Contribution of mindfulness to customer orientation and adaptive selling

Abstract

The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between the mindfulness of salespeople and their selling behaviours, as well as their satisfaction with their own sales performance. The sampling frame for this research includes salespersons from a world-leading-direct-sales corporation that has subsidiaries in Thailand. A total of 172 completed surveys were obtained. Results from a partial least squares regression of these surveys showed that both trait mindfulness and state mindfulness during the sales interactions of salespersons positively correlated with these outcome variables. Although trait mindfulness tended to explain adaptive selling indirectly, through the mediating role of customer orientation, only its direct linkage with customer orientation was supported. For state mindfulness during sales activities, the results supported that it is directly and positively associated with both customer orientation and adaptive selling. Lastly, the results showed that both trait mindfulness and state mindfulness during sales activities positively correlated with sales performance satisfaction. Therefore, the study suggests that mindfulness training is a possible intervention that sales organisations and/or sales managers may consider to help their sales personnel improve the quality of mindfulness that may be required for them to work more productively in their sales job.