Managerial,organizational, and external drivers of sales effectiveness in export market ventures

The authors extend sales management theory by considering the role of export sales management in small- and medium-sized firms, and they develop an integrated model of export sales organization effectiveness. Specifically, the authors test 16 hypotheses that examine the relationships among export sales management control, export territory, psychic distance, export sales performance, and export sales organization effectiveness. Using a mail-survey approach, data were collected from U.K.-based export sales managers in 146 direct exporters of industrial products. Though certain anomalies are observed, the research findings support many of the hypothesized associations, confirming the robustness of existing sales management concepts and theories in an export-marketing context.

我国网络销售代理的发展现状、存在的问题及对策分析

目前,网络销售代理正处于起步发展阶段,传统经销商和网络销售代理商的竞争正激烈上演,网络销售代理与传统销售代理的整合营销正逐步运用,在这个发展阶段中,促进我国网络销售代理发展的法律法规也正逐步完善。与此同时,网络销售代理在发展的过程中存在选择产品供应商不当,产品网络销售代理策略不合理,物流配送服务未能快速及时有效地进行,缺乏专业的网络销售代理人才和客户关系管理不当等问题。为此,应该选择合适的产品供应商,制定合理的产品网络销售代理策略,提高物流配送服务的效率,加强网络销售代理人才的培养和建立良好的客户关系管理系统,以便网络销售代理商能够更加顺利地拓展业务。     

Sales managers and sales force feedback: Information left in the pipeline

In a study of sales force feedback at management levels, salesmen from two large corporations “planted” competitive new-product information with their sales managers. The object was to monitor the responses of the managers to reports from the field. Only about half of the 35 managers sampled passed the information on to higher levels. The importance of sales force feedback seems to have been lost on these managers, even though the use of such information had been stressed in their management training programs. The study indicates a need to provide motivation to use sales force feedback as a link in management information systems.     

When and how does sales team conflict affect sales team performance?

Drawing on information processing theory, this study integrates the conflict and learning literatures to examine an under-examined area in sales research: When do sales team task and relationship conflicts influence sales team performance, and what is the underlying process by which this occurs? Although there is burgeoning interest in sales research at the team level, very few empirical studies have shed light on sales team dynamics such as conflict and how they impact sales team performance. This study attempts to address this gap by developing a mediated moderation model and finds that (a) task and relationship conflicts have negative impacts on sales team performance, (b) team information exchange and information interpretation/implementation mediate the negative relationship between task and relationship conflicts and sales team performance, and (c) task and relationship conflicts stifle sales team performance when the team makes little use of a collaborative conflict handling style because this interactive combination (task/relationship conflict–low collaborative conflict handling style) hinders team information exchange and interpretation/implementation. Implications for conflict management in sales teams are discussed.     

Identifying peer mentors in the sales force: An exploratory investigation of willingness and ability

There has been a high level of interest in the sales management practitioner literature in mentoring, but very little is known about peer mentoring relationships between more experienced and less experienced salespeople. Sales organizations that wish to initiate or encourage peer mentoring relationships must identify those salespeople who are both able and willing to mentor less experienced salespeople. The results of an exploratory study to identify mentors in an industrial sales force are reported. The authors find that job experience, job satisfaction, a measure of interpersonal competence, and role conflict are associated with willingness to mentor; interpersonal competence and role conflict are associated with ability to mentor. Results are discussed and opportunities for future research are offered. She received her M.S. from Ohio State University and her M.B.A. from Wright State University. She has experience in personnel training with an industrial sales organization. Her research interests are in the areas of salesperson communication competence, buyer-seller interactions, and buyer-seller negotiation. Her research has been published in various conference proceedings. She received her Ph.D. from University of Tennessee. She has experience in industrial sales and sales management. Her research interests are in the area of buyer-seller interactions and managing sales relationships. Her research has been published inJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and various conference proceedings. Wendy L. Warren is in management at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and has experience in new product development. She received her M.S. from Ohio State University. Her research has been published inJournal of Consumer Research.     

Decision support oriented sales forecasting methods

Forecast accuracy is not always a good criterion by which to evaluate alternative sales forecasting methods. Accurate forecasts do not always lead to desirable management policies. The paper gives two examples of this in practice, one in which short term sales forecasts are used for operational planning purposes, and the other in which long term sales forecasts are used for strategic company planning. In each case the most accurate forecasts do not give the best plans and alternative criteria to accuracy are proposed and shown to perform better. Conclusions are drawn regarding evaluation criteria for alternative sales forecasting methods within a planning context and also regarding the position of the forecasting function within an organisation.     

The impact of sales management changes on new product success

Although the role of the sales force and sales management mix can be significant in influencing successful new product launch, the impact of specific sales management programs and tactics has not been examined in detail. This study explores whether firms that introduce new products were more successful in achieving their objectives when the new product introduction was accompanied by associated changes in sales management mix variables. Firms that were more successful in achieving their new product objectives accompanied their new product launches with significantly more changes in sales force quotas than did firms whose achievement of new product objectives was less successful. However, no significant differences in the number of changes in sales force structure, training, or sales support were found between firms with more successful versus less successful new products. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She began her career as a chemist and has held research, sales, product management, and marketing management positions prior to entering academia. The major focus of her research is on the process of developing and marketing new products. Her articles have appeared in theJournal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, andIndustrial Marketing Management. He has written numerous books and articles in professional journals and is the former editor ofJournal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. He serves on the editorial review boards of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, andJournal of Business & Industrial Marketing and has been a consultant to many business and government organizations.     

Selling strategies: The effects of suggesting a decision structure to novice and expert buyers

This research investigates the impact of selling strategies on selling effectiveness. The authors compare two selling strategies: (1) an agenda strategy, in which a salesperson attempts to influence the structure of the buyer’s decision by suggesting constraints that eliminate competitive products from consideration, and (2) a more typical selling strategy that summarizes the target product’s benefits. The results show that when sellers use an agenda selling strategy, target products receive higher evaluations and have higher probabilities of being considered and chosen. Buyer expertise moderates this effect, with the agenda strategy in most cases having more impact on novice buyers than on expert buyers. These findings demonstrate the importance of selling strategy to selling effectiveness, suggest the potential benefit for sellers of using selling strategies that attempt to influence the structure of the buyer’s decision, and provide support for the contingent nature of selling effectiveness. Judy A. Wagner (Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) is currently an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her primary research interests are personal selling strategies, sales management, and buyer decision making. Her research has been published inAdvances in Consumer Research and the proceedings of the American Marketing Association and is forthcoming in theJournal of Business Research. Noreen M. Klein (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University) is currently an associate professor of marketing at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her research interests include consumer decision making and the behavioral aspects of pricing, and her research has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research andOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Making. Janet E. Keith (Ph.D., Arizona State University) is currently an associate professor of marketing at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her research interests lie in behavioral issues in channels of distribution and in sales and sales management. Her studies have been published in journals such as theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, andJournal of Marketing Channels.     

Linkages between sales management tools and practices: Some evidence from British companies

This article investigates the interactions among sales management tools and practices used in six key areas of managerial responsibility, namely: organization, selection, training, remuneration, supervision, and evaluation. The results are based principally upon a mail survey of 113 U.K. manufacturing companies. Our data suggest that the sales management tools and practices used by the sample companies in the aforementioned managerial areas tend to be interrelated. Specificially, the practices pertaining to the organization and selection of the sales force are linked with the training practices employed. Also, the selection and the training practices used by manufacturing companies tend to be linked with the evaluation practices. Finally, the remuneration practices and policies are linked to the practices pertaining to the supervision and evaluation of the sales force.     

加强应收帐款管理,提高经济效益

应收账款是企业为扩大销售,实行信用销售而形成的.应收账款管理的好坏直接影响企业营运资金的周转与经济效益.因此企业应加强应收帐款的管理,分析应收帐款存在风险,制定防范措施,最大限度地降低应收帐款风险,提高企业的效益.     

营销管理中的人文化问题

营销管理的实质是需求管理,需求管理的实质则是人的问题;人文化问题是市场营销组合诸要素协调发展的关键,是实现现代营销管理良性运行的核心;人文化问题是中国化营销管理国际化的重要步骤。实现营销管理的人文化必须在营销战略中体现后方化、人性化、现代化的特点。     

创新管理之构想--加油站管理的实证分析

时至今日，加油站已发展为以油品销售为主业，便利店销售、车辆维护服务及餐饮住宿为延伸的综合性车一人服务中心，成为社会生产生活中不可或缺的物流保障系统。加油站创新管理就是要建立一整套开放的、基于客观数据的、为客户创造价值的管理体系和企业化。创新管理可以从内向和外向两个视角来构想。     

Social values and salesperson performance: An empirical examination

Although social values have been used increasingly in consumer research, their utility in sales management research has received little attention. Using a national sample of industrial salespeople, the authors evaluate several hypotheses, developed from social adaptation theory and a theoretical framework of values domain, regarding the incremental ability of the List of Values (LOV) to predict salesperson performance beyond adaptive selling (ADAPTS) and customer orientation (SOCO). The LOV shows promise as a tool by which salesperson performance can be predicted. Managerial implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented. He received his Ph.D. in 1989 from the University of Oregon. His experience includes five years in sales and sales management with Xerox and Digital Equipment Corporation. His research interests include sales force management and marketing strategy. He has published in theReview of Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Business Forecasting, Journal of Marketing Education, and other journals. He received his Ph.D. in 1989 from the University of Oregon. His current research interests include issues in cross-cultural marketing strategy, global and domestic sales force management, and research methodology. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Marketing Education, and other journals.     

改进我国企业人员推销管理

目前 ,我国不少企业在对推销人员管理上较为粗放 ,存在选拔不严 ,培训不力 ,监管落后 ,激励不当 ,支持不够的问题 ,严重影响企业销售工作。应加强对推销人员的选拔、培训、监管、激励和支持 ,使推销人员管理科学化。     

The influence of ethical climate and ethical conflict on role stress in the sales force

Several leading models of ethical decision making include factors contributing to an organization’s ethical climate as significant determinants affecting ethical choice. The relationship of ethical climate to ethical conflict and role conflict is examined in a salesperson context. Results suggest that salespersons’ perceptions of a positive ethical climate are negatively associated with their perceived ethical conflict with sales managers. Implications and directions for future research are provided. He has experience in wholesale and retail sales. His research interests are in sales, sales management, marketing ethics, and consumer behavior. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Business Ethnics, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, andIndustrial Marketing Management, as well as various national and regional proceedings. He is coauthor ofSales Management: Analysis and Decision-Making. He is currently the president of the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association. He is a Southern Marketing Association Fellow and a Southwestern Marketing Association Fellow. He has published 15 books and more than 50 articles. His books includeMarketing: Concepts and Strategies andBusiness Ethics. His work has appeared inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. His major research focus is marketing implementation and ethical compliance frameworks for organizations. Before commencing his academic career, he worked in sales, product management, and sales management with Exxon and Mobil. He has received various teaching and research awards, including being named the Marketing Educator of the Year by Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). His primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, andJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. He is the coauthor of five textbooks, includingThe Professional Selling Skills Workbook, Sales Management: Analysis and Decision-Making, andMarketing Principles and Perspective.     

Heterogeneity in sales districts: Beyond individual-level predictors of satisfaction and performance

This article examines the influence of heterogeneity within a sales unit on the unit’s satisfaction and performance.Sales unit refers to a set of salespersons working out of the same office and for the same supervisor, andheterogenity refers to salespersons’ dispersion or variance on key dimensions. Specifically, drawing on theories in social psychology, the authors study the influence of sales unit heterogeneity in terms of (1) demographic characteristics (e.g., gender dispersion), (2) skills and rewards (e.g., reward dispersion), and (3) goal orientations (e.g., learning orientation dispersion) on a sales unit’s performance and job satisfaction levels. The hypotheses developed are tested using data from a study involving 476 salespeople belonging to 105 sales units in a large organization. The authors find that the focal heterogeneity variables account for nearly 25 percent of the total variance explained by the full set of independent variables included in the model. R. Venkatesh is an assistant professor of business administration at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business. His articles on product bundling, cobranding and sales force management have appeared or are forthcoming in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, andMarketing Science. Goutam Challagalla is an associate marketing professor at Georgia Tech. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin, where he won the Outstanding Dissertation Award. He has published articles on sales management and marketing theory in marketing and psychology journals. Ajay K. Kohli is Isaac Stiles Hopkins professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. During 2000–2001, he is on leave from Emory and working at the Monitor Company. He has published in several journals on market orientation, sales management, and organizational buying behavior.     

The effects on stressful organizational conditions on salesperson work motivation

This paper examines how organizational stress may contribute to intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of salesperson work motivation. Hypotheses generated on the basis of sales management and organizational stress literature are tested using data gathered from an insurance sales population. Results indicate that excessive role stress may produce a significant adverse impact on salespersons' intrinsic and extrinsic work motivation. Research findings are discussed from a managerial perspective. The author expresses his thanks to Thomas R. Wotruba of San Diego State University for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

The role of satisfaction with territory design on the motivation, attitudes, and work outcomes of salespeople

The primary emphasis of previous research concerning salespeople has been focused on their attitudes and behavior. The relationship between organizational variables and salesperson attitudes and behavior has received very limited attention. Sales territory design is largely uncontrollable by the salesperson, yet is acknowledged by managers and researchers as an important factor enabling salespeople to perform well. The objective is to examine satisfaction with territory design from the perspective of the salesperson. A conceptual model and hypotheses are developed linking the satisfaction with territory design with role ambiguity, intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and performance. Role conflict, met expectations, organizational commitment, and intention to leave are also included in the model. Survey results provide strong support for 19 of the 21 hypotheses examined. The findings offer significant insights concerning the role of territory design satisfaction in face-to-face selling and its consequences. Several managerial implications and avenues for future research are discussed. Ken Grant is the deputy head in the Department of Marketing, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a member of the editorial boards of theEuropean Journal of Marketing and theJournal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science. He has published in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and several other journals. He advises companies on marketing planning, new products, and sales management and conducts research and publishes in these areas. David W. Cravens holds the Eunice and James L. West Chair of American Enterprise Studies at Texas Christian University. His research on sales management and marketing strategy has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and other leading journals in marketing and management. Before becoming an educator, he held various industry and government executive positions. He is internationally recognized for his research on marketing strategy and sales management. He has been a visiting scholar at universities in Austria, Australia, Chile, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and Wales. His textbook,Strategic Marketing (Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2000), is widely used in strategy and management courses. George S. Low is an associate professor of marketing in the M. J. Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University. He received a B.A. in advertising from Brigham Young University, an M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Colorado-Boulder. His research on the management of integrated marketing communications and brands has been published in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Advertising Research, Marketing Management, Marketing Science Institute’s Working Paper Series, and other journals. William C. Moncrief is a senior associate dean and professor of marketing at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He received his B.Sc. in political science and his M.B.A. from the University of Mississippi. He completed his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University in 1983. His work has been published in leading marketing and sales journals, including theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, andJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, among others. His research interests are in the field of sales management and include topics such as sales deployment, sales contests, international sales, telemarketing, turnover, laptop computers, sales job activities, and quality control. He has taught in Germany, conducted research in Europe, and has most recently consulted in Mexico.     

The sales manager as a Role model: Effects on trust, job satisfaction, and performance of salespeople

This study develops a conceptual framework that relates role-modeling behavior of sales managers to a set of key outcome variables and assesses the validity of the framework using a cross-sectional sample of salespeople and sales managers drawn from a variety of business-to-business sales organizations. Findings indicate that salespeople’s perceptions of their managers’ role-modeling behavior relate positively to trust in the sales manager and relate indirectly, through trust, to both job satisfaction and overall performance of salespeople. The study provides empirical validity for practitioner suggestions that sales managers should lead by example, and thus should provide a model of the behavior managers desire their salespeople to enact. His primary research interest is in the application of leadership theory to sales management. His work has been published inPersonnel Psychology andJournal of Business-to-Business Marketing.