Toward a new perspective on salesperson success and motivation: a trifocal framework

Delpechitre, Duleep; Gupta, Aditya; Zadeh, Arash H.; Lim, Joon Ho; Taylor, Steven A.

doi:10.1080/08853134.2020.1805748

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“…Employees can tap into this positive effect, which results in increased personal and work resources, whereas adverse effects can lead individuals to “make mountains out of molehills” (Clore and Huntsinger, 2007). Employees are motivated by the attention received from others at the workplace (recognition seeking), including customers, fellow employees and management (Delpechitre et al. , 2020).…”

Section: The Adaptability Of Service Offeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do you look familiar? - Exploring the role of employee-customer identification in adapting the service offering

Das

Ramalingam

2022

IJBM

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PurposeThis study aims to explore employee-customer identification and its consequences in the banking, financial service and insurance (BFSI) sector. We also look at the mediating role of psychological ownership and work orientation (calling) between employee-customer identification and the adaptability of service offerings.Design/methodology/approachIn this study using a sample of 215 frontline employees from the BFSI sector in five Indian cities, the data was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS- 3.2.7 software.FindingsWhen employees consider customers as individuals similar to them, they tend to be more accommodating of customers' diverse needs resulting in adapting the service. The study empirically establishes that psychological ownership and work orientation (calling) mediate the relationship between employee-customer identification and service offering adaptation.Research limitations/implicationsThis kind of identification can remedy the perennial problem of mis-selling in the BFSI context. The new insights gathered from these customer interfaces can be transferred upwards within the organisation to formulate actionable strategies. Hence, when employees feel their work is satisfactory, it leads to improvement in both profit margins as well as asset turnover for high-contact service firms.Originality/valueThe results demonstrate that employees who identify with their customers are more accommodative of customers' diverse needs resulting in adapting the service resulting in improved performance.

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Section: The Adaptability Of Service Offeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do you look familiar? - Exploring the role of employee-customer identification in adapting the service offering

Das

Ramalingam

2022

IJBM

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“…Both the SS and VBS approaches typically require specific abilities of the salesperson to understand the customer’s business model, value drivers, stakeholders and business processes, as well as to orchestrate the internal resources needed to craft a tailored solution (Delpechitre et al , 2020; Liinamaa et al , 2016). Salespeople’s customer networking ability helps to identify decision-makers, users and other stakeholders and build relationships with them.…”

Section: Conceptual Framework and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between digital solution selling and value-based selling: a motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) perspective

Guenzi

Nijssen²

2022

EJM

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Purpose Value-based selling (VBS) is increasingly a key success factor in business to business (B2B) settings, but its relationship with digital solutions selling (DSS) has not been explored. This study aims to develop a motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA)-based model that shows how an individual salesperson’s task-specific motivation to implement DSS affects personal capabilities to engage in DSS-related internal coordination, customer networking and ultimately VBS behavior. The authors also account for the supervisor’s DSS-focused behavioral control as the opportunity variable, potentially influencing all other variables in the framework. Design/methodology/approach The authors test the model and hypotheses using data of 178 salespeople from a B2B company growing its digital solutions business. Path modeling and SmartPLS software are used to estimate the model. Findings The results demonstrate the key importance of DSS implementation motivation to implement VBS. The findings emphasize the mediating role of salespeople’s ability to collaborate with colleagues and engage in customer networking to configure the right idiosyncratic digital solutions and demonstrate these solutions’ economic value. Supervisors have a fundamental role in directly and indirectly stimulating DSS motivation, DSS-related customer networking ability and VBS. Research limitations/implications The study has several limitations. The authors examined a single company. In addition to internal coordination and customer networking, other relevant abilities of salespeople could be considered as mediators between DSS and VBS. Similarly, other opportunity factors may be analyzed in the future, such as supervisors’ risk orientation and ability to stimulate team spirit. Future research could also investigate other salespeople’s individual talents and additional organizational support variables that predict a salesperson’s behavioral and outcome performance in DSS and VBS. Practical implications Companies willing to adopt VBS should acquire, develop and retain salespeople characterized by strong motivation to implement DSS. Supervisors should adopt a DSS-focused behavioral control, and companies should support supervisors through appropriate training on how to manage detailed feedback to salespeople constructively and sales performance management systems that systematically track DSS-related sales force activities and results. Companies should also facilitate DSS-related teamwork, for example, through team incentives, and DSS-related customer networking, for instance, through appropriate sales enablement platforms and tools. Originality/value The research addresses the communalities and differences between solutions selling and VBS, suggesting a causal relationship. While prior research has analyzed solutions and value mainly as corporate strategies at the organizational level, the current study considers implementation at the individual salesperson level. The study focuses on digital solutions, which are more uncertain and complex to sell than traditional solutions.

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“…When environments change, salespeople must adapt ( Delpechitre, Gupta, Zadeh, Lim, & Taylor, 2020 ; Sharma, Rangarajan, & Paesbrugghe, 2020 ). A significant stream of sales research identifies strong enduring associations between the salesperson's ability to adapt to a selling environment and sales performance ( Franke & Park, 2006 ; Ohiomah, Benyoucef, & Andreev, 2020 ).…”

Section: Bricolage and Salesperson Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To a lesser extent, additional sales literature has diverged from this strictly customer-interaction view of adaptive selling and examine more macro-adaptive strategies of salespeople. These inquiries take a more entrepreneurial view of the selling role and examine how salespeople adapt selling strategies to markets and the environment ( Delpechitre et al, 2020 ). Environmental management research posits that various types of marketing strategies can be implemented in order to better manage a given environment ( Clark, Varadarajan, & Pride, 1994 ; Zeithaml & Zeithaml, 1984 ).…”

Section: Bricolage and Salesperson Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An examination of salesperson bricolage during a critical sales disruption: Selling during the Covid-19 pandemic

Epler

Leach

2021

Industrial Marketing Management

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Toward a new perspective on salesperson success and motivation: a trifocal framework

Cited by 13 publications

References 129 publications

Why do you look familiar? - Exploring the role of employee-customer identification in adapting the service offering

Why do you look familiar? - Exploring the role of employee-customer identification in adapting the service offering

The relationship between digital solution selling and value-based selling: a motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) perspective

An examination of salesperson bricolage during a critical sales disruption: Selling during the Covid-19 pandemic

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