当前位置: X-MOL 学术Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing › 论文详情
Our official English website, www.x-mol.net, welcomes your feedback! (Note: you will need to create a separate account there.)
B to B Sellers’ Skill Level in Sales Performance – Frameworks and Findings
Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing ( IF 3.045 ) Pub Date : 2021-12-09 , DOI: 10.1080/1051712x.2021.1974169
Nils Høgevold 1 , Rocio Rodriguez 1 , Göran Svensson 1 , Carmen Otero-Neira 2
Affiliation  

ABSTRACT

Purpose

This study focuses on a framework of sales performance drivers, considering four areas of seller skills, and seven dimensions that the literature generally recognizes as affecting sales performance in B2B settings. The four areas and seven dimension of seller skill level are as follows: (i) interpersonal abilities, including communication as well as presentation skills; (ii) degree of adaptiveness, considering seller ability to modify both the sales approach and the sales behavior; (iii) selling-related knowledge, covering product and market-knowledge skills; and (iv) sellers’ use of technology.

As a whole, assuming a pivotal role played by seller skills, the research objective is to empirically verify a conceptual framework based on B2B seller skills in the context of sales performance. This study responds to a recent call to use meta-analyses to increase research-based knowledge in the sales domain. This study offers an empirical testing of a research framework for the identification and understanding of those skills that sellers need to embrace handling and increasing value in business relationships with customers in B2B settings of tangible products.

The methodology relies on a questionnaire survey using a deductive approach. A total of 315 companies were ultimately selected to take part in the study, so as to represent a range of companies from different industries and corporate sizes within the product-oriented business sector of Norway (i.e. services-oriented companies are not included). The companies were identified from the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2007). A total of 236 questionnaires out of 315 were returned, generating a response rate of 74.9%. Methodology/Approach

An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to falsify or confirm the seven-dimensional framework of skill level. The initial factor analysis consisted of 21 items with three per dimension. The principal component method was applied to reveal the pattern in the factor solution. An orthogonal approach (varimax rotation) was applied to rotate the factor solution. The multi-item measures of each dimension were selected and modified from various sources.

The empirical findings provide a foundation for further studies on sales performance. In particular, the findings can be used to assess the relationship between seller skill dimensions on sellers’ objective and subjective performance in B2B sales settings. The findings can also be used to assess the relationship between these skill-level indicators on sellers’ economic and non-economic satisfaction. Findings

Companies could use the reported findings to organize and structure the process of B2B seller planification. This study offers seven verified categories of seller skill level. Companies should focus on each category in relation to their specific industry, so as to optimize sales performance.

Seller skills become relevant with respect to taking into consideration the context of sales performance in areas such as planning and organization, recruiting and screening, training, remuneration and motivation, and evaluation and control. Note that companies need to consider the reported seven categories of skill level across all areas of sales performance. Companies should evaluate their sellers in relation to each category of skill level, and offer continuous training that is appropriate to each category.

It is evident that training is fundamental to acquiring seller skills. The recruitment and screening of sellers are also important for acquiring sellers with an appropriate level of each category of skill levels. Furthermore, companies need to evaluate the training results of sellers, and offer economic compensation in accordance with the skill level reached in each of the seven categories.

This study contributes to creat a B2B framework of seller skills in the context of sales performance. Accordingly, the tested and reported seven-dimensional framework provides a foundation for structuring the skill level dimensions in B2B sales settings.

A further opportunity in B2B settings is to assess the structural properties of how the seven dimensions of seller skills are associated with and related to the other sales performance indicators (i.e. seller role perceptions, motivations and aptitude, as well as the influence of organizational and environmental aspects on sellers). One such research opportunity is to assess to what extent there are any moderating and mediating effects between skill level, role perception, motivation, aptitude and organizational/environmental, or whether they all relate only to sales performance in B2B settings.

We conclude that the seven-dimensional framework of B2B seller skills in the context of sales performance verified in this study offers satisfactory validity and reliability. We therefore argue that the reported dimensions of B2B seller skills – i.e. interpersonal presentation and communication skills, degree of adaptiveness regarding abilities to modify sales approach and sales behavior, selling-related knowledge about customers and product/technology knowledge, and sales technology use – offer a sound foundation for assessing and following up on sales performance.

This study contributes to existing theory and previous studies, thus providing a foundation for framing relevant indicators of sales performance regarding B2B seller skills. The seven-dimensional framework therefore provides a foundation on which to structure the assessment of sales performance in B2B settings.



中文翻译:

B to B 卖家的销售业绩技能水平——框架和调查结果

摘要

目的

本研究侧重于销售绩效驱动因素框架,考虑了卖方技能的四个领域和文献普遍认为会影响 B2B 环境中销售绩效的七个维度。卖家技能水平的四个方面和七个维度如下: (i) 人际交往能力,包括沟通和表达技巧;(ii) 适应性程度,考虑卖方修改销售方法和销售行为的能力;(iii) 销售相关知识,包括产品和市场知识技能;(iv) 卖家对技术的使用。

总体而言,假设卖家技能发挥关键作用,研究目标是在销售业绩背景下实证验证基于 B2B 卖家技能的概念框架。这项研究响应了最近使用元分析来增加销售领域基于研究的知识的呼吁。本研究提供了一个研究框架的实证测试,用于识别和理解卖家在有形产品的 B2B 环境中处理和增加与客户的业务关系中所需的技能。

该方法依赖于使用演绎方法的问卷调查。最终共有 315 家公司被选中参与研究,以代表挪威产品导向型商业部门(即不包括服务导向型公司)内不同行业和企业规模的一系列公司。这些公司是根据标准行业分类 (SIC 2007) 确定的。共收回315份问卷236份,回收率为74.9%。方法论/方法

进行探索性因素分析以伪造或确认技能水平的七维框架。初始因子分析包括 21 个项目,每个维度 3 个。应用主成分法来揭示因子解中的模式。应用正交方法(最大方差旋转)来旋转因子解。每个维度的多项目测量都是从各种来源中选择和修改的。

实证结果为进一步研究销售业绩提供了基础。特别是,调查结果可用于评估卖家技能维度与卖家在 B2B 销售环境中的客观和主观表现之间的关系。调查结果还可用于评估这些技能水平指标与卖家经济和非经济满意度之间的关系。发现

公司可以使用报告的结果来组织和构建 B2B 卖家计划的过程。本研究提供了七个经过验证的卖家技能水平类别。公司应针对其特定行业关注每个类别,以优化销售业绩。

考虑到规划和组织、招聘和筛选、培训、薪酬和激励以及评估和控制等领域的销售业绩背景,卖方技能变得相关。请注意,公司需要考虑所有销售业绩领域报告的七类技能水平。公司应该根据每个类别的技能水平评估他们的卖家,并提供适合每个类别的持续培训。

很明显,培训是获得卖家技能的基础。卖家的招募和筛选对于获得具有适当水平的各类技能水平的卖家也很重要。此外,企业需要对销售人员的培训效果进行评估,并根据七类技能水平分别提供经济补偿。

本研究有助于在销售业绩的背景下创建 B2B 卖家技能框架。因此,经过测试和报告的七维框架为构建 B2B 销售环境中的技能水平维度提供了基础。

B2B 环境中的另一个机会是评估卖家技能的七个维度如何与其他销售绩效指标(即卖家角色感知、动机和能力,以及组织和环境的影响)相关联的结构属性。卖家方面)。其中一个研究机会是评估技能水平、角色感知、动机、能力和组织/环境之间的调节和中介效应在多大程度上存在,或者它们是否都仅与 B2B 环境中的销售业绩相关。

我们得出的结论是,在本研究中验证的销售业绩背景下的 B2B 卖家技能的七维框架提供了令人满意的有效性和可靠性。因此,我们认为 B2B 卖家技能的报告维度——即人际表达和沟通技巧、关于修改销售方法和销售行为的能力的适应性程度、关于客户和产品/技术知识的销售相关知识以及销售技术使用——提供评估和跟进销售业绩的良好基础。

本研究有助于现有理论和先前的研究,从而为制定有关 B2B 卖家技能的销售业绩相关指标提供基础。因此,七维框架为构建 B2B 环境中的销售绩效评估奠定了基础。

更新日期:2021-12-10
down
wechat
bug