An Empirical Investigation of Some Critical Success Factors to Improve Sales Unit Effectiveness

Abstract

In the last decade, researchers have shown an increasing interest in investigating the determinants of better salesforce performance (Hise and Reid, 1994; Babakus et al., 1994). In some organizations the most critical factor in enhancing performance is possibly a knowledgeable, skilled and competent salesforce (Barney 1991; Lee and Miller 1999). Accordingly, the role of the salesforce is becoming more crucial than ever before. Although much progress has been made (e.g., Baldauf, Cravens and Piercy 2001), to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies that have looked at the available support resources that would help to improve the effectiveness of the sales organization by increasing the effectiveness of the salesperson. This study attempts to identify a number of critical resources and approaches that help the sales unit to perform more effectively. For example, Piercy, Cravens and Morgan (1997) suggest that “the underlying questions to be addressed in obtaining a better understanding of the sources of sales organization effectiveness” include salesperson characteristics, sales management control practices, salesperson compensation, and salesforce performance. They specifically highlight the importance of “structural and organizational issues that provide the salesperson with the opportunity to achieve superior performance”. Day and Wensley (1988) recommend that it is beneficial to evaluate the association between potential critical success factors (CSFs) and relevant effectiveness measures. It is suggested that this assessment may involve correlating CSFs with relevant measures of success or, alternatively, comparing CSFs across winning versus losing competitors (Day and Wensley 1988; Keck, Leigh, and Lollar 1995).