research for practitioners and suggestions are provided for future research in this area.     

Managerial perceptions of sales training and performance

This study examines managerial perceptions of the impact sales training has on sales force performance among 46 multinational and 59 national firms in Malaysia. The results demonstrate that, unlike their national counterparts, multinational firm sales managers perceived greater improvement in all five hypothesized measures of performance: company information and policies, sales presentation and communications skills, sales objectives, product information and technical skills, and customer relation skills, as a result of their sales force completing initial sales training. The study concludes with managerial implications of the findings and suggestions for future research.     

Sales training in Malaysia: High- vs. low-tech methods

This study examines initial high-tech sales training practices of firms in Malaysia. A review of initial sales training programs reveals that firms that engage in high-tech sales training practices report significantly greater levels of needs determination, objective setting, instructional methods, and training program content than their low-tech counterparts. Also, firms that employ high-tech training methods report teaching the “soft area” of salesmanship via computer and both groups place less emphasis on evaluating training programs. To better understand high-tech sales training, managers are provided with in-depth discussions and managerial implications of the study's findings.     

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.     

How does sales force automation influence relationship quality and performance? The mediating roles of learning and selling behaviors

Sales force automation (SFA) technologies are increasingly used to support customer relationship management strategies. However, previous studies have reported mixed results about the performances of SFA technologies. Therefore, this study seeks to further examine the impact of SFA usage on both customer relationship quality and sales performance. Additionally, the mediating roles of learning and adaptive selling behaviors on the outcomes of SFA usage are investigated. The results highlight the mediating role of salesperson learning and adaptive selling behaviors in the SFA usage and sales performance relationship. Especially noteworthy is the impact of learning through adaptive selling on those outcome variables. Implications for SFA research and practice that may further improve our understanding of this increasingly relevant topic are also offered.     

Sales force obsolescence: Perceptions from sales and marketing executives of individual, organizational, and environmental factors

The trade and academic literature is replete with observations that many sales organizations are in the midst of a redefinition of the strategic role of their sales forces. With today's market forces, change is overdue in many sales organizations. Consequently, the issue of whether the sales force is becoming obsolete has come to the forefront in recent years. As business environments change rapidly, the relevance of the modern sales force comes into question. Data were gathered from 245 midlevel sales and marketing executives on perceived sales force obsolescence. Our findings suggest that obsolescence is a phenomenon for sales organizations to address. The main findings of our study are (1) obsolescence is a phenomenon that affects sales professionals' feelings toward the job (job satisfaction) and outcomes (performance); (2) a firm's market orientation is very important in lowering perceived obsolescence; (3) a learning orientation is important in detecting symptoms of obsolescence; (4) age and education are related to perceptions of obsolescence depending on the type of industry in which the sales force competes: high- or low-tech; and (5) organizational changes can also have a bearing on the sales force's perceptions of obsolescence.     

Sales management control level and competencies: Antecedents and consequences

The pursuit of superior salesperson performance and higher levels of sales organization effectiveness is a growing management priority. Management control is an important antecedent to several aspects of salesperson performance and organizational effectiveness. However, prior research has neglected two important issues. First, the impact of market orientation on sales manager control approaches has not been previously considered. Second, sales manager competencies in behavior-based control have not been examined, as research has focused on the level and form of control. Market orientation and the critical sales skills required of salespeople have strong antecedent relationships with sales manager control. Also, sales manager control competencies play a significant role in shaping salesperson performance, and the impact of control competencies is larger than control level. Sales manager control competencies play an important mediating role between sales manager control level and salesperson performance and sales organization effectiveness. Our findings are based on a study of British companies in which five hundred sales managers were sent surveys and 300 usable responses (a response rate of 60%) were returned. Three important implications derived from this study include: (1) sales managers need to translate market orientation into sales force behaviors; (2) control strategy should be aligned with sales force priorities; and (3) time and resources should be invested in training sales managers.     

Impediments to sales force automation

Sales force automation (SFA) occurs when firms adopt technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of sales-related activities. Research has shown, however, that 55-75% of SFA projects fail. This paper first identifies and explains impediments that exist in three SFA areas: planning, communication, and evaluation. The high failure rate of SFA can also be explained by gaps that exist, between the sales force and management, in SFA perceptions and goals. Finally, after discussing each of these areas, study implications are provided to sales managers and suggestions are offered for future research.     

The difficulties of evaluating sales training

Practitioners and researchers acknowledge the importance of sales training; however, limited attention is devoted to empirical sales training evaluation practices. This article addresses four major sources of sales training evaluation difficulties: (1) managerial perceptions; (2) evaluation restrictions; (3) methodological problems; and (4) lack of empirical evidence. After discussing each area, managers are provided with suggestions that can be implemented to minimize sales training evaluation problems.     

Sales force reactions to corporate social responsibility: Attributions, outcomes, and the mediating role of organizational trust

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gaining momentum among researchers and practitioners. In spite of this extensive interest, systematic research regarding the effects of CSR on other stakeholder groups, besides consumers, remains sparse. Based on a field study in a global Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods company, we examine sales force attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of company's partnership with a United Nations (UN) philanthropic organization. Specifically, we seek to examine whether sales force perceptions of CSR motives influence their evaluation of CSR actions. Findings indicate that egoistic-driven motives negatively influence salesperson trust in the company, whereas stakeholder- and values-driven motives positively influence salesperson trust; however, strategic-driven attributions do not have an influence on salesperson trust. The results further reveal the mediating role of trust in the relationship between sales force attributions and outcomes including loyalty intentions and positive word-of-mouth.     

Organizational variables, sales force perceptions of readiness for change, learning, and performance among boundary-spanning teams: A conceptual framework and propositions for research

Sales organizations are continuously developing new ideas and approaches to be more competitive. One of the approaches taken by most successful organizations is the move from individuals to boundary-spanning, cross-functional teams. Sales teams are being employed to counter efforts by buying organizations to form buying centers. It is proffered in this paper that organizations that are ready for change are conducive to enhancement of sales team learning. Organization readiness for change is a condition impacted by a variety of organizational antecedent variables such as culture and climate. This paper proposes that sales team learning is impacted by team members' perceptions of the organization's readiness for change. In addition, we also posit the moderating influence of two environmental variables: turbulence and competitive intensity on the relationship between readiness for change and sales team learning. Sales team learning is then proposed to be related to a variety of sales outcomes. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for understanding the contexts in which team learning occurs and the impact of team learning on team effectiveness. Throughout the paper, we present research propositions that provide opportunities for future examinations of team learning.     

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.     

Marketing channel management and the sales manager

For years, the channel manager remained an organizational position found mainly in textbooks and the literature and seldom on company organization charts. Recently, however, persuasive evidence has revealed that marketing channel management comes chiefly under the purview of the sales manager. Accepting this new reality, sales management training will need to be dramatically expanded to include these new channel management responsibilities. But, are all levels of sales managers involved or equally involved in channel management? If not, channel manager training must be tailored for specific levels of sales management in order to achieve desired channel effectiveness and efficiency. To date, no published research has explored whether channel management involvement varies at different levels in the sales manager hierarchy. In this age of channel dynamism, successful companies must determine the specific involvement of each sales management level in channel management so that appropriate training and support can be provided to optimize performance in this critical area of market competition. To address the foregoing issues, data were drawn from a random national sample of sales managers. Results indicate that sales managers at all hierarchical levels participate in administering various aspects of marketing channel management. The degree of involvement, however, varies significantly by sales manager level. Sales management implications are discussed, and areas for future research are suggested.     

Sales contest research: Business and individual difference factors affecting intentions to pursue contest goals

Calls for sales contest research (1980/81 and 1998) suggest glaring holes in our knowledge of how to design appealing contests, whether and to what extent contests motivate salespeople, and the types of behaviors contests provoke. This study adds to our knowledge of the relationship between sales force attitudes for sales contests and intention to pursue the contest by exploring the effects of business type, demographic, and psychological variables on this relationship. Using surveys and a sorting task for several sales contest designs, a national sample of a firm's multi-business unit sales force (n = 620) provided the data for our study. A replication with two additional companies confirms that intention to pursue sales contest goals is affected by several variables, particularly for consumer/commercial salespeople. The findings and ensuing discussion provide contest planners useful direction for anticipating likely sales force responses to sales contests.     

The adoption of information technology in the sales force

The purpose of this article is to explain why salespeople adopt information technology. The results from a cross-sectional study of 229 salespeople indicate that putting sales technology to use strongly depends on salespeople's perceptions about the technology enhancing their performance, their personal innovativeness and organizational efforts in terms of user training. Throughout the adoption process companies also need to target sales line managers-next to end users-because salespeople clearly comply with the expectations of their supervisors. Finally, the threat from competing sales professionals or peers who use similar sales technology seems to be of secondary importance for individual sales technology adoption.     

Improving sales training cycle times for new trainees : An exploratory study

Sales training is a key organizational process used by many firms to develop high-quality salespeople into value-added agents. This development of salespeople as value-added agents can be accomplished in a number of ways. The results of this study suggest cycle time improvements in sales training can be achieved by properly preparing trainees prior to staging role-play exercises. The managerial implications of the results include indications as to how organizations can save on training by reducing the time it takes to effectively train new salespeople as well as evidence that demonstrates that the training enhancers we introduce can increase the initial revenue generating potential of these new salespeople.     

Understanding sales force automation outcomes: A managerial perspective

Despite the growing importance and potential of sales force automation (SFA), failure rates for SFA implementations have been reported to be as high as 55-80%. Given the growth of SFA programs, the potential effectiveness and efficiency SFA can bring to the sales force, and the magnitude of SFA failures, it is surprising that relatively few studies have addressed this important and timely topic. Many of the early studies have focused on the adoption and diffusion/infusion of SFA programs from an information technology perspective. The results of these studies have been inconclusive in explaining SFA implementation failures. The purpose of this study is to add to our understanding of SFA failures by investigating a broader set of implementation factors than those typically included in acceptance of technology studies. We conducted in-depth personal interviews with executives from three global organizations who were responsible for SFA initiatives in their firm. Results from the in-depth analyses yield recommendations and a proposed model to assist managers in the implementation of their SFA as well as getting their salespeople to “buy-in” to the SFA, and ultimately reduce SFA failures.     

“I think I can…I think I can”: The impact of perceived selling efficacy and deal disclosure on salesperson escalation of commitment

Salespeople have considerable autonomy in the choices they make with respect to both the types and amounts of resources they deploy in pursuing potential customer accounts and specific sales opportunities. Building from a prospect theory framework and also leveraging self-justification theory, this research reports the results of three experimental studies conducted on practicing salespeople. The experiments help shed light on several factors that might influence a critical form of salesperson resource allocation decision — the allocation of the salesperson's own ‘selling time’ which is devoted to a specific sales opportunity. Study 1 establishes that an escalation of commitment effect exists when salespeople pursue a new customer opportunity, and that “competitive intensity” is a key variable that attenuates the escalation of commitment effect. Study 2 demonstrates that a salesperson's “selling efficacy” – or their confidence in their abilities and decision-making in sales – has important, but mixed, effects on the salesperson's allocation of scarce resources. Finally, study 3 broadens this research by showing that environmental factors such as the extent to which the salesperson has ‘disclosed’ their pursuit of a new sales opportunity within their own organization can also influence the escalation of commitment effect on how they allocate resources in pursuit of that business. The article's broader contribution is that it offers an overdue and preliminary glimpse into the levers which shape and influence how, when, and why salespeople apply resources in the pursuit of new customers.     

Understanding sales manager effectiveness: Linking attributes to sales force values

Although sales managers influence a variety of sales force outcomes critically important in the dynamic business environment of the 21st Century, research examining sales manager effectiveness is limited. As such, an investigation of the attributes of effective sales managers, as well as the impact of these attributes on the sales force, is warranted. To explore these issues, the authors employed value laddering, an in-depth interview technique that facilitates the identification of key attributes and the subsequent linkages of those attributes to consequences and underlying values or goals held by respondents. Data collected from sales professionals resulted in 308 ladders that were subsequently aggregated across subjects and used to generate a hierarchical value map (HVM) reflecting the associations among constructs. The HVM highlights the attributes of effective sales managers, as identified by respondents, and reflects three major sales management roles: communicator, motivator and coach. Each of these roles is explored and managerial and research implications are discussed.     

B2B sales force productivity: applications of revenue management strategies to sales management

Firms should be able to apply the time-based philosophy of revenue management to their sales forces. To do so requires a revision in the way most sales divisions traditionally have viewed salesperson time. Hence, a different type of proposed measure, revenue per available salesperson hour, is proposed to better integrate the value of the salesperson's time as a factor in sales potential and revenue calculation. This article seeks to (1) foster a positive perception of revenue management as a viable sales approach, (2) establish a framework for such a strategy, and (3) set a useful road map for facilitating execution.