Salespeople are aware that many customers have negatively stereotyped the sales profession. Consequently, salespeople may become defensive and fearful about how customers perceive them. This phenomenon is called ‘stereotype threat.’ Stereotype threat from customers may be triggered by many stimuli, such as verbal or nonverbal behavior from the focal group (i.e., customers), comments from coworkers, or information from the media. We argue that similarity with customers and sales managers should reduce stereotype threat. Using a survey of professional salespeople, the results show that salespeople are less likely to experience stereotype threats when they perceive themselves to be similar to their managers, but contrary to expectations, not when they feel similar to customers. The results also show that stereotype threat increases anxiety, which can reduce organizational commitment. However, help-focused coping from others in the sales organization will help salespeople cope with their anxiety. The implications of this research will help sales managers reduce stereotype threat and help salespeople cope with this phenomenon.

中文翻译：

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刻板印象威胁对销售焦虑的影响

销售人员意识到，许多客户对销售职业抱有负面的刻板印象。因此，销售人员可能会对客户如何看待他们变得防御和恐惧。这种现象被称为“刻板印象威胁”。来自客户的刻板印象威胁可能是由许多刺激触发的，例如来自焦点群体（即客户）的言语或非言语行为、来自同事的评论或来自媒体的信息。我们认为，与客户和销售经理的相似性应该可以减少刻板印象的威胁。通过对专业销售人员的调查，结果表明，当销售人员认为自己与经理相似但与预期相反时，而不是当他们感觉与客户相似时，他们不太可能遇到刻板印象威胁。研究结果还表明，刻板印象威胁会增加焦虑，从而降低组织承诺。然而，销售组织中其他人以帮助为中心的应对方式将帮助销售人员应对他们的焦虑。这项研究的意义将帮助销售经理减少刻板印象威胁，并帮助销售人员应对这种现象。