Customer‐oriented selling: Exploring the roles of emotional intelligence and organizational commitment

Professional salespeople are often placed in situations where role conflict and ambiguity are prevalent. They are generally expected to sell a firm's products and services to generate immediate profits, while simultaneously building customer satisfaction and promoting lifetime customers and the long‐term economic viability of the firm. The concept of customer‐oriented selling illustrates the conflict, as salespeople are required to forgo immediate benefits in lieu of long‐term rewards. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships existing between customer‐oriented selling, emotional intelligence, and organizational commitment. The results indicate that a salesperson's customer orientation level is significantly related to emotional intelligence. Implications of the findings indicate that managers should consider using emotional intelligence as a selection and human‐resource development tool, as improvements in emotional intelligence are correlated with greater levels of customer orientation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The influence of salesperson skill,motivation, and training on the practice of customer‐oriented selling

Why is customer‐oriented selling not practiced widely? The purpose of this research was to identify the relationships between factors that may be related to the practice of customer‐oriented selling: Salesperson job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and skills. A survey of 109 retail salespeople provided insights into the relationships between these variables. The findings focused on the importance of the relationships existing between salesperson skills, training, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and salesperson customer orientation. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Third‐person perception and purchase behavior in response to various selling methods

Two studies investigated whether various tactics of personal selling that generate different levels of resistance also produce different degrees of third‐person perceptions. Furthermore, the studies compared third‐person perceptions to the actual influence on behavior. Study 1 showed that more direct and blatant selling methods produce more TPP. Study 2 showed that people tend to underestimate the influence of the more direct method, especially with regard to themselves. The study concludes by identifying the ideal selling method as one in which the customers are asked about their willingness to listen to the sales campaign before they are told about it. This method increases sales and creates satisfied customers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

浅议开展营销策划教学的必要性

随着经济体制改革的深入进行,营销策划在企业中越来越受到重视。如何培养高质量策划类人才,以满足企业发展的需要成为当前社会需要解决的一个问题。本文对营销策划的重要性以及如何培养营销策划人才进行了论述。     

Do reward programs build loyalty for services?: The moderating effect of satisfaction on type and timing of rewards

While reward programs have been widely used as a means to engender customer loyalty, it is not clear if the ends are justified. Some researchers argue that we do not fully understand the mechanism underlying reward programs and how it affects consumer acceptability of such programs. In this study, we examine two variables; timing (immediate vs. delayed) and type (direct vs. indirect) of rewards in two service conditions (satisfied vs. dissatisfied). We conduct the experiment in two service settings and the results indicate that when consumers are satisfied, they prefer delayed, direct rewards (of higher values) to immediate, direct rewards. However, when consumers are dissatisfied, they prefer immediate, direct rewards to delayed, direct rewards (of higher values). Interestingly, the preference for direct over indirect rewards is apparent only if the rewards are delayed (for the satisfactory service experience) or immediate (for the dissatisfactory service experience).     

Individual and contextual influences on the affective commitment of retail salespeople

Abstract

Salesperson characteristics as well as managerial approaches have been found to play an important role in the development of positive attitudes by salespersons towards an organisation. This study integrates these two research areas to investigate the personal and contextual antecedents of affective organisational commitment of retail salespeople. Fit theory and the literature on person–situation interaction provide the theoretical bases for explaining how salesperson selling skills, job liking, and empowerment individually and jointly influence affective commitment. A multilevel modelling approach is used to analyse data from 105 sales managers and 419 salespeople. Findings reveal that salespersons' affective commitment is influenced by their selling skills, degree of job liking, tenure, and empowerment. The results also indicate that the impact of selling skills on affective commitment is higher when empowerment is high. Based on the study's findings, implications for managing salespeople as well as limitations and suggestions for future research are offered.     

资本结构与股权结构:公司融资的制度决定

本文调查了756家上市公司的2003年的横截面数据,考察了股权结构对资本结构的制度影响。本文的经验结果显示,国家股比例较高的公司伴随着显著较低的负债率,更倾向于权益融资;法人股比例和流通股比例较高的公司则更倾向于债务融资(其中流通股比例较高的公司倾向性最强)。本文还发现,公司融资行为还受企业规模、资产结构、盈利能力和成长性的显著影响。     

Selling assertively

Assertiveness may not be appropriate for every person or situation, but it can be an effective selling style. Use the chart to decide what style of selling you practice now, and then follow the guidelines if you are ready to give assertiveness a try.     

How Hand Proximity Impacts Consumer Responses to a Persuasive Communication

This research examines the impact of hand proximity (i.e., proximal or distal) on how consumers process the information contained in an advertisement or on a product Web site. Four studies demonstrate that when hands are proximal to that information (e.g., when using a mobile device to view the information), there is more detail‐oriented processing that results in greater attribute recall and a greater amount of attribute‐related thoughts. When hands are distal to that information (e.g., when using a desktop to view the ad or product Web site), there is more holistic, conceptually oriented processing that results in greater thematic recall and more thoughts about the theme. This research also demonstrates that hand proximity can differentially impact choice and product evaluations. Specifically, when hands are proximal consumers prefer ads communicating detailed product information; when hands are distal consumers prefer ads that focus on a theme. Hand proximity effects are driven by the innate tendency to manipulate or inspect an item. The research has important practical implications, given the ubiquity of both hand‐held devices and computers.     

Corruption and Companies: The Use of Facilitating Payments

Making use of facilitating payments is a very widespread form of corruption. These consist of small payments or gifts made to a person – generally a public official or an employee of a private company – to obtain a favour, such as expediting an administrative process; obtaining a permit, licence or service; or avoiding an abuse of power. Unlike the worst forms of corruption, facilitating payments do not usually involve an outright injustice on the part of the payer as they are entitled to what they request. This may be why public opinion tends to condone such payments; often they are assumed to be unavoidable and are excused on the grounds of low wages and lack of professionalism among public officials and disorganisation in government offices. Many companies that take the fight against “grand” corruption very seriously are inclined to overlook these “petty” transgressions, which are seen as the grease that makes the wheels of the bureaucratic machine turn more smoothly. Despite this, facilitating payments have a pernicious effect on the working of public and private administrations: all too often they are the slippery slope to more serious forms of corruption; they impose additional costs on companies and citizens; and in the long run they sap the ethical foundations of organisations. Although many articles on corruption mention facilitating payments, there have been no systematic studies from a company’s point of view. This article thus focuses on facilitating payments from the point of view of the company that makes the payment, either as the active partner (when it is the company that takes the initiative) or as the passive partner (when the official or employee is the instigator).     

营销的本质是管理交易而非买卖交易——兼论营销与销售的区别

"营销的本质"和"营销与销售的区别"是市场营销理论和实践的基本问题。从制度经济学的视角看,营销的本质是企业的一种管理交易,而不是产品买卖交易。营销具有管理交易的本质特征:生产性、效率性和层级性,而销售具有买卖交易的本质特征:分配性、价格性和平等性。营销本质上是生产者的行为,是产业资本的行为,而销售本质上是商人行为,是商业资本的行为。     

Managing advertising investments in marketing channels

This paper investigates how should manufacturers optimally allocate resources to retailer-initiated (retailer) advertising through cooperative advertising programs and own (manufacturer) advertising in a bilateral monopoly. Retailer advertising stimulates immediate sales but may also harm long-term (post-advertising) demand, whereas manufacturer advertising aims at building brand equity and stimulates both immediate and long-term sales. A game-theoretic model in which a manufacturer and a retailer set pricing and advertising decisions over a two-period planning horizon is developed to account for the differences between manufacturer and retailer advertising. We characterize equilibrium solutions for four advertising scenarios for the manufacturer, ranging from no investment in any advertising activity to undertaking own advertising and supporting retailer advertising simultaneously. Comparing the two players’ equilibrium strategies and profits across these scenarios, we find that manufacturers should avoid offering exclusively cooperative advertising programs to retailers. When retailer advertising positively influences long-term sales, manufacturers should offer cooperative advertising supports to retailers in addition to undertaking their own advertising. When retailer advertising negatively affects long-term sales, manufacturers can still undertake own advertising and offer cooperative advertising under certain conditions. However, if these conditions are not met, focusing exclusively on own advertising is their best advertising strategy. Retailers also prefer scenarios in which manufacturers advertise, but may choose not to participate in manufacturers’ cooperative advertising programs. This leads to suboptimal outcomes if cooperative advertising programs are not enhanced by additional incentives (e.g., side payments or other services).     

Client Perceptions of the Customer Orientation of Advertising Agencies

Abstract

A national random sample of advertisers evaluated the customer orientation of their advertising agencies. The respondents also rated the importance of various agency attributes for agency selection, as well as their level of satisfaction with the performance of their current advertising agencies. Client perceptions of the customer orientation of advertising agencies was found to be significantly related to clients' satisfaction with agency performance. The importance of customer oriented selling behaviors by advertising agencies are discussed.     

Why do many consumers prefer to pay now when they could pay later?

Payment timing is conceptualized as a payment characteristic useful in explaining motivations to prefer payment types. Cash, debit cards, and online banking represent consumers' preferences to pay now, while credit cards and loans represent the inclination to pay later. Based on a grounded theory study, a payment-timing model is developed to theorize consumers' choices of payment types with differences in payment timing. The model presents four motivations for payment-timing preferences: (1) the extent of rewards salience, (2) the perception of financial stress, (3) adopting heuristics for money management, and (4) the influence of perceived financial ability. Consumers choose payment-timing options that best suit their financial strategy to manage payments in pursuit of their consumption objectives.     

Salespersons' Guanxi Orientation,Communication, and Manifest Conflict: An Empirical Study in China

The purpose of this study was to investigate how guanxi orientation, which is one of the personality attributes of Chinese people, influences the behavior of salespersons and the occurrence of manifest conflict. This study also investigates how guanxi‐oriented attitude, which is one dimension of guanxi orientation, influences guanxi‐oriented behavior, the other dimension of guanxi orientation. Data were collected via questionnaire from those selling equipment in the oil industry. The partial least squares method is applied to analyze the collected data. The study finds a positive correlation between salespersons’ guanxi‐oriented attitudes and guanxi‐oriented behavior. Both dimensions of the guanxi orientations of salespersons influence their selection of communication modality under friction events. The use of informal communication is inversely related to the occurrence of manifest conflict, while the use of formal communication is positively related. The guanxi‐oriented attitude of salespersons is negatively related to the occurrence of manifest conflict; however, the collected data did not reveal the expected negative relationship between guanxi‐oriented behavior and the occurrence of manifest conflict. The implications and research limitations are also discussed.     

Do bonus payments help enhance salesforce retention?

Our primary aim in this research is to examine if the existence of a bonus component in the sales compensation structure can enhance salesforce retention. We also study the impact of total sales compensation, relative to industry norms, on salesforce retention. We find that bonus payments do enhance salesforce retention among firms whose total compensation is above industry average but not among firms whose total compensation is below industry average. Further, we also examine the role of sales training, non-financial motivational tools, and length of the selling cycle on salesforce retention.The authors thank Mr. Chris Heide of the Dartnell Corporation for providing the data analyzed in this paper.     

Empirical Testing of the Reference-Price Effect of Buy-Now Prices in Internet Auctions

Retailers selling items through Internet auctions frequently use buy-now prices (BNPs), which allow the immediate selling of an item to consumers at a fixed price. Previous research has proposed several theories of the usage of BNPs by bidders. We study the usage of BNPs from a seller's point of view. We propose that a retailer may use BNPs as external reference prices, influencing bidders’ valuations in Internet auctions. We focus on the effect of BNPs on bidders’ willingness to pay (WTP) and study under what conditions a BNP can be effectively used as an external reference price. Results of two empirical studies clearly indicate that BNPs have a reference-price effect. In addition, we find that this effect is moderated by (1) the difficulty of value assessment and (2) product value.     

Contribution of sales control in salespeople’s creative selling: Work engagement as a mediator

This study investigated the effects of outcome-based control (OBCS) and behavior-based control (BBCS) on creative selling, by exploring their mediating effects on creative selling through work engagement. We also explored the joint effect of the two sales control systems on work engagement, which can eventually increase creative selling. We collected data from salespeople working at an insurance company in South Korea; 270 of the 303 participants were included in the analysis. Our results revealed that OBCS and BBCS increase creative selling. In addition, work engagement was found to mediate the relationship between OBCS and creative selling but not the relationship between BBCS and creative selling. The joint effect of OBCS and BBCS on work engagement was found to function as a hierarchical combination, meaning that work engagement is enhanced when OBCS is high and BBCS is low. These findings suggest that OBCS and BBCS function through different mechanisms to creative selling when they function separately, and the former acts as a primary control and the latter as a supplement to work engagement when they perform jointly.     

Relationship Marketing and Association Management

Executives of associations, clubs, and professional societies need to understand and utilize a marketing oriented approach to managing their organizations. Marketing is not just selling a product; it is the sensitivity and commitment to align the organization's purpose to satisfying its members. Associations' success depends on maintaining its current members, attracting new members, and invoking involvement. Since associations do not usually offer a "product," it is necessary that they concentrate on presewing and serving their membership through quality service. This paper explains the importance of implementing a marketing orientation as well as the value of improving marketing efforts for associations.     

Time Orientation in Languages and Tax Avoidance

Journal of Business Ethics - Studies suggest that when a language requires grammatical marking of future events, speakers prefer immediate payoffs and engage in less future-oriented behavior. If...