AbstractAnalytical tools have been found to greatly assist sales managers in making better sales call allocation decisions, but many of these approaches are either too simplified to provide meaningful results or too complex for many sales organizations to use. Recently a grid analysis approach has been suggested as a promising way to increase sales productivity by improving sales call allocations. We present several methodological improvements for developing the grid and report a successful application of grid analysis.

The case made for adaptive selling has been strong, yet the relationship between adaptive selling capability and sales performance exists largely on a conceptual rather than an empirical basis. The relationship between the adaptive selling capability reflected in script-based knowledge structures and sales performance is examined using both subjective and objective sales performance measures. Cognitive sales scripts are elicited based on a simulated selling task in which the prospective buyer deviates from expected behavior. The results indicate that higher performers, as identified by their sales managers, are more likely to be adaptive. Future research implications are discussed, and some initial thoughts regarding managerial applications of these findings are presented.

Ethnography has deepened the understanding of consumer behavior, and has rich potential for sales force research. Sales researchers can use ethnography to broaden their understanding of selling in terms of both topics investigated and conceptual frameworks employed. Ethnography, an inductive method, is described and compared to traditional deductive research approaches. Illustrations from the literature show how ethnography can broaden inquiry beyond the dominant psychological and individualistic view of human behavior that currently guides sales research. Finally, criteria for selecting sales topics for ethnographic inquiry, and other considerations such as limitations, costs, and advantages of using ethnography are given.

(1989). Selling & Sales Management in Action: Why Do Salespeople Fail? Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management: Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 59-64.

AbstractWhile systems selling has become popular as a general concept, many companies have experienced difficulty applying it in practice. The authors propose using a grid approach to implement the strategy. It is based on analysis of the expertise and experience held by both the buyer and seller in a given situation. The grid first examines the product technology knowledge, or “solution expertise,” held by both. Then the “problem expertise” (knowledge of buyer problems and needs) is analyzed. The results are plotted on a problem-solution grid, and can assist systems sellers in targeting the best prospects, developing sales presentations, and handling objections of different functional managers within the buying organization.

AbstractAutomating the sales effort is a significant task, but holds tremendous potential to affect a company's bottom line through increasing salesperson efficiency and consequently increasing gross revenues. While field sales automation is expected to grow rapidly in the next several years, automating the sales effort requires more than just providing portable computers and related software for salespeople to use. It requires a network of productivity tools to speed up a salesperson's administrative tasks, while simultaneously increasing productivity and face-to-face selling time.

AbstractThe use of national or major account sales programs is becoming more prevalent in companies which seek a competitive edge in serving strategically important customers. From 1975 to 1986, the number of major account sales programs operated by U.S. based corporations grew from about a dozen to well over 300. However, the sales management literature has not kept pace with the increased use of major account selling. The purposes of this article are to summarize selected references on the subject, report the results of a survey designed to determine the requirements of an effective major account sales program, and describe the areas in need of future research.

AbstractThis research examined the relationship between salespersons' perceptions of role conflict and role ambiquity from various sources and the degree of agreement between salespeople and sales managers on salesperson performance. Three sources of role ambiguity were found to explain the most variance in performance congruence. Implications for management are discussed.

Evaluating salespeoples' performance is an important task for sales managers. However, little is known about what bases are used by sales managers to evaluate the performance of their salespeople. A study was conducted to determine the bases actually used by sales managers and the results were compared with a study conducted in 1983. Findings indicate more emphasis on profit and cost control, a continued reliance on qualitative measures, and a wide variety of bases being utilized to evaluate the performance of salespeople. Furthermore, the stability of results, across a wide variety of respondent job titles as well as business types and sizes, indicates a good deal of generalizability to other firms.