Understanding the determinants of sales success and sales failure has organization wide implications, ranging from an improved salesforce to improved corporate performance. However, a paucity of research on sales failure has resulted in an under-conceptualized field largely built on assumptions. This research proposes to overcome salesforce failure attribution biases by collecting data from the industrial buyer’s perspective. Thirty five post-mortem interviews with procurement decision makers from buying organizations were collected following a failed sales proposal. The context of these failed sales proposals was for multi-year industrial service key account contracts (>$5 Million). The result of this naturalistic inquiry is a model which outlines the determinant attributes of sales failure: price, adaptability and relationship-potential. An experimental design was conducted following this exploratory research in order to test the derived drivers of sales failure and success, as well as provide a trade-off analysis of the three emergent sales proposal themes. Results indicate that a lack of adaptability has the strongest impact on the sales failure outcome variable, as well as buyer characteristics have a potentially moderating impact on the relative trade-off weights between price/adaptability and price/relationship-potential.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effects of job design and sales managers’ behavior on intrinsic motivation and customer orientation of salespeople. Furthermore, we aim to examine if any of the factors included in our model have an effect on performance of Company X’s salespeople. Thus, our research questions are:  What impacts do job design and sales managers’ behaviors have on intrinsic motivation and customer orientation of salespeople? What kind of differences exist between high- and low performance sales teams considering these factors? Our study has been carried out on commission for Company X where we studied their Customer Service salespeople, which are working in a business to consumer context in the Swedish electricity market. The study makes theoretical contributions to motivation research in the field of Selling and Sales management by developing and testing a conceptual model with a unique combination of motivating variables. Our model was inspired by Hackman and Oldham’s (1980) Job Characteristics Model, but we extended this model and added organizational variables that had not been examined in relation to this model by prior research. Thus, no previous research has, to our knowledge, tested the effects of our chosen variables of job design and sales managers behavior on intrinsic motivation and customer orientation. To deepen our study and our understanding of what effect our variables of job design and sales managers behavior have on performance, we received secondary data from Company X. This additional data analysis enabled us to compare whether there were differences across our key variables between sales teams with high performance and low performance. We adopted a quantitative strategy and data collection method. Thus, we distributed questionnaires to our target population – salespeople working in Company X Customer Service. Both primary and secondary data were entered and processed by the statistical analysis program SPSS. On our primary data we performed Cronbach's alpha tests, cross-tabulations, bivariate regression analysis and multiple regression analysis to test hypothesized effects. Our secondary data in combination with our primary data were analyzed by a two-sample t-test to identify differences between high-, and low performance teams. Our hypotheses were partially supported and findings showed that the critical psychological states: experienced meaningfulness and experienced responsibility had positive effects on intrinsic motivation. Experienced responsibility in combination with role ambiguity had positive effects on customer orientation. Similarly, intrinsic motivation was found to affect customer orientation. The other variables of job design and sales managers’ behavior were not found to have significant effects on intrinsic motivation and customer orientation. Variables affecting performance were coaching; positive behavioral feedback and role ambiguity, and they differed significantly between high-, and low performance teams. Our study provides practical recommendations for Company X and other companies in the electricity market. Our findings can be used to improve marketing strategies and motivation of salespeople in other business to consumer contexts.

Background: The result of our interactive information society is that sales business has shifted from a tactical to a strategical focus, thus companies have had to adapt to this change. The evolution of sales shows that companies have gone from one static model to another, which is discarded by the new concept ‘insight selling’ claiming that it through insights is possible to be forceful in the, these days, rough sales climate. Purpose: The purpose of the report is to form an understanding of how insight sales affect a sales process. Research question: How does insight selling affect the B2B sales process? Methodology: Process mapping through interviews in combination with organizational documents. Findings: Insight selling affects the sales process by a clearer research mindset and a change in communication in relation to the customer.

Understanding the determinants of sales success and sales failure has organization wide implications, ranging from an improved salesforce to improved corporate performance. However, a paucity of research on sales failure has resulted in an under-conceptualized field largely built on assumptions. This research proposes to overcome salesforce failure attribution biases by collecting data from the industrial buyer’s perspective. Thirty five post-mortem interviews with procurement decision makers from buying organizations were collected following a failed sales proposal. The context of these failed sales proposals was for multi-year industrial service key account contracts (>$5 Million). The result of this naturalistic inquiry is a model which outlines the determinant attributes of sales failure: price, adaptability and relationship-potential. An experimental design was conducted following this exploratory research in order to test the derived drivers of sales failure and success, as well as provide a trade-off analysis of the three emergent sales proposal themes. Results indicate that a lack of adaptability has the strongest impact on the sales failure outcome variable, as well as buyer characteristics have a potentially moderating impact on the relative trade-off weights between price/adaptability and price/relationship-potential.

Understanding the determinants of sales success and sales failure has organization wide implications, ranging from an improved salesforce to improved corporate performance. However, a paucity of research on sales failure has resulted in an under-conceptualized field largely built on assumptions. This research proposes to overcome salesforce failure attribution biases by collecting data from the industrial buyer’s perspective. Thirty five post-mortem interviews with procurement decision makers from buying organizations were collected following a failed sales proposal. The context of these failed sales proposals was for multi-year industrial service key account contracts (>$5 Million). The result of this naturalistic inquiry is a model which outlines the determinant attributes of sales failure: price, adaptability and relationship-potential. An experimental design was conducted following this exploratory research in order to test the derived drivers of sales failure and success, as well as provide a trade-off analysis of the three emergent sales proposal themes. Results indicate that a lack of adaptability has the strongest impact on the sales failure outcome variable, as well as buyer characteristics have a potentially moderating impact on the relative trade-off weights between price/adaptability and price/relationship-potential.

Devido ao aumento da concorrência no ponto de venda, maior atenção tem sido dedicada aos canais de distribuição. Além disso, é preciso conquistar a preferência do consumidor no momento da compra. Por esse motivo, diversas empresas têm inserido em suas estruturas organizacionais uma área chamada Trade Marketing. O mesmo fenômeno ocorre no setor farmacêutico: os medicamentos genéricos, similares e referencia competem pela preferência dos consumidores. Este fato contribui para a criação de departamentos de Trade Marketing nas indústrias farmacêuticas. O Trade Marketing pode proporcionar a integração entre produtores, atacadistas e varejistas, trabalhando no relacionamento com os canais de distribuição. Entretanto, é ainda um tema recente e pouco estudado na academia e, por isso, existem lacunas a serem exploradas. Dentre os assuntos mais abordados na literatura encontram-se estudos de Trade Marketing no setor alimentício. Assim, restam lacunas a respeito das atividades de Trade Marketing desenvolvidas no setor farmacêutico. Portanto, o objetivo do presente estudo é verificar como ocorre o processo de desenvolvimento das atividades de Trade Marketing na indústria farmacêutica. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, realizou-se uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório e qualitativo. Utilizou-se como método o estudo de casos múltiplos. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada em quatro indústrias farmacêuticas e a principal fonte de informação foi entrevistas com os gestores da área de Trade Marketing. Por meio da pesquisa, foi possível definir as atividades de Trade Marketing desenvolvidas pelas empresas estudadas. Além disso, é perceptível que os departamentos de Trade Marketing mais desenvolvidos são aqueles que trabalham com linhas de produtos com maior concorrência, como os medicamentos genéricos. / Due to the raising competition in point of purchase, more attention has been dedicated to the distribution channels. Moreover, it is necessary to conquer the consumers´ preference while shopping. For this reason, several companies have created Trade Marketing areas in their organizational structure. The same happens in the pharmaceutical sector: drugs companies compete for bigger market share. This fact contributes to the creation of Trade Marketing departments on the pharmaceutical industries. Trade Marketing can help integrate producers, wholesalers and retailers, build relationships in the distributions channels. However, there is a lot of research yet to be done. The academy has only stablished benchmarking studies concerning the food industry. So, there still gaps to be filled about the Trade Marketing activities in the pharmaceutical sector. Therefore, this study´s aim is to verify how the development process of Trade Marketing activities has been happening in the pharmaceutical industry. In order to achieve such objectives, an exploratory and qualitative research has been conducted, applying multiple case study method. The empirical research, which had, as main source of information, interviews with Trade Marketing managers, took place in four pharmaceutical industries. This research made possible to define the Trade Marketing activities developed by the studied companies. Furthermore, was recognisable that the more competitive was the market, the more developed were the Trade Marketing departments, e.g. generic drug companies.

Channel relationships, market knowledge, strategic partnerships and brand equity are examples of marketing resources which firms can possess. Marketing resources are especially valuable when they are properly leveraged by agents of the firm (Srivastava, Fahey, and Christensen 2001). This dissertation examines how one marketing resource - corporate sponsorships - can be leveraged by companies to enhance financial performance. Based on the tenets of social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner 1985), two conceptual models are developed which propose corporate sponsorship can develop the attractiveness of a company's identity and thus enhance levels of company identification among salespeople (Study 1) and customers (Study 2). It is further proposed that through this strengthening of company identification, these stakeholders will become motivated to perform supportive behaviors on behalf of the company which will lead to the firm's enhanced performance. To empirically test the conceptual models, data were collected from the sales force and a sample of customers of a Fortune 1000 company which actively engages in a single national corporate sponsorship. The data set used in Study 1 includes survey responses from 490 sales representatives (21.7% response rate) which are combined with objective sales data gathered from company records. The data were analyzed utilizing linear regression and Hierarchical Linear Modeling. The conceptual model developed in Study 2 was tested utilizing structural equation modeling of survey data collected from 246 active customers. The two studies contained in this dissertation make several important theoretical and substantive contributions to both marketing theory and practice. First, evidence is provided that company identity can be influenced by a company and its marketers. By affiliating with a prestigious entity through a corporate sponsorship, a firm can enhance the attractiveness of its identity which in turn, influences levels of identification among salespeople and customers. The studies also provide additional evidence highlighting the power of identification in terms of predicting firm-directed supportive behaviors. The analysis in Study 1 shows that company identification influences salesperson sales growth and Study 2 confirms that customer-company identification leads to customer sales and positive word-of-mouth communications. Implications of these findings are provided.

Yes / Although various critical elements, such as media publicity, word of mouth, legislation, and environmental factors, are not under the control of a company, they play a significant role in influencing its brand image. Uncertainty over how different social networking sites can support brands is one of the crucial reasons for the delayed acceptance of social media (SM) in business-to-business (B2B) transactions. SM possesses immense potential in relation to gathering customer data and assisting B2B marketers. Therefore, this study reviewed SM usage in the B2B context, based on 294 selected articles. The methodology included bibliometric analysis to identify the impact of SM usage in the B2B domain and content analysis to perform a thematic assessment. Our analysis found that many B2B firms cannot leverage SM’s potential to its fullest compared to business-to-customer (B2C) firms. However, SM can help B2B marketers build their brand presence and trust globally, ultimately helping them find potential customers and build relationships with global supply chain providers.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The economic downturn in South Africa since mid 2008 has transformed the motor vehicle industry into a seriously competitive marketplace. Both large and small dealerships are finding their volumes and margins under increasing pressure. Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd has a new vision to become the finest motor group in the world. An openness to ideas and to the external environment in the learning organisation means that it can excel by exceeding customer expectations and benchmarking against the best in the class (Clarke & Clegg, 2000:5). In this light, Sandown Motor Holdings needs to adopt certain strategies, policies and practices that allows for the implementation of new ideas and quick reactions to changes in the external environment. They need to know what customer expectations are and then exceed them to enable Sandown Motors to make this vision a reality. This research report analyses the external and internal environment of Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd in the Western Cape in an attempt to gain insight into the realities facing the company. The report becomes more focused on Mercedes-Benz Claremont as a dealership and its pre-owned vehicle sales department as the key department which serves as an outlet for trade-in pressures, but also as a profit centre which needs to be developed. Much work is done around market segmentation, product profiling and trading policies that would positively influence both pre-owned and new vehicle sales. The pre-owned strategy that emerges also highlights the necessity for an e-commerce strategy to serve as another platform from which to trade even more pre-owned vehicles. This strategy specifically aims to establish an online auction system open to traders only. The report concludes by taking a look at the new vehicle sales department. The approach taken is customer centric and relies heavily on the customer experience as a source of competitive advantage over competitors. Processes and performance indicators are reviewed and an action plan is compiled and put in place. A detailed twelve-month marketing plan is also developed and is included as an appendix. The author believes these strategies are crucial for short-term profitability, long-term survival and the satisfaction of all stakeholders. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die ekonomiese afplatting in Suid-Afrika sedert die middel van 2008 het die motor-industrie in ‘n streng kompeterende arena omskep. Beide groot- en kleinhandelaars ondervind toenemende druk op hulle volumes en winsmarges. Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd het ‘n nuwe visie om die beste motorgroep ter wêreld te word. ‘n Openheid teenoor idees oor die eksterne omgewing in die leergierige organisasie, beteken dat dit kan presteer deur kliënteverwagtinge te oortref en hulself te kan meet teen die beste in die klas (Clarke & Clegg, 2000:5). In die lig hiervan moet Sandown Motor Holdings sekere strategieë, beleidsrigtings en praktyke aanvaar wat die implementering van nuwe idees en vinnige reaksie op veranderinge in die eksterne omgewing moontlik maak. Hulle moet weet wat die kliënte se verwagtinge is en dit dan oortref ten einde Sandown Motors se visie ‘n realiteit te maak. Hierdie navorsingsverslag analiseer die eksterne en interne omgewing van Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd in die Wes-Kaap in ‘n poging om insig te verkry in die realiteite wat die maatskappy in die gesig staar. Die verslag fokus op Mercedes-Benz Claremont as ‘n alleenstaande handelaarskap en sy Gebruikte-Voertuie Verkoopsafdeling as die sleuteldepartement wat dien as ‘n uitlaat vir inruil druk, maar ook as ‘n winssentrum wat verder ontwikkel moet word. Baie werk is gedoen rondom marksegmentasie, produkprofiele en handelsbeleid wat positiewe impak op beide nuwe en gebruikte verkope sal hê. Die gebruikte-voertuig strategie wat hieruit spruit beklemtoon verder die behoefte aan ‘n webgebaseerde strategie wat as ‘n verdere afsetpunt kan dien vir nog meer gebruikte-voertuie verkope. Hierdie strategie is spesifiek gemik op die daarstel van ‘n op-tyd aanlyn veilingstelsel, uitsluitlik vir die gebruik van motorhandelaars. Die verslag sluit af deur te kyk na die Nuwe-Voertuig Verkoopsafdeling. Die benadering wat gevolg word is kliëntgesentreerd en berus op die kliënt se ervaring as ‘n bron van kompeterende voordeel bo die kompetisie. Prosesse en indikators om prestasie te meet word hersien en die nodige aksieplan word opgestel en toegepas. ‘n Gedetaileerde twaalf-maande bemarkingsplan is ook ontwikkel en word ingesluit in die aanhangsels. Die skrywer glo hierdie strategieë is krities vir korttermyn winsgewendheid, langtermyn oorlewing en die bevrediging van alle belanghebbendes.

by Chan Cheong Hee (Kenneth). / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / table of contents --- p.iii / appendix --- p.iv / preface --- p.v / Part I (1989-1991) / Chapter a. --- background --- p.1 / Chapter b. --- organization settings --- p.5 / Chapter c. --- issues that drive the changes --- p.14 / Chapter d. --- diagnosis --- p.17 / Chapter e. --- interventions --- p.22 / Chapter f. --- commentaries --- p.25 / part ii (1992 - future) / Chapter a. --- introduction --- p.28 / Chapter b. --- diagnosis --- p.29 / Chapter c. --- interventions recommended --- p.44 / Chapter d. --- conclusion --- p.57 / appendix / Chapter I. --- PRC/HK SALES ORGANIZATION / Chapter II. --- PRC REP. OFFICE ORGANIZATION / Chapter III. --- CURRENT SITUATION - JOB RESPONSIBILITIES OF HK BASED SALES REP. AND LOCAL NATIONAL / Chapter IV. --- PERCEPTION OF CURRENT ORGANIZATION / Chapter V. --- ULTIMATE ARRANGEMENT / Chapter VI. --- COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATION INTERIM REPORT - 11 CRITICAL ISSUES / Chapter VII. --- ORGANIZATION CHANGE - DISCUSSION WITH STAFF / Chapter VIII. --- QUESTIONNAIRE FORM / Chapter IX. --- QUESTIONNAIRE RESULT / Chapter X. --- organization chart - 1996 projection