Sales Force Research Articles

EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP ON SALESPERSON JOB PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING ROLES OF SELF-EFFICACY AND CREATIVITY IN VIETNAMESE SMES

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of transformational leadership on the job performance of salespersons in Vietnamese SMEs. It examines the mediating role of self-efficacy and creativity, contributing to the literature on effective leadership strategies and their impact on salesperson performance. Theoretical Framework: Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the study proposes that transformational leadership positively affects self-efficacy and creativity, leading to improved job performance among salespersons. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data is collected through a survey questionnaire administered to salespersons in Vietnamese SMEs. The collected data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the proposed relationships. Findings: The study reveals the impact of transformational leadership on salesperson job performance and highlights the mediating roles of self-efficacy and creativity. Research Implications: This research contributes to leadership and organizationnal behavior literature in Vietnamese SMEs, offering practical insights for enhancing sales force productivity. Practical & Social Implications: This study emphasizes the significance of transformational leadership in enhancing salesperson self-efficacy and creativity. It informs the development of targeted interventions and training programs, resulting in improved sales performance and overall organizational success. Additionally, the findings have broader applicability to effective leadership strategies across diverse cultural and business contexts.

THE ROLE OF MARKETING CAPABILITIES IN MEDIATING THE INFLUENCE OF MANAGER CAPABILITIES TOWARD SALES FORCE ACHIEVEMENT

<p align="center"><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p><strong> The increasingly competitive sales environment has led business practitioners, especially managers, to consistently emphasize their sales teams to achieve desired performance. Sales organizations are challenged to compete and create sustainable competitive advantages to achieve optimal sales performance. The role of Organizational Competitive Orientation, rarely studied specifically, has seen limited attention in research. Most marketing literature focuses on Market Orientation and its impact on Sales Force Performance. This study aims to explore the Mediating Role of Marketing Capabilities in the Influence of Managerial Capabilities on Salesperson Performance. The relationships among four constructs - Organizational Competitive Orientation, Managerial Capabilities, Marketing Capabilities, and Sales Force Performance - are analyzed using five hypotheses through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Additionally, one mediation hypothesis is tested using the Sobel Test, involving 200 sales force respondents from various industries in West Kalimantan.</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p>

Key Performance Indicator Analysis and Sharia Product Knowledge on Sales Force Performance with Work Motivation as an Intervening Variable at Bank Muamalat Indonesia

The growth of Islamic banking is influenced by various factor, including the performance of sales personnel in offering products. Selling skills should also be supported by a deep product knowledge product sharia. In addition, work motivation is an integral part of performance enhancement. The use of Key Performance Indicator (KPIs), Products Knowledge, and work motivation and their relationship with performance need to be measured to what extent these variables are interconnected. This research aims to analyze Key Performance Indicators and Sharia Product Knowledge on the performance sales personnel, with work motivation as an intervening at Bank Muamalat Indonesia. The background of the study is based on understanding how Key Performance Indicators and Knowledge Product Sharia owned by sales personnel can explain the relationship with performance, with work as mediation. This research is a quantitative study and utilizes a questionnaire distributed to sales force or marketing employees. Data collection was done by distributing the questionnaire through online media to the sales force. The data processing and analysis software used is SMARTPLS 3.0. The results of the direct effect variable test show that the Key Performance Indicator (X1) has a significant effect on Sales Force Performance (Z) at 0.192 with a t-statistic (2.444>1.96) or p-value (0.015<0.05). The effect of Key Performance Indicator (X1) on Work Motivation (Y) is a significant at 0.291 with a t-statistic (3.525>1.96) or p-value (0.000<0.05). The effect of Work Motivation (Y) on Sales Force Performance (Z) is significant at 0.366 with t-statistic (4.581>1.96) or p-value (0.000<0.05). The effect Knowledge Product sharia (X2) on Sales Force Performance (Z) is significant at 0.241 with a t-statistic (2.652>1.96) or p-value (0.008<0.05). The Effect of Knowledge Products Sharia (X2) on Work Motivation (Y) is significant at 0,453 with a t-statistic (5.542>1.96) or p-value (0.000<0.050). Meanwhile, for the indirect effect analysis, the indirect effect of Key Performance Indicator (X1) on Sales Force Performance (Z) through Work Motivation (Y) is 0.106 with p-value of 0.012 <0.05, which means that Work Motivation (Y) mediates the effect of Key Performance Indicator (X1) on Sales Force Performance (Z). The indirect effect of Knowledge Product Sharia (X2) on Sales Force Performance (Z) through Work Motivation (Y) is 0.166 with p-value of 0.001 <0.05, which means that Work Motivation (Y) mediates the effect Knowledge Product Sharia (X2) on Sales Force Performance (Z).

Bonding of Market-Based Innovativeness with Corporate Reputation Is Emotional or Rational? Evidence From the Pharmaceutical Industry of Pakistan

The study is conducted to find the impact of Product Innovativeness (PI) and Market Innovativeness (MI) on the Emotional Appeal of Corporate Reputation (EA-CR) as well as Corporate Reputation about Products and Services (CR-PS) in the pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan. Primary data was gathered from the sales force of the 15 companies selected via stratified random sampling. Existing measurement scales of the constructs were utilized after adaptation due to their consistency and robustness in different contexts. Moreover, PLS-SEM is used for data analysis. The findings showed that PI significantly affects CR-PS and EA-CR. On the other hand, market innovativeness does not significantly influence CR-PS, however, its impact on EA-CR is also significant. Results suggested that pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan should work over market-based innovativeness for their goods and services to be viewed as superior and innovative, besides, such companies are also admired, liked and esteemed by various publics. The role of innovativeness in shaping sophisticated and legitimate corporate reputation has been recognized by researchers. Nevertheless, both constructs are multidimensional and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study discussing the bonding of market-based innovativeness with EA-CR and CR-PS in the context of pharmaceutical sector.

The Influence of Marketers' Capabilities, Compensation, and Career Development on Persistence and Its Implications for the Performance of Marketers of Agricultural Production Facilities in East Java

Purpose: Agricultural product salespeople have a role in helping companies sell agricultural products and helping farmers become more productive. This study aims to examine the effect of marketers' capabilities and compensation on marketers' persistence and its implications for the performance of agricultural production facilities marketers in East Java. Theoretical framework: This research is based on the individual performance of marketing personnel which is driven by marketer capability, compensation, and career development mediated by marketer persistence. The proposed model is built with three exogenous variables, one intervening variable and one endogenous variable. Design/ methodology/approach: This research was conducted using a quantitative method based on a cross-sectional survey design. The unit of analysis in this study is the sales force of agricultural production facilities in East Java. The research sample is the sales force of agricultural production facilities in East Java who have worked at least two years in a shop of agricultural production facilities. Sampling was conducted using the proportional random sampling method technique and taken from 235 respondents. The data were then processed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings: The results revealed that the performance of marketers of agricultural production facilities in East Java is dominantly built by the persistence of marketers which is dominantly formed by the capabilities of marketers, followed by compensation, and career development. Increasing marketers' capabilities will increase marketers' persistence which has an impact on improving marketers' performance. Compensation also plays a role in building marketers' persistence which has an impact on improving marketers' performance, but its role is smaller than marketers' capabilities. As for career development, it will only have an impact on improving the performance of marketers if marketers have persistence. Research, Practical & Social Implications: The results of this study can be used as input for managers of agricultural production facilities in East Java in their efforts to improve company performance through improving the performance of marketers, by increasing the persistence of marketers, which can be built through efforts to develop marketers' capabilities, and supported by the preparation of an attractive compensation system, and the preparation of an effective career development program. The capabilities of marketers especially need to be built so that marketers have high persistence, especially in terms of closure-focused persistence.

PELATIHAN CARA MENGUKUR KINERJA TENAGA PENJUALAN

The strategic role of salespeople in achieving success in selling company products cannot be underestimated. Improving the performance of salespeople is crucial, with the hope that it can make a significant contribution to increasing sales volume and achieving predetermined goals. The focus of this community service activity is to provide assistance to business owners so that they have a deep understanding of sales force performance measurement methods, enabling business owners to optimize their sales. The partner selected for this community service project is a honey business with the brand "Madu Pakcik" located in Jambi. Initial observations of the partner showed a major problem related to sales force performance measurement in the context of partner sales. Therefore, this PKM activity is implemented through an online training method using the Zoom Meeting platform. This training aims to provide partners with a comprehensive understanding of the key aspects of measuring sales force performance. Hopefully, with the knowledge gained through this activity, partners can significantly improve the quality and number of their sales. In addition to providing training, this activity also produces outputs in the form of scientific publications submitted to relevant journals as well as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Thus, this project not only has an impact on improving partner performance in practical terms, but also contributes to scientific knowledge and innovation in the field of sales force performance measurement.

In search of digital solution sellers: the role of non-monetary motivation and empowering leadership behaviors

Many B2B companies are trying to gain a competitive advantage by leveraging digitally-enabled, value-creating solutions. For this, they need to modify their sales force and re-consider what “talent” is. While the skills of digital solution sellers have been explored in the literature, much less is known about the motivational profile the new type of salesperson needs. Therefore, we explore the role of non-monetary drivers of motivation and sales supervisor empowerment. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and using data from 178 salespeople of a B2B company, this study investigates the impact of learning orientation, task enjoyment, challenge seeking, and service-to-others motivation on task-specific Digital Solution Selling (DSS) Implementation motivation. The results show the importance of these general non-monetary motivations for selling digital solutions and the stimulating force of sales leader empowerment. The general non-monetary motivations partially mediate the positive impact of sales leader empowerment on a salesperson’s task-specific DSS implementation motivation.

Cloud Storage Promotion Strategy Through Pt Telkom Regional VII Instagram

Based on the results of the pre-research that has been conducted, PT Telkom Regional VII is not actively promoting Cloud Storage products digitally, only maximizing the sales force at Telkom Plaza. Therefore, this study aims to make a promotional video that is uploaded on PT Telkom Regional VII's Instagram using the AIDA method as a Cloud Storage product promotion strategy. The research method used in this study is Descriptive Qualitative. This qualitative descriptive approach uses data collection through structured interviews, questionnaire distribution, observation, and documentation of several related parties that can assist researchers in the research process. The results of this study show that the four AIDA elements used, namely Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action can be variables in measuring Cloud Storage promotion at PT Telkom Regional VII because the four variables have a positive impact in this regard through promotional videos.

Penerapan Manajemen Persediaan dalam Mengantispasi Kerugian Bahan Baku pada Martabak Putri Naura

This research aims to determine the implementation of merchandise inventory management and determine the efforts made to anticipate losses of Martabak Putri Naura merchandise. The type of research used is qualitative and the source of information in this research is the owner of Martabak Putri Naura. The research results show that Martabak Putri Naura has not yet established inventory management in an optimal way. This can be seen from the lack of special considerations made by the owner in providing merchandise to be marketed on weekdays. The owner only considers people's needs which are expected to increase on certain days such as national holidays where the owner provides goods in greater quantities than usual. Sales personnel also play a very important role in marketing the products and services that will be sold. The importance of the role of the sales force must be balanced with sales ability so that it can further support the success of Martabak Putri Naura. With sales ability, consumers can find out about the products offered and sell effectively so that the sales effectiveness of Martabak Putri Naura products can be increased. Apart from that, in marketing these products, sales personnel must also improve their skills in interacting with potential customers or consumers. This is expected to increase sales of Martabak Putri Naura products so that sales effectiveness can also be increased.

Do Job Resources Matter for The Sales Force? Enhancing Sales Force Performance and Adaptive Selling Behavior

This study was carried out to examine the influence of emotional regulation as an individual's personal resource on the sales force performance by considering the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior and the moderating role of perceived job autonomy. Using a quantitative approach, data were obtained from 135 sales forces in the banking services industry in DKI Jakarta and Bandung City, selected using a purposive sampling method. The data obtained were then processed using structural equation modeling with partial least squares. The findings of this study empirically confirm the conservation of resources theory in terms of sales force performance, as emotional regulation acts as the personal resource that can, directly and indirectly, affect sales force performance through adaptive selling behavior. In addition, perceived job autonomy acts as the external resource that can strengthen the influence of emotional regulation on adaptive selling behavior, as well as adaptive selling behavior on sales force performance. The findings of this study also emphasize the need for management, especially sales managers, to ensure that their salespeople have a customer orientation and are willing to dedicate the energy and resources they possess to meet customer requests or needs.

The role of individual ambidexterity in supporting sales force performance based on a personal motivation perspective

The role of individual ambidexterity in supporting sales force performance based on a personal motivation perspective

The Role of Sales forces in the Integration of Marketing Communication: An Empirical Study on the Tourism Sector in Jordan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the sales force's knowledge, planning, creativity, and durability in relationships on the integration of marketing communication (IMC) in the tourism sector in Jordan. The current study utilized the descriptive and analytical approach to gather and analyze data through questionnaires, which were distributed to relevant individuals and organizations in the tourism promotion authority and tourism facilities. The authors received 124 valid responses for analysis out of 190 distributed. The results indicated a positive impact of sales forces, with all sub-dimensions on integration marketing communication. However, the results showed that durability has less impact on IMC. Furthermore, the findings of the current study provided valuable insights for tourism organizations in Jordan to understand better the importance of integration marketing communication and the key factors that affect their success.

Salespeople's psychological antecedents of sales force automation adoption and use in the industrial healthcare setting

Salespeople's psychological antecedents of sales force automation adoption and use in the industrial healthcare setting

Relationship Between Coaching Leadership Style and Follower’s Job Performance: Role of Involvement and Consistency as Moderator

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between coaching leadership style and followers’ job performance with organizational culture dimensions involvement and consistency as a moderator. The study is based on the combination of work by Daniel Goleman’s theory of emotional intelligence by incorporating its coaching leadership style, the work performance framework by Campbell, and the model of organizational culture by Denison and Mishra. The study follows positivism, explanatory, and quantitative approaches. Data have been collected through questionnaires from 187 respondents. SPSS 20 is been used for Data tabulation and regression analysis and Process 3 is been used for moderation. Results reveal the positive relationship of coaching leadership with task and contextual performances and the negative relationship with counterproductive work behaviors in employees. Moreover, moderation of organizational culture has also been identified in the relationship between coaching leadership with task performance and counterproductive work behaviors. The study further uncovers the moderating role of the dimensions of organizational culture like innovation and consistency on the relationship between coaching leadership and dimensions of job performance. This study will be helpful for managers or decision-makers to realize the importance of coaching leadership in the workplace including the Pharmaceutical sales force.

An Evaluation of Indonesia’s Semi-Assisted Program for the Development of Sales Force Competencies Through Education and Training (Context and Input)

Evaluation stands as a crucial aspect of managing educational and training initiatives. This systematic and ongoing process serves a dual purpose: generating valuable reports on program quality and quantity, while also ensuring its relevance to students' needs. The focus of this research is the evaluation of the implementation of education and training for salesperson competency development in the semi-assisted program of the government of Indonesia, including “Context” components, namely the juridical and legal basis, needs and targets, vision, mission and objectives of education and training for the development of salesperson competency in the semi-government-assisted program. The “Input” component includes a strategic plan established to achieve education and training goals, including a review of its relationship with students, teaching staff, program design and curriculum, and infrastructure. It is hoped that the results of this research will serve as input for parties involved in organizing the program and the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in the context of controlling and guaranteeing the quality of non-formal education.

Salesperson motivation, compensation, training and deployment within the sales ecosystem

PurposeThis study aims to examine the applicability of Hartmann et al.’s (2018) service ecosystem framework to the day-to-day management of the modern sales force. The authors provide a review of the framework, acknowledging its strengths, while also indicating areas for advancement. The authors conclude with recommendations to the framework and indicate opportunities where future research could advance sales theory.Design/methodology/approachA review of the theoretical underpinnings of the service ecosystem framework is weighed against the established roles and responsibilities of the modern sales force in the literature.FindingsThe ability of the framework to capture the multi-level, multi-actor and dynamic aspects of sales represents an improvement in the conceptualization of selling is critical. Suggestions around the refinement for meso-level sales interactions and a more pliant application of service dominant-logic are offered.Research limitations/implicationsThe suggested extensions of the framework continue the advancement of novel theorization for the field of sales. Priorities for future research include consideration of ethical implications of the framework and formulations of new management strategies reflective of the broad and dynamic properties of the ecosystem conceptualization.Practical implicationsThis paper provides managerial guidelines and implications tied specifically to the thick and thin crossing points and how they may impact employee decision-making.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to pointedly examine the service ecosystem framework with respect to established principles of managing a modern sales force.

Skills that Influence The Success of Marketing at The Social Security Administration of Employment (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan)

The Importance of marketing makes marketing strategy a crucial aspect that needs attention. Various marketing strategies need to be implemented, one of which is through the sales force. BPJS Ketenagakerjaan requires a sales force to provide information and increase participation in BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. To enhance the addition of social security employment participants, a membership team needs human resource skills, namely soft skills and hard skills. The purpose of this research is to determine the skills that influence the success of the BPJS Ketenagakerjaan membership team. The research method used is a case study method with a qualitative approach through the sales forces productivity program. The results show that BPJS Ketenagakerjaan identifies resources that influence the success of marketing through the salesforce, namely 3 basic mentalities, 4 interpersonal skills, and 5 practical abilities, known as the DNA 345 Salesforce Success Factors. Mentalities include resilience, adaptability, and coherence. Interpersonal skills encompass approaching, influencing, conveying ideas, negotiating, and empathetic listening. Practical abilities include market analysis, building networks, product marketing, customer retention, and problem-solving. The Sales Force Productivity Program improves the performance of the salesforce in the marketing strategy of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan.

Brief Review on Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing

The mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry are evolving at an astonishing rate. Drug discovery costs millions of dollars, and if a drug is approved by the drug administration agency to go on sale, it must pass a stringent clinical trial process. As a result, the drug development process often takes ten to fifteen years to complete. Only while the patent is still in effect is there a profitable window of opportunity for generic companies to produce and sell the identical medication. The drug-marketing cycle needs to be more effective in order to optimize revenue returns. The effectiveness of the sales force is declining as time goes on, as is revenue per salesperson. The rise in income is not keeping pace with the cost of hiring more sales people. Businesses are looking for ways to save expenses and other downtime in order to boost profits without adding more sales staff. While business intelligence and performance management have become more widely used in most other sectors, Businesses in the pharmaceutical industry have been a little hesitant to adopt this new technology.The purpose of this white paper is to demonstrate the sales and marketing possibilities that BIPM offers pharmaceutical companies.[1]

IMPACT OF CORE COMPETENCIES ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF INDUSTRIAL GOODS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

The study examined the impact of core competencies on organizational performance in Nigeria. It empirically investigated whether industrial goods firms in Nigeria enjoy sustained success by focusing on core competencies like their counterparts in developed economies as documented in some prior literature. Specifically, the study determined whether strong brand name, strong sales force, innovation, agility, and strong creative thinking as dimensions of core competencies impact on organizational performance. To address this objective, primary data was collected using structured questionnaire measured on Likert summated rating scale. A sample size of 200 employees drawn from selected industrial goods firms was used for the study. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were used to illuminate the data and test hypotheses. The results revealed that strong brand name, strong sales force, and strong creative thinking positively and significantly impact on organizational performance. Though innovation and agility have positive influence, but were not significant. Against this backdrop, it was recommended that management of industrial goods firms should leverage on core competencies to remain competitive in the global market space.
 Keywords: Agility, Creative thinking, Innovation, Strong brand name, Strong sales force.
 JEL Classification: L25 M10 O14

Women’s underrepresentation in business-to-business sales: Reasons, contingencies, and solutions

AbstractSales faces the second-largest gender gap of any corporate function, with women’s underrepresentation even more pronounced in business-to-business (B2B) sales and at higher hierarchical levels. Concurrently, the call for a more gender-diverse sales force is gaining momentum for social and economic reasons, moving the question of how to attract and promote women in B2B sales to the top of sales managers’ agenda. Using an inductive approach, we uncover male-centricity of communication and job structures in B2B sales as the underlying reasons deterring women from entering and advancing in B2B sales. Specifically, male-centricity implies a misfit between B2B sales and women’s self-conception and needs. By deriving contingencies of these relationships, we offer solutions to women’s underrepresentation in B2B sales by showing, for example, which sales positions are less prone to signal or create a misfit to women and what gender-inclusive resources sales departments can provide and saleswomen can build.