An assessment of needed sales management skills

Powers, Thomas L.; Jennings, J’Aime C.; DeCarlo, Thomas E.

doi:10.1080/08853134.2014.890900

Cited by 24 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(106 reference statements)

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“…To ensure the activities of salespeople are aligned with organizational sales strategy, sales leaders play an important role. Strategy and its effective implementation is so important to organizations that issues related to strategy and its implementation are considered two of the top six required skills of sales managers (Powers et al, 2014). As, salespeople do not always follow organizational directives, this study shows the leadership styles of managers can influence salesperson implementation of sales strategy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

The role of manager leadership style in salesperson implementation of sales strategy: a contingency perspective

Inyang

Agnihotri

Munoz

2018

JBIM

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Purpose This paper aims to explore the role of leadership in influencing the strategy implementation behaviors of salespeople. This paper also seeks to examine the moderating influence of competitive environment on the leadership style – salesperson implementation of sales strategy relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a sample of 190 business-to-business salespeople in different industries. The study’s hypotheses were tested using partial least squares (PLS). Findings The results of the study show that a transformational leadership style has stronger effects on the sales strategy implementation behaviors of salespeople when compared to transactional leadership. However, in highly competitive environments, the effects of transactional leadership on the sales strategy implementation behaviors of salespeople become stronger. The results also show when salespeople implement sales strategy, it has a positive impact on their sales performance. Practical implications Sales managers should adapt their leadership style depending on the competitive environment that operate in. As transformational leadership and transactional leadership are not mutually exclusive, managers should tailor their use of these styles to improve the strategy implementation behaviors of their salespeople. Managers should also train their salespeople on the use of sales strategy. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by showing that the effectiveness of a particular leadership style is often contingent on the external environment. This research also demonstrates that when salespeople are strategic in their approach to selling, they will improve their sales performance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

The role of manager leadership style in salesperson implementation of sales strategy: a contingency perspective

Inyang

Agnihotri

Munoz

2018

JBIM

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“…Hyde's (2005) gender similarity hypothesis suggests that the gender-based differences have been exaggerated. In relation to sales, Powers et al (2014) uncovered that the relative importance assigned to technical skills does not vary between male and female sales managers. Nguyen and Waring (2013) indicated that gender does not affect sales managers' decisions to adopt CRM technology.…”

Section: Salesperson Gender and Technology Usagementioning

confidence: 99%

Do Technology-Based Sales Support Materials Make a Difference in Personal Selling? The Impact of Technology Usage by Gender in the Personal Selling Process

Lee

Heinze

2020

Journal of Marketing Education

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Technology usage is widespread across most fields of business. In sales, “back-end” technologies, such as customer relationship management or salesforce automation, offer a foundation for effective and efficient “front-line” interactions in the personal selling process (PSP). In many instances, “front-line” technology applications have replaced traditional, hard-copy sales support materials. However, do these technology-based sales support materials (TSSM) offer meaningful utility in the PSP? Using a randomized field experiment, the current study answers the question through examining the use of TSSM within the PSP and across genders. Results indicate that the use of TSSM offers utility during the presentation and objection-handling stages of the PSP. There are no gender effects associated with technology use. The study offers educators pedagogical recommendations regarding the use of TSSM within the PSP. The study also validates the PSP scale.

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“…While sales management textbooks and sales management research commonly discuss the activities that are the province of sales managers, such as sales planning, recruiting, training, coaching and monitoring sales performance, they seldom discuss how often these tasks are engaged in or used. A recent exception is Powers et al (2014), who developed a typology of sales manager skills composed of three dimensions: interpersonal, technical and strategic. They identified 15 specific knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and found that interpersonal skills were the most important and technical skills were the least important (Powers et al , 2014, Table IV, p. 214).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent exception is Powers et al (2014), who developed a typology of sales manager skills composed of three dimensions: interpersonal, technical and strategic. They identified 15 specific knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and found that interpersonal skills were the most important and technical skills were the least important (Powers et al , 2014, Table IV, p. 214).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the use of sales force management practices

Reid

Plank

Peterson

et al. 2017

JBIM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand what sales management practices (SMPs) are being used by managers in the current market place, changes over time, insights that can be gained and future research needs. Design/methodology/approach Data for this paper were collected via a cross-sectional internet-based survey using a sampling frame provided by a professional sales publication. ANOVA was used to analyze 159 sales manager respondents. Findings Empirical results indicate that several differences are evident across the 68 SMPs items gathered, especially in terms of the size of the sales force and establish some data on using technology in sales management. However, in spite of significant changes in the sales environment, many SMPs have had limited change. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this paper include a sample frame drawn from a single source and via the internet and, thus, may have excluded some possible respondents from participation and somewhat limit generalizability. Practical implications The results of this paper raise a number of important issues for sales managers to consider. First, which SMPs should they be using? Managers need to give serious thought as to which practices they choose to use. Second, why are so many of them not making more extensive use of sales force technology? Third, is it wise for sales managers to be relying on executive opinion as their most extensively used forecasting method or should they be emphasizing another approach? A fourth issue is the continued heavy emphasis on generating sales volume as opposed to profits. Originality/value The data provide a rare and updated understanding of the use of SMPs by sales managers.

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An assessment of needed sales management skills

Cited by 24 publications

References 52 publications

The role of manager leadership style in salesperson implementation of sales strategy: a contingency perspective

The role of manager leadership style in salesperson implementation of sales strategy: a contingency perspective

Do Technology-Based Sales Support Materials Make a Difference in Personal Selling? The Impact of Technology Usage by Gender in the Personal Selling Process

Examining the use of sales force management practices

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