There is a lack of academic research on sales teams, despite team selling becoming more prominent in recent years. Particularly in Inside Sales, there is a lack of clarity as to what are the drivers of optimum team-based selling and their degree of effect on sales performance. We utilize a team-based approach that aims to study the characteristics of Inside Sales teams and their interactions with business leads, using data from a well-reputed leads management software vendor. Based on prior team-based constructs in the literature, we built a framework that posits Quality of Team Composition, Task Utility and Intra-team Coordination leading to different categories of sales performance at various stages of the sales pipeline via their reflective variables. We tested our conceptual model in the following fashion: first, we used text mining on sales results to classify the different stages of the sales pipeline. Following that, we measured the conversion ratio at each stage as appropriate. Next, we discretized each conversion ratio into three levels of performance groups. The outcome variables in the model are different categories of team performance at each stage of the sales pipeline. Subsequently, we used multinomial logistic regression to regress our outcome variables on our team-based predictor variables in the hopes of establishing and validating important drivers for nuanced Inside Sales success. We uncovered new insight regarding team-selling best practices, using pre-identified constructs from the literature which are uniquely suited to teams and also constructs which are aggregated at a team level from an individual level. Our study is especially relevant to the Inside Sales process, as the outcome measures relate to the sales pipeline. Our main finding was that in there is a difference in skills required at different stages of the sales pipeline, in that more customization and experience is needed at the more advanced stages, whereas more repetition of activity is needed at the beginner stages. We also found that smaller team sizes tend to do better in Inside Sales, which was an unsettled research question in team research with plenty of evidence in favor of both smaller and bigger teams. Additionally, even if it was not a primary goal of our study, by virtue of classifying the leads by their final outcomes, we stumbled across an interesting finding, which is that an overwhelming majority of the sales leads tend to stay at one stage in their entire lifecycle. The implications of all our findings are very relevant to both practitioners and researchers of Inside Sales who are interested in team-based sales optimization. More research should be done in the field of Industrial Marketing, building upon what we found to be true for the B2B sector.

The purpose of this dissertation is to build and test a model that integrates the marketing, management, and psychological literature with respect to organizational climate variables and their direct and indirect impact on salesperson psychological and behavioral outcomes, as well as one that answers the overarching research question of how organizational climate variables impact salesperson psychological and behavioral work outcomes. Data were collected during the time period from April 2006 until May 2006. Three hundred survey invitations were sent via e-mail to salespeople at three organizations. The participating organizations included a privately owned publishing firm located in the southeastern United States, a large privately owned Internet recruiting firm located in the upper Midwest, and a publicly traded worldwide financial information reporting firm. In total, 251 responses were gathered yielding an overall response rate for the study of 83.6%. Generally, the results from this analysis confirm the research questions that climate variables such as perceived organizational support, ethical climate, and trust do positively impact salesperson psychological and behavioral outcomes. Managerial implications and directions for future research are also offered.

Understanding how technology usage influences performance in the inside sales industry has become an important issue for practitioners. Yet, there is a dearth of literature in this area. Inside sales are sales that are performed remotely using the phone or Internet technologies. Leads (i.e., potential customers) are the life-blood of any inside sales setting, and their effective management is crucial for business success. Lead management systems are information technology (IT) tools designed to automate and support effective lead management. This study developed a conceptual model based on the Technology-Task-Fit (TTF) theory, capturing the impact of lead management systems on inside sales performance through the following mediating mechanisms: task characteristics (call productivity and effort on lead follow-up), selling behaviour (adaptive selling) and salesperson characteristics (salesperson’s competency). To validate this model, we conducted an empirical study with 108 responses collected from sales managers and decision makers. Using PLS-SEM for the analysis, our findings show that the use of lead management systems affects inside sales performance via improving salespeople’s adaptive selling, effort on lead follow-up and competency. The findings of this study contributes to the inside sales literature, and also educate practitioners of the key enablers of inside sales performance and technology usage approaches to the inside sales process.

According to previous studies, inertia towards new technology is broadly researched in established companies, specifically among senior employees. However, the existing literature leaves a research gap for inertia experienced among young employees, specifically in an organization that operates in the information technology industry. This study aims to investigate inertia among early stage employees towards new technology. The main purpose of this study is to answer the research question: How to overcome inertia of multinational early stage employees towards the new technology in their daily workflow in an international sales organization? To answer the research question, a qualitative research approach was chosen, and a single case study was conducted. The empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. The scope of research is limited to the sales development representatives of Company A, who are based in EMEA. After the data collection, the analysis was carried out with a thematic coding approach. The findings showed that the managers are having tremendous responsibility when it comes to the adoption process of a new digital tool, and some of them are not showing interest towards the new technology. Hence, the lack of communication was concluded as the main cause of inertia among young employees. The authors created a framework for fighting against inertia (FAI). The use of FAI framework results in supporting the management team to overcome resistance towards new technology.

Business-to-business (B2B) organizations are facing challenges related to complex sales cycles and increasing competition, resulting in more value-driven sales processes and a holistic ecosystem for the B2B marketplace. Recent studies have acknowledged the lack of research on inside sales and sales development in B2B organizations. Scholars point at the increasing importance of inside sales due to changes in the environment and increasing customer demands, which has resulted in the development of digital sales processes within companies. In this study, we have examined the early phase of the sales process referred to as customer acquisition, which is an important part for companies to do business and be profitable over time. In customer acquisition, lead generation and lead management are two central phenomena including generating potential customers and managing them in an adequate way. In this study, where we are writing on commission for Tele2 IoT, our aim was to develop recommendations for how they can improve their conversion rate and sales performance by asking; “How can B2B companies work with sales development processes and lead generation to improve their sales performance?” Based on a literature review of previous studies on sales processes, Internet of Things, and content marketing, we developed an exploratory and qualitative research design, where data was collected through twelve semi-structured interviews with respondents from the case company. Our empirical findings present how the development of a separate unit for Sales Development in Tele2 IoT can be a solution for handling the current challenges for lead generation and lead management. A dedicated Sales Development Representative (SDR) can be responsible for the early phase of the sales process before a Sales Manager takes over. This would include responsibility for lead generation, qualification, and follow-up to ensure that the qualified leads are timely managed. We demonstrate a model that conceptualizes how companies in a highly competitive business environment can initiate a dedicated function working with customer acquisition practices, which we refer to as Sales Development. In our model, we emphasize how three different channels for attracting and managing leads must be considered: 1) outbound lead generation, 2) inbound lead generation and 3) marketing automated lead generation, to improve sales performance. Based on these findings, we propose iterative customer acquisition processes where communication, documentation and cooperation are at its core. Finally, we propose a framework with reflective questions for managers and organizations to take into consideration when implementing Sales Development into their business. The study primarily contributes to the scarce research field of inside sales, where we encourage practitioners and academia to apply our model and utilize quantitative data measures to understand how a Sales Development configuration can improve lead generation within different industries.

The role of sales has evolved over the last decade, mostly driven by technological and social changes. One major shift is the growth in importance and in size of the inside sales function. Inside sales are sales that are conducted remotely or virtually using one or more Information Technology (IT) tools without the traditional in-person interaction. Despite the growing importance of inside sales, studies that show the key determinants and practices that can improve inside sales success are rare and have tended to focus on determinants affecting individual salesperson performance. Moreover, existing approaches to customer acquisition in inside sales often rely on subjective intuition, expert suggestions and gut feeling, which often hurts the chances of qualifying and converting leads to sales, and eventually diminishes inside sales success. This research aims to address such shortcomings by: 1) investigating the key dimensions and determinants of inside sales success by summarizing the existing body of knowledge using a systematic review and meta-analysis; and 2) develop comprehensible lead conversion models that integrate the interplay of relevant determinants in the lead conversion process. This doctoral research aims to: (1) Synthesize the literature and draw a big picture of B2B sales success by providing practitioners and scholars with a comprehensive state-of-the-art understanding of the determinants of B2B sales success and their significance in inside sales. (2) Identify and validate several key lead engagement factors crucial for inside sales success. (3) Demonstrate the potential of data-driven analytics by collecting multiple historical datasets from several companies representing different industries. This includes investigating and discovering new insights that will improve lead conversion outcomes, which contributes to the literature on the ongoing discussion of effective sales pipeline management. (4) Provide sales practitioners with comprehensible lead conversion models that integrate industry specific behavior and performance of salespeople, characteristics of leads and/or prospects, and workflow strategy aspects. This will help sales practitioners to better understand problems and opportunities in lead management, take proactive actions, and improve their sales success.

Through the use of multiple methodologies and analytical approaches, this dissertation combines (1) sales control; (2) call center service; and (3) motivational theory to extend sales control literature beyond its current state, to consider the conflicting motivational perspectives an inside sales agent has to experience. To achieve this unification, this dissertation consists of three essays intended to: (1) identify the influence of autonomous and controlled motivation on operational sales outcome controls and performance; (2) explore the influence these motivators have on sales controls and sales performance; and, (3) understand the impact of autonomous and controlled motivation on sales agent tenure.