B2B Salespeople Research Articles

Does B2B salespeople’s love of money attitude mediate the relationships between a growth mindset, a fixed mindset, grit, and job performance?

Purpose To most people, money is a motivator, which is robustly true for salespeople. A high love of money attitude predicts university students’ poor academic performance in a business course and cheating in laboratory experiments and multiple panel studies, but money (income) itself does not predict dishonesty. Extrinsic reward undermines intrinsic motivation. Very little research has incorporated the grit construct in the sales literature and explored the relationship between grit and the love of money. Further, a growth mindset and a fixed mindset may also impact salespeople’s job performance. This study aims to explore a brand-new theoretical structural equation model (SEM) and investigate the relationships between individual characteristics (growth and fixed mindsets and grit orientation) and job performance directly and indirectly through a mediator – salespeople’s love of money attitude. Design/methodology/approach This study uses Qualtrics and collects data from 330 business-to-business (B2B) salespeople across several industries in the USA. This study uses a formative SEM model to test this study’s hypotheses. Findings First, there are significant correlations among grit, a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, revealing no construct duplication or redundancy. Second, both a growth mindset and grit indirectly enhance job performance through the love of money attitude – a mediator, offering a brand-new discovery. Third, counter-intuitively, a growth mindset and grit do not directly improve job performance. Fourth, grit is significantly and negatively related to the love of money attitude, adding a new twist to this study’s theoretical model. Fifth, a fixed mindset undermines job performance directly but is unrelated to the love of money. Overall, B2B salespeople’s love of money attitude (employee demand) undermines sales personnel’s self-reported job performance (organization demand) in the organization and employee’s supply and demand exchange relationship. Originality/value The findings reveal that a growth mindset, a fixed mindset and grit contribute differently to sales personnel’s love of money attitude and job performance in this study’s theoretical model. The love of money serves as a mediator. A commonly accepted belief is that money is a motivator. Money (income) itself and the love of money attitude are two separate constructs. This study’s novel discoveries provide the essential missing monetary-aspirations-to-job-performance link in the literature – ardent monetary aspiration undermines self-reported job performance. This study offers inspiration to help decision-makers make happy, healthy and wealthy decisions and improve performance.

Salesperson knowledge sourcing inside the vendor organization: Examining the performance-relationship continuum given selected boundary conditions

Salespeople can gain valuable knowledge from within their own firm to improve performance with customers. Despite this, salespeople's knowledge sourcing from various internal sources and personnel and the relationship of this to performance remains largely unexplored. Following a mixed-methods approach, Study 1 employs qualitative investigation to outline the distinct types of knowledge salespeople source from three distinct internal groups, namely (i) sales colleagues, (ii) sales managers and the (iii) internal business team (IBT), as well as several contingencies potentially impacting the effectiveness of knowledge-sourcing. To test hypotheses developed from Study 1, Study 2 empirically investigates the performance effects of salespeople sourcing knowledge from sales and non-sales IBT members via B2B salesperson survey data (n = 211). Results indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship between knowledge sourcing from sales colleagues and salesperson performance, with curvilinear performance-relationships identified in terms of knowledge sourcing from sales managers and the IBT, as these are moderated by market-level variables. The research provides overdue insights on the still little-understood internal dimension of selling, while helping managers determine which knowledge-sourcing they should – and should not – encourage.

All that glitters is not gold: exploring social selling through the eyes of B2B customers

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth understanding of the B2B customers’ perspective regarding salespeople’s social media use.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with 26 key informants performing their job in customer role in various industries.FindingsThe authors inductively identify five themes regarding the B2B customers’ perspective of social media use in B2B selling. These themes allow for valuable implications for social selling activities and expected outcomes.Originality/valueAgainst a growing body of literature on drivers, best practices and outcomes of social media use by B2B salespeople, less attention has been paid to the customer’s side. The authors extend current research by providing a more complete picture of social selling activities and expected outcomes.

The Authenticity of Business to Business Salespersons on Consultative Selling Competence: The Role of Customer Orientation

Purpose - The study investigates the role of authenticity of B2B salespersons has on their consultative selling competence. The study also examines the mediating effect of customer orientation between the authenticity of B2B salespersons and their consultative selling competence, as well as the moderating role of trust in the buyer-seller exchange.
 Design/methodology/approach - This research utilized a covariance-based structural equation model technique. The study assessed the research model’s moderation effects through a stepwise approach, which allowed for an examination of the moderating effect of trust in the buyer-seller relationship.
 Findings - As a result of structural equation analysis, this study found that the authenticity of B2B salespersons influences their consultative selling competence by mediating their customer orientation significantly. In addition, trust in the buyer-seller exchange plays a significant role as a moderating variable between customer orientation and competitive selling competence, but it is not significant as a moderating variable between the authenticity and customer orientation of B2B salespersons.
 Research implications or Originality - This research proposed the role of authenticity of the B2B salesperson as a key factor in the trust-based relationship and a key variable of consultative selling competence. The study has taken the research on the authenticity of the B2B salesperson one step further from the study of authenticity of the brand and the company's leadership.

Culture uncovered: B2B salesforce job reviews as windows into corporate values

PurposeThis study aims to help uncover corporate culture and values to attract and retain talent by understanding job reviews written by business-to-business (B2B) salespeople.Design/methodology/approachOver 40,000 job reviews on Glassdoor.com are analyzed by a dictionary-based content analysis tool, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC2015), to explore the links between corporate culture and linguistics characteristics of reviews as articulated by B2B salespeople. This study adopted a multidimensional scaling approach based on the nine cultural value scores to create a map of corporate profiles. A projection of the LIWC2015 scores on this map uncovers differences in language patterns and emotions expressed across the profiles.FindingsFindings reveal a map of corporate profiles with two dimensions, namely, product-centricity and customer-centricity, that divide salesforce subculture into a 2 × 2 matrix of four types: Empathic Innovators, Product Pioneers, Customer Champions and Commodity Traders.Originality/valueThis study combined two data sets, scores on CultureX’s nine cultural values (agility, collaboration, customer orientation, diversity, execution, innovation, integrity, performance and respect) and job reviews on Glassdoor.com. This research seeks to develop profiles of the organizational culture and to use a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods. This study adds to the literature on salesforce subculture and showcases a solution to the methodological difficulty in categorizing and measuring culture.

Increasing graduates’ interest in B2B sales: how to dispel lay beliefs, fight stigma, and create a profession of choice

Given the pressing talent shortage and the need for well-educated recruits in business-to-business (B2B) sales, understanding how to increase university graduates’ low interest in this profession is vital to sales departments’ competitiveness. To tackle this issue, we adopt a mixed-method approach to investigate the reasons for and measures against graduates’ low interest in B2B sales. First, we develop a comprehensive, theory-based framework to understand the root causes of graduates’ low interest in B2B sales (Study 1). This framework uncovers specific beliefs discouraging graduates from pursuing B2B sales, including negative perceptions of job characteristics, the profession’s prevailing stigma, and negative career success expectations. Second, comparing graduates’ and B2B salespeople’s assessments of B2B sales job characteristics (Study 2), we reveal that graduates hold lay beliefs about B2B sales lacking intrinsic and social job characteristics. As a basis for a solution, we identify the types and combinations of sales exposure required to dispel lay beliefs and create a favorable but realistic picture of B2B sales. Third, combining text analysis of B2B sales labor market communication and conjoint analysis of graduate application drivers (Studies 3a and 3b), we develop guidelines to better align communication and job structures with graduates’ needs.

Was COVID-19 the end of B2B Sales as We Know it? Understanding the New Skills and Competencies of the B2B Salesperson After a Disruption Event Such as COVID-19

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine despite Covid-19 pandemic, several companies managed to grow their sales. This leads us to our research questions: what selling competencies make best salespeople post Covid-19 disruption? And, which of the sales competencies make to be most important toward their job performance? Theoretical framework: The B2B selling abilities post Covid-19 as the subject of this study has been little research by the academy and without a dominant theoretical framework, but rather a partial vision. This article contributes to integrating the scarce academic literature, which, as we demonstrate, is mainly empirical, with a theoretical domain. Design/methodology/approach: The use of established generic scales capturing each of the constructs of interest by surveying Key Account Managers in a B2B industry setting. Descriptive statistics, psychometric properties, pairwise correlations, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) where deployed. Findings: The results suggests that there is a positive direct effect of salesperson bricolage, adaptive selling, resiliency, salesperson' self-efficacy, and psychological flexibility with salesperson post-disruption performance. Lastly, a negative indirect effect is found between learning orientation, salesperson creativity, and salesperson grit. Research, Practical & Social implications: The study has focused on the proposal of what are the new sales competencies that B2B key account managers must develop to achieve a better sales performance, so managers must train and coach their B2B Key Account Managers (KAM) considering the new abilities needed (salesperson bricolage, adaptive selling, resiliency, salesperson' self-efficacy, and psychological flexibility) for sales success. Originality/value: The value of this study is a novel effort to understand what skills are needed to succeed in the post Covid-19 B2B selling environment.

Automating the B2B Salesperson Pricing Decisions: A Human-Machine Hybrid Approach

A human-machine hybrid automation approach is demonstrated to improve B2B sales performance through a pricing field experiment and econometric analyses.

Choosing the discount size in the software industry: How to incentivise the salesforce

Despite the importance of pricing strategies in B2B sales, previous studies have devoted scarce attention to discount strategies. Drawing on anchoring theory and employing a mixed-method sequential research design (i.e., two experiments and a qualitative study), we explore whether previous discount information (i.e., a reference discount) of a B2B salesperson influences the decision about the amount of discount granted to a new customer. We also examine the role of incentives in this relationship. The findings show the importance of reference discounts in determining the discount level given to a new customer. Specifically, salespeople's incentives reduce this effect. Our qualitative efforts demonstrate that uncertainty reduction and self-interest are the main reasons behind reliance on reference discounts and the efficacy of incentives, respectively. The findings of this research highlight the consequential impacts of salespeople's past knowledge and monetary incentives on determining the discount level.

The impact of business-to-business salespeople’s social media use on value co-creation and cross/up-selling: the role of social capital

PurposeThis study aims to develop and test a process model of the effect of social media use by business-to-business (B2B) salespeople on their value cocreation and cross/upselling performance. Adopting a research acquisition perspective, the authors claim that salesperson’s social media use is critical for generating social capital – an operant resource characterized by superior market knowledge, reputation and networking – which, in turn, directly and synergistically enhances value cocreation and cross/upselling outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA model is developed based on extant sales research on salesperson’s social media use and social capital theory. Data from B2B salespeople is analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results demonstrate that salespeople’s social media use enhances their social capital with support for direct effects on market knowledge and reputation, and indirect effect on networking. The results also show that the three aspects of social capital drive value cocreation, which enhances cross/upselling performance. Post hoc analysis shows the indirect effects of salesperson’s social media use as well as the interconnected effects of the aspects of social capital on value cocreation.Practical implicationsThe study indicates that salespeople should be encouraged to use social media as a means for enhancing market knowledge and reputation, which can then be leveraged to build networking skills. Providing training to salespeople and coaching them on how to build their social capital is essential if organizations need to capitalize on novel ways to improve the value cocreation performance of their sales teams.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates how salespeople’s social media use can enhance their social capital, which, in turn, is critical for value cocreation and cross/upselling performance. The proposed framework opens opportunities for future studies to examine the role of salesperson social capital and value cocreation in B2B exchanges.

Empathy and EGO-drive in the B2B salesforce: Impacts on job satisfaction

It has long been assumed that empathy and ego-drive are two fundamental characteristics of effective salespeople. Taking a wholistic view of sales effectiveness to include job satisfaction in sales positions, this research assesses the relationship between salesperson empathy and ego-drive and sales job satisfaction. While evidence suggests that high empathy and high ego-drive are predictors of sales performance, this does not always translate to job satisfaction based on our findings. Using the automated text analysis tool, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) to analyze company reviews written by B2B salespeople, our results show that B2B salespeople who are most satisfied with their jobs possess high levels of empathy but low levels of ego-drive.

Modelling factors of social media usage by B2B salespersons: an emerging market study

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to extend and contribute to the evolving phenomenon of social media usage by business-to-business (B2B) salespersons. It draws on the interactional psychology model and extended technology acceptance model to explore the said phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based quantitative study was carried out. Responses were gathered through a self-administered and structured questionnaire, from 218 B2B salespersons who were pooled in using purposive and snowball sampling. The final data set was subjected to partial least squares-based structural equation modelling using WarpPLS 7.0.FindingsThis study found that individual factors, namely, salesperson’s social media competence and sales capabilities; organizational factors, namely, organizational commitment and organizational competence; and social factors, namely, image, result demonstrability and subjective norms, contribute positively and significantly towards social media usage by B2B salespeople. The study also found that the impact of individual factors on intention to use social media was partially mediated by its perceived usefulness, while in the case of organizational and social factors, the impact was fully mediated by its perceived ease of use.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides a valuable addition to the existing literature on sales and social media; however, the contextualization cannot be ignored.Practical implicationsThis study enables firms to understand various factors affecting salespeople’ perception of social media and to make them appreciate its usage in improving sales performance and customer satisfaction.Originality/valueIt is the first study that models the factors of salespeople’s usage of social media in their job at three levels, namely, individual, organizational and social, and establishes the link between B2B salespersons’ perceived usefulness of social media, sales capabilities, social media competence and intention to use social media.

Left to their own devices? Antecedents and contingent effects of workplace anxiety in the WFH selling environment

PurposeThe main purpose of this research is to understand how the sudden shift to work from home (WFH) after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has caught several sales organizations underprepared and ill-equipped to combat emergent challenges. In this research, the authors provide initial evidence into how the WFH arrangement impacts salespeople and sales organizations. Specifically, this research is guided by two objectives: to understand how the shift to WFH environment is affecting salespeople, and to explore how organizations can mitigate dysfunctional effects of the shift to WFH practices and enhance salespeople’s commitment toward this new reality.Design/methodology/approachThe authors did preliminary in-depth interviews with 13 executives operating in the business-to-business (B2B) space to identify themes that reflected the reality faced by B2B sales organizations when transitioning to WFH. The authors then conducted a quantitative study involving a survey with 130 B2B salespeople.FindingsThe findings from the qualitative research suggested that the WFH situation is quite different from the more traditional remote selling situations that B2B salespeople are used to. More specifically, salespeople experienced more anxiety because of the WFH situations. This finding was supported in the empirical study done by the authors where stress associated with WFH and job insecurity had a significant impact on salesperson anxiety.Research limitations/implicationsThe study primarily used subjective responses of salespeople with no objective measures. Furthermore, this study is cross-sectional in nature. Future research should build on the present work to understand the long-term consequences of WFH and factor in customer responses to the same. The impact of increased use of technology in the sales process will need further attention, including the sales management implication for the same.Originality/valueGiven the unforeseen nature of the COVID pandemic and how unprepared salespeople and sales organizations were to deal with it, this study is one of the first studies that documents the impact of WFH situations on salespeople.

Looking Through the Glassdoor: The Stories that B2b Salespeople Tell

Looking Through the Glassdoor: The Stories that B2b Salespeople Tell

A model for B2B salesperson performance with service ecosystems perspective: a grounded theory

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop a model for business to business salesperson performance (SP) with a service ecosystems perspective.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the research aims, classical grounded theory was used. The data was gathered through in-depth interviews with 20 sales managers and main sales actors.FindingsAfter coding and analyzing the data, salesperson institutional performance is introduced as a core category including three main dimensions of regulative, normative and cognitive-cultural performance. Multi-level factors determining SP are identified and performance results are introduced in a multi-level long term way. The sales actors, macro variables, actors’ orientations and sales method are introduced as circumstances, while salesperson stressors are presented as covariants deterring the fulfillment of salesperson’s activities.Originality/valueThis study focuses on the contributions of the salesperson in the alignment of institutional arrangements or the results of their being institutionalized, as well as determining the factors and variables affecting it.

The Role of Salespeople in Value Co-Creation and Its Impact on Sales Performance

ABSTRACT Purpose This paper aims to examine salesperson skills, including listening, communication, and adaptive selling, that can enable value co-creation with customers and increase sales performance, while taking into consideration the contingent role of salesperson relationship-enhancing activities. Methodology Survey and objective sales performance data were collected from 201 B2B salespeople in the industrial goods industry. The hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM. Findings The results show adaptive selling, listening, and communication of salespeople positively impact the behaviors of salespeople to co-create value with customers. The results show that when salespeople co-create value with customers, they will have a positive effect on sales performance. Results show how value co-creation mediates the effects of listening and adaptive selling on sales performance. Research Implications Salespeople need to effectively listen to their customers to provide needed solutions by jointly working with them to co-create value. Similarly, a salesperson’s communication and adaptive selling skills have collective impacts that positively contribute to the value co-creation process. Results supplement previous findings in the literature by showing value co-creation holds a positive effect on sales performance at the micro salesperson level. The results offer additional support to the ongoing dialog on the role of a salesperson as a value co-creator. Practical Implications This study has identified several variables that engender successful co-creation by salespeople in B2B sales contexts. Findings demonstrate that salespeople who can adapt their selling approach, are good listeners, and can effectively communicate with customers can engender the value co-creation process with customers. The findings serve as a base to create professional guidelines about the skills and capabilities salespeople need to successfully execute a value co-creation process. Originality/Value The study adds to the literature on value co-creation by highlighting three factors that can enhance the value co-creation process at the level of salespeople leading to better sales outcomes. This research adds the existing literature on the role of value co-creation in sales by empirically examining the relationship between value co-creation and sales performance at the salesperson level.

Social media in B2B sales: Why and when does salesperson social media usage affect salesperson performance?

The importance of social media usage by B2B salespeople has been well documented in the sales literature. In particular, a B2B salesperson's use of social media to prospect for customers and adapt their sales approach have primarily been shown to explain sales performance. However, an increasing body of literature in the sales domain has called for B2B salespeople to be ambidextrous by engaging in service activities aimed at helping their customers. We argue that by giving B2B salespeople an opportunity to communicate directly with their customers, social media is used by salespeople to proactively service their customers and hence can play a critical role in driving sales performance. Drawing from the Task-Technology Fit theory, we develop and test a conceptual model in which B2B salesperson social media usage affects salesperson performance indirectly through value-oriented prospecting and proactive servicing. Additionally peer social media usage was a key moderator in the relationship between B2B salesperson social media usage on the one hand and value-oriented prospecting and proactive servicing on the other hand. We test the model with data from 171 B2B salespeople and find that salesperson social media usage relates positively with proactive servicing and value-oriented prospecting. While we did not find support for the relationship between social media usage and adaptive selling, we did find support for the impact of all three sales activities salesperson performance. In addition, results show that peer social media usage has positive moderating effects on the B2B salesperson social media usage and value-oriented prospecting/proactive servicing relationships.

Activating salesperson resilience during the COVID-19 crisis: The roles of employer event communication and customer demandingness

Business-to-business (B2B) sales sector is among the business sectors severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. It is critical to understand how to help the workforce in the B2B sales sector grow resilient through such a crisis. The main aim of this study is to examine the role of employer event communication in fostering B2B salesperson resilience. The data were collected from 447 sales employees from manufacturing firms in an Asian emerging market during the pandemic crisis. The results revealed the positive link between employer event communication and salesperson resilience. Deliberate rumination was detected as a mediator for the relationship between employer event communication and resilience. However, while the significant and negative association was observed between employer event communication and intrusive rumination, the non-significant relationship occurred between intrusive rumination and resilience. Customer demandingness moderated the effects of intrusive and deliberate rumination on salesperson resilience. Discussions on theoretical and practical implications are displayed.

The impact of salesperson interpersonal mentalizing skills on coping and burnout: the critical role of coping oscillation

Salespeople are subjected to high levels of stress on a day-to-day basis. Over time, this can lead to burnout if they lack sufficient coping resources to handle this stress. Given the major problems associated with burnout, managers and scholars are interested in discovering factors that help salespeople cope with stress and reduce burnout. The authors argue that interpersonal mentalizing (IM) skills may be effective in reducing salesperson stress and its negative outcomes. Salespeople with greater IM skills are better at regulating their emotions, building work relationships, and understanding what others think. The authors posit that these skills help salespeople to cope with stress and reduce burnout through a process mediated by active and avoidance coping strategies. Following one surprising finding in Study 1, which involved 149 B2B Fortune 500 salespeople, the authors developed a post-hoc hypothesis that oscillating between active and avoidance coping strategies can result in a more optimal use of coping resources. Given that extant theory argues that active coping is an adaptive strategy and avoidance coping is a maladaptive strategy, the finding that oscillating between the two can be more effective is an important theoretical advancement. A second study was conducted with 215 B2B salespeople working in a cross-section of industries to increase the generalizability of the results and to test the novel oscillation hypothesis. The authors’ findings demonstrate that IM skills reduce burnout and play an important role in shaping the coping strategies salespeople employ.

Horses for courses: B2B salesperson performance: the role of their characteristics and promotion efforts

Although few studies have investigated effective factors in B2B salesperson performance, neither the simultaneous organisational and characteristics dimensions in the B2B market nor the effects of promotion efforts and salesperson characteristics dimensions on B2B salesperson performance, have been investigated. Therefore, this paper mainly aims to investigate the effects of promotion efforts and the B2B salespeople's characteristics on their performance. To collect and analyse data, the questionnaire and structural equation modelling (SEM) are used. Participants include 108 Iranian B2B sellers selling dairy products to retailers. The results demonstrated that the company's promotion efforts (including effective advertisement and effective sales promotion) and salesperson's characteristics (including customer lifetime value orientation, coachability, customer orientation, and sales experience) can enhance B2B salesperson performance. Besides, this research provides constructive suggestions for the companies to boost their B2B salesperson performance.