Description
Commentators suggest that the business-to-business sales role is changing and evolving into relationship management. Previous research indicates that a relationship management role is very different from ‘traditional’ sales, and that it may require a different attitude on the part of the relationship manager.
1
Industrial Marketing Management, Volume 39, Issue 7, October 2010, Pages 1049-1062
Relationship Management: a sales role, or a state of mind?
An investigation of functions and attitudes across a business-
to-business sales force
Dr Iain A. Davies
Centre for Strategic
Marketing and Sales,
Cranfield School of
Management
Cranfield,
Beds,
MK43 0AL
Tel: 01234 751122
Email:
[email protected]
Professor Lynette J. Ryals*
Centre for Strategic
Marketing and Sales,
Cranfield School of
Management
Cranfield,
Beds,
MK43 0AL
Tel: 01234 751122
Email:
[email protected]
Dr. Sue Holt
Centre for Strategic
Marketing and Sales,
Cranfield School of
Management
Cranfield,
Beds,
MK43 0AL
Tel: 01234 751122
Email:
[email protected]
* Main contact
2
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. Iain Davies BSc PhD
Iain is Senior Research Fellow in Sales and Marketing and principal researcher for the
Key Account Management Best Practice Research Club at Cranfield School of
Management. He also has experience as a Management Consultant in a world-
renowned consultancy and over 10 years experience in sales and marketing within the
fair trade movement. His interests include sales performance, network management
and marketing ethics, and his research has appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics
and the European Journal of Marketing.
Professor Lynette Ryals MA (Oxon) MBA PhD FSIP
Lynette is Professor of Strategic Sales and Account Management at Cranfield School
of Management, specializing in key account management and marketing portfolio
management, particularly in service businesses. She has a PhD in customer
profitability. She is also the Director of Cranfield’s Key Account Management Best
Practice Research Club. Her research has appeared in Industrial Marketing
Management, Journal of Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, and Journal of
Services Research.
Dr. Sue Holt PhD
Sue is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management, researching and teaching
in global and key account management and business-to-business marketing. Prior to
working with Cranfield, Sue worked in both the public and private sectors, including
working for the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street and for the Speaker in the House
of Commons and as Marketing Director for a major printing company. Her research
has been published in British Journal of Management and Journal of Marketing
Management.
3
Abstract
Commentators suggest that the business-to-business sales role is changing and
evolving into relationship management. Previous research indicates that a relationship
management role is very different from ‘traditional’ sales, and that it may require a
different attitude on the part of the relationship manager. This research explores
attitudes towards various aspects of relationship management across an entire
international business-to-business sales force in a service industry context. We find
that attitudes towards relationship management do not in fact align with job role. A
cluster analysis reveals three attitudinal types of sales person: Self-Directed; Team
Leaders; and Strategic Sellers. Our findings suggest that some individuals may have
attitudes that are inappropriate to their roles, and that attitudes should be taken into
account when selecting relationship managers.
Key words: Relationship marketing, sales, sales management, key account
management
4
INTRODUCTION AND CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND
It is almost 30 years since David Ford suggested that, in managing long-term
business-to-business relationships, there is a role for what he called a ‘relationship
manager’ who is the major contact for the client company and who takes
responsibility for the successful development of the relationship with the client. He
argued that the relationship manager role should be fulfilled by someone of sufficient
status to co-ordinate all aspects of the company’s relationships with its major clients
(Ford 1980).
Recent research has called for a distinction between the activities of selling and
ongoing relationship management (e.g. Blythe 2005; McDonald & Woodburn 2007;
Ryals & McDonald 2008). This paper explores the role of the relationship manager,
and the increasing requirement for sales people to transition to relationship
management. Following Weitz & Bradford (1999), we define ‘relationship managers’
as those individuals responsible, over the long term, for the end-to-end relationship
with a business-to-business customer, including communication, sales, and after sales
service, and who act as the primary point of contact for a customer. We use the term
‘relationship manager’ to differentiate our research from the field of customer
relationship management (CRM) which is increasingly identified with business-to-
consumer markets and technological systems for customer management (e.g.
Blattberg & Deighton 1996; Brassington & Pettit 2000; Ahn et al. 2003; Ryals &
Payne 2001; Ryals et al. 2005).
5
Despite the growing tendency of sales people to become relationship managers (Biong
& Selnes 1996; Wotruba 1996; McDonald et al. 1997; Piercy et al. 1997, 1998; Weitz
& Bradford 1999), little research has been carried out on whether sales people have a
predisposition to undertake these relational roles. This is an important gap because of
the different requirements of these two roles (e.g. Ryals & McDonald 2008).
Moreover, previous typologies of sales people based on the type of roles sales people
are fulfilling (McMurray 1961; Moncrief 1986; Moncrief et al. 2006; Newton 1973)
have not yet been extended to the service sector. This study uses an instrument,
developed from the literature and tested through intensive pilot interviews, to examine
the attitudes of an entire service sector sales force in an effort to address the call of
Moncreif et al. (2006) for a greater understanding of the sales and relationship
manager role in the service sector.
Emergence of the relationship management role
The emergence of relationship marketing in the late 1980s led to a growing interest in
getting and keeping customers through relationship management (e.g. Christopher et
al. 1991; Grönroos 1994, 1997; Sheth & Parvatiyar 1995; Aijo 1996; Gummesson
1997). The idea of the relationship manager was extended and developed during the
1980s and 1990s, particularly in business-to-business markets where specialized
forms of managing customers have gained increasing importance (Homburg et al.
2000). Researchers have suggested that the relationship manager role has different
variants for managing different types of customer account: national account managers
(Shapiro & Moriarty 1980, 1982, 1984a, 1984b; Stevenson 1980, 1981; Tutton 1987;
Wotruba 1996; Weilbacker & Weeks 1997; Dishman & Nitze 1998); major account
managers (Barrett 1986; Colletti & Tubridy 1987); and, more recently, to manage the
6
most strategically important relationships of the business, Key Account Managers
(Wilson 1993; Pardo et al. 1995; Millman & Wilson 1995, 1996, 1998; Millman
1996; McDonald et al. 1997; McDonald & Rogers 1998; Holt 2003) or even global
account managers (Yip & Madsen 1996; Millman 1996; Millman & Wilson 1999;
Holt 2003).
Traditional sales role
Historically, personal selling has been viewed from a transaction orientation (Jackson
et al. 1994; Cespedes 1994), a mindset reinforced by reward systems that focus on
revenue generation (Wotruba 1996). The traditional role of sales has been defined as
“To stimulate, rather than satisfy, demand for products. To persuade customers that
they need a supplier’s product, sales people in this role focus on achieving short-term
results for their companies by using aggressive selling techniques to persuade
customers to buy products” (Weitz & Bradford 1999:243) through the use of
“aggressive selling techniques” (Weitz & Bradford 1999:243). This role is supported
by five basic types of activity carried out by the sales person: contacting customers,
selling the product or service, working with wholesalers, servicing the account, and
managing information between the seller and buyer (Cespedes 1994). So,
traditionally, salespeople have considered their roles fulfilled when the sale is made
(Corcoran et al. 1995).
However, this tactical view of sales activities is beginning to change, driven by the
move from a transactional to a relational focus (Jackson et al. 1994; Wotruba 1996;
Anderson 1996; Leigh & Marshall 2001). In practice, in business-to-business markets,
relationship marketing for the supplier organization is largely carried out through
7
people in boundary roles, such as salespeople, area managers, account managers and
key account managers. These people increasingly play a key role in the formation of
long-term buyer-seller relationships (Burger & Cann 1995; Biong & Selnes 1995,
1996; Doney & Cannon 1997; Piercy 2006; Weitz & Bradford 1999).
Impact of relationship marketing on sales
Relationship marketing is bringing a change to the practice of personal selling and
sales management as a result of this increased attention on long-term, buyer-seller
relationships (Biong & Selnes 1996; Wotruba 1996; McDonald et al. 1997; Piercy et
al. 1997, 1998; Weitz & Bradford 1999). The salesperson’s role in long-term
relationships is increasingly seen as crucial in creating value for customers as well as
for their own organization (Weitz & Bradford 1999).
The transition to relationship management (Marshall & Michaels 2001; Piercy 2006;
Rackham & DeVincentis 1999; Storbacka et al. 2009; Weitz & Bradford 1999) means
that the practice of sales increasingly involves longer-term strategic roles such as
customer partner, buyer/seller team coordinator, customer service provider, buyer
behavior expert, information gatherer, market analyst, planner, sales forecaster,
market cost analyzer and technologist (Anderson 1996; Marshall & Michaels 2001;
Piercy 2006; Rackham & DeVincentis 1999; Storbacka et al. 2009; Weitz & Bradford
1999; Wilson 1993). Consequently, it has been argued that not only the role but also
the necessary attitudes, competences and skills required of modern sales people and
relationship managers differ from those needed by traditional salespeople (Shapiro &
Moriarty 1984a; McDonald et al. 1997; Millman & Wilson 1998; Weitz & Bradford
8
1999). If so, a re-evaluation of sales typologies that pre-date these developments and
were originally developed around more traditional selling is needed.
Sales Typologies
Until Moncreif et al. (2006) revisited their earlier work (Moncreif 1986), the
traditional typologies for sales people (McMurray 1961; Newton 1973) had been
developed around the traditional sales role. However, a number of authors have
attempted to identify the attitudes, skills and behaviors required by salespeople in
relational situations in business-to-business markets as opposed to transactional
situations (Lagace et al. 1991; Biong & Selnes 1995; Corcoran et al. 1995; Boles &
Johnston 1999; Wotruba 1996; Leuthesser 1997; Rackham & De Vincentis 1998;
Weitz & Bradford 1999) and in services markets (Crosby et al. 1990) which Moncreif
et al. (2006) utilize to provide a contemporary taxonomy of sales roles. Moncreif et
al. (2006) suggested the typological roles of Consultative Seller (a nurturing role with
existing customer providing product support as well as promotional activities making
up 34.2% of the work force) and Key Account Seller (a customer partner role
involving high levels of support services, contact time, product delivery management,
making up 8.3% of the sales force). These types were identified through a cluster
analysis of the activities of sales people, which identifies what sales people do but not
their attitudes to the relational roles they are increasingly being asked to fulfill.
Attitudes of sales people towards relationship management
Conceptually, the notion that sales people have different attitudinal predispositions
forms the basis for sales models such as Blake & Mouton (1964; see also Sternberg &
Soriano 1984). In practice, many relationship managers manage more than one
9
customer (Ryals et al. 2005) and the preferred relationship management strategy for
each may differ based on the type of customer and the supplier’s strategy in relation to
that customer (Johnson & Selnes 2004; Gopalan 2007). Therefore, the attitudes of
sales people and of relationship managers could be an important issue for
organizations wanting to introduce relationship management practices, in order to
‘match’ them to customers where their particular attitudes and approach chimed with
the organization’s strategic stance towards that customer. It has even been suggested
that sales people who are good at traditional selling may be ill-suited to relationship
manager roles (Ryals and McDonald 2008).
Transitioning services sales people into relationship manager roles
Managerially, whether good sales people make good relationship managers is an
increasingly important question. As the demand for relationship managers grows
(McDonald et al. 1997; Piercy 2006), it is the successful sales person who is most
likely to be appointed into a relationship manager role managing strategically
important customers. However, the requirements of the relationship manager role are
very different from those of the traditional sales role (Ryals & McDonald 2008).
Furthermore, Moncreif et al. (2006) argue that there is a need to investigate the roles
of sales people outside the manufacturing sector (where earlier typologies have
mainly been developed) and examine the service sector, which previous research has
indicated might have distinct sales and relationship management roles (Crosby et al.
1990; George & Kelly 1983).
10
The research aim is to investigate whether the modern sales force is attitudinally
adjusted to relationship selling roles. It extends previous research on sales typologies
into the service context, comparing attitudes and job roles across a large international
business-to-business sales force in a service organization that had recently committed
itself to relationship management.
METHODOLOGY
Research Objective and Approach
The research objective was to investigate the attitudes towards relationship
management amongst a group of service sales people in a context where the supplier
had a differential relationship management strategy towards its different business-to-
business customers.
The case study approach is the most appropriate for looking at a complex
phenomenon that is underdeveloped in the literature (Yin 2003, Scholz & Tietje 2002,
Strauss & Corbin 1998, Baker 2001) such as the roles and attitudes of sales and
relationship managers in service sector organisations. To gain a deep insight into the
range of sales and relationship management functions and typologies within an
organization we utilised a two-step methodology as suggested by Moncrief et al.
(2006): firstly a qualitative study to identify the roles of a relationship manager within
service sector organisations and secondly a quantitative empirical investigation of the
attitudes of sales people from different functional roles across an entire global sales
organisation towards relationship management roles, providing attitudinal typologies
of sales people within the service sector.
11
Research instrument development
To explore our research objective we developed an instrument that was capable of
exploring the full scope of a service sector sales force across the differing roles of
sales and relationship management. We created a structured questionnaire designed to
explore attitudes and approaches to sales and relationship management. The
instrument was developed using both in-depth practitioner interviews and cross-
comparison to the extant literature regarding the roles a service sector relationship
manager had to fulfill and how these differed from the traditional sales role.
Four global business-to-business service organisations were selected for the
development of the instrument. The selection criteria included having a range of
different size customer accounts, with existing relationship management practices
which had been in place for between one and five years, having a large sales force,
and having a range of distinct sales and relationship management functions. The four
companies were: Courier Co. a global logistics and courier business; Computer Co. a
networking and software service company; Component Co. a distributer of
manufacturing components; and Equipment Co. an office fitter and supplier and
distributer of office equipment. Key informants were selected for interview to develop
our understanding of the roles fulfilled and the attitudes required by relationship
managers.
Following Yin (1994), the sources were organised into four key groups that could
provide information on various aspects of relationship management. Data were
collected from the relationship managers about their activities and roles. To ensure an
exhaustive list of relationship manager activities we also interviewed their customers,
12
senior or line managers, and colleagues or team members. A full review of the
methodology used in this first research stage is available in Holt & McDonald (2000;
2001).
Thirty-eight interviews were carried out across four organisations, with a further 5
relationship manager interviews used for cross-checking purposes, giving 43
interviews in total (Table 1). The results of this first phase of study are summarized in
table 2, which was the starting point in developing scales to explore the differences
between relationship management and sales roles. The totality of the research
uncovered in these interviews is reported elsewhere (Holt 2003; Davies et al. 2008).
[Table 1 about here]
To ensure external validity, the results of the qualitative phase were compared and
qualified against the extant literature on sales and relationship management. Table 2
cross-validates the constructs developed in the qualitative interviews with the
literature and compares the role of a traditional sales person with that of a relationship
manager. Those activities with an asterisk identify where the roles of the relationship
manager in the service sector match the manufacturing sector components in Moncreif
et al. (2006). Table 2 formed the basis for the quantitative phase of the study
(following Moncrief et al. 2006).
[Table 2 about here]
13
Using qualitative data from four very different industries enhanced external validity
and generalizability, enabling the development of a quantitative survey instrument
with wide service sector applicability. The survey comprised a series of 42 questions,
23 of which are reported here, answered by means of a 7 point Likert scale (see
Appendix 1 for the scales). As with other questionnaire designs, several of the
statements were worded negatively and were then reversed during data analysis
(Hague 1993, Brace 2004).
Quantitative survey participating company
For the quantitative stage, we sought a service business meeting the same criteria as
previously. We focused on a single company to get census-style data from across their
sales force, thereby ensuring that we covered all potential groups within the sales
force (high internal validity) and could standardize the descriptions of the types of
customers they were managing. The company selected is a global airline company and
was selected because the company and the industry are ‘unremarkable’ or typical
(Miles & Huberman 1994). Although the industry has experienced recent
disintermediation in business-to-consumer markets, the organization is still required
to maintain high levels of sales operations in the business-to-business sector which
was the focus of this study. The business-to-business sales and customer management
teams deal predominantly with freight, tour operators and commercial partners and
with bulk seat sales to travel agents (including to major and key accounts).
Differentiation in the market is largely based on existing relationships and differential
service bundles which the sales force actively create and sell a partially customized
manner. At the time of the study, the case company was seeking to redevelop its sales
14
strategy through relationship management. In particular, it was looking to identify
people who might become future key account managers for a number of key accounts.
Data collection
The sample frame at the airline was just over 400 individuals, accounting for all seven
of the sales and customer management functions within the organization. Computer
terminals were set up at the global sales conference and 30 minutes set aside per
delegate in their conference schedule to partake in the research. Two researchers were
on hand at all times to provide assistance when required and, although the company
language was English, translation support was provided in three other languages. This
resulted in a very high response rate of 85% of the global sales force and customer
management teams.
[Table 3 about here]
Classification data were collected relating to job title, number of accounts managed,
relative value of accounts (generally this is inversely proportional to the degree of
relationship management required), and number of years in sales (as an indication of
sales experience – Table 3). Gender and nationality data were not collected, at the
request of the case organization. Respondents identified themselves by entering their
unique employee number. This item was used by senior managers within the company
to identify the type of account(s) they worked with, and the sales roles they fulfilled.
This reduced the risk of self-reporting bias regarding account importance identified as
a problem in pilot studies.
15
Data analysis
Attitudinal data do not necessarily follow the conventions of normality as assumed in
many analysis techniques (e.g. ANOVA and Structural Equation Modelling). Under
Kolmogorow-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests all 23 measures were
significant at the
Commentators suggest that the business-to-business sales role is changing and evolving into relationship management. Previous research indicates that a relationship management role is very different from ‘traditional’ sales, and that it may require a different attitude on the part of the relationship manager.
1
Industrial Marketing Management, Volume 39, Issue 7, October 2010, Pages 1049-1062
Relationship Management: a sales role, or a state of mind?
An investigation of functions and attitudes across a business-
to-business sales force
Dr Iain A. Davies
Centre for Strategic
Marketing and Sales,
Cranfield School of
Management
Cranfield,
Beds,
MK43 0AL
Tel: 01234 751122
Email:
[email protected]
Professor Lynette J. Ryals*
Centre for Strategic
Marketing and Sales,
Cranfield School of
Management
Cranfield,
Beds,
MK43 0AL
Tel: 01234 751122
Email:
[email protected]
Dr. Sue Holt
Centre for Strategic
Marketing and Sales,
Cranfield School of
Management
Cranfield,
Beds,
MK43 0AL
Tel: 01234 751122
Email:
[email protected]
* Main contact
2
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. Iain Davies BSc PhD
Iain is Senior Research Fellow in Sales and Marketing and principal researcher for the
Key Account Management Best Practice Research Club at Cranfield School of
Management. He also has experience as a Management Consultant in a world-
renowned consultancy and over 10 years experience in sales and marketing within the
fair trade movement. His interests include sales performance, network management
and marketing ethics, and his research has appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics
and the European Journal of Marketing.
Professor Lynette Ryals MA (Oxon) MBA PhD FSIP
Lynette is Professor of Strategic Sales and Account Management at Cranfield School
of Management, specializing in key account management and marketing portfolio
management, particularly in service businesses. She has a PhD in customer
profitability. She is also the Director of Cranfield’s Key Account Management Best
Practice Research Club. Her research has appeared in Industrial Marketing
Management, Journal of Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, and Journal of
Services Research.
Dr. Sue Holt PhD
Sue is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management, researching and teaching
in global and key account management and business-to-business marketing. Prior to
working with Cranfield, Sue worked in both the public and private sectors, including
working for the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street and for the Speaker in the House
of Commons and as Marketing Director for a major printing company. Her research
has been published in British Journal of Management and Journal of Marketing
Management.
3
Abstract
Commentators suggest that the business-to-business sales role is changing and
evolving into relationship management. Previous research indicates that a relationship
management role is very different from ‘traditional’ sales, and that it may require a
different attitude on the part of the relationship manager. This research explores
attitudes towards various aspects of relationship management across an entire
international business-to-business sales force in a service industry context. We find
that attitudes towards relationship management do not in fact align with job role. A
cluster analysis reveals three attitudinal types of sales person: Self-Directed; Team
Leaders; and Strategic Sellers. Our findings suggest that some individuals may have
attitudes that are inappropriate to their roles, and that attitudes should be taken into
account when selecting relationship managers.
Key words: Relationship marketing, sales, sales management, key account
management
4
INTRODUCTION AND CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND
It is almost 30 years since David Ford suggested that, in managing long-term
business-to-business relationships, there is a role for what he called a ‘relationship
manager’ who is the major contact for the client company and who takes
responsibility for the successful development of the relationship with the client. He
argued that the relationship manager role should be fulfilled by someone of sufficient
status to co-ordinate all aspects of the company’s relationships with its major clients
(Ford 1980).
Recent research has called for a distinction between the activities of selling and
ongoing relationship management (e.g. Blythe 2005; McDonald & Woodburn 2007;
Ryals & McDonald 2008). This paper explores the role of the relationship manager,
and the increasing requirement for sales people to transition to relationship
management. Following Weitz & Bradford (1999), we define ‘relationship managers’
as those individuals responsible, over the long term, for the end-to-end relationship
with a business-to-business customer, including communication, sales, and after sales
service, and who act as the primary point of contact for a customer. We use the term
‘relationship manager’ to differentiate our research from the field of customer
relationship management (CRM) which is increasingly identified with business-to-
consumer markets and technological systems for customer management (e.g.
Blattberg & Deighton 1996; Brassington & Pettit 2000; Ahn et al. 2003; Ryals &
Payne 2001; Ryals et al. 2005).
5
Despite the growing tendency of sales people to become relationship managers (Biong
& Selnes 1996; Wotruba 1996; McDonald et al. 1997; Piercy et al. 1997, 1998; Weitz
& Bradford 1999), little research has been carried out on whether sales people have a
predisposition to undertake these relational roles. This is an important gap because of
the different requirements of these two roles (e.g. Ryals & McDonald 2008).
Moreover, previous typologies of sales people based on the type of roles sales people
are fulfilling (McMurray 1961; Moncrief 1986; Moncrief et al. 2006; Newton 1973)
have not yet been extended to the service sector. This study uses an instrument,
developed from the literature and tested through intensive pilot interviews, to examine
the attitudes of an entire service sector sales force in an effort to address the call of
Moncreif et al. (2006) for a greater understanding of the sales and relationship
manager role in the service sector.
Emergence of the relationship management role
The emergence of relationship marketing in the late 1980s led to a growing interest in
getting and keeping customers through relationship management (e.g. Christopher et
al. 1991; Grönroos 1994, 1997; Sheth & Parvatiyar 1995; Aijo 1996; Gummesson
1997). The idea of the relationship manager was extended and developed during the
1980s and 1990s, particularly in business-to-business markets where specialized
forms of managing customers have gained increasing importance (Homburg et al.
2000). Researchers have suggested that the relationship manager role has different
variants for managing different types of customer account: national account managers
(Shapiro & Moriarty 1980, 1982, 1984a, 1984b; Stevenson 1980, 1981; Tutton 1987;
Wotruba 1996; Weilbacker & Weeks 1997; Dishman & Nitze 1998); major account
managers (Barrett 1986; Colletti & Tubridy 1987); and, more recently, to manage the
6
most strategically important relationships of the business, Key Account Managers
(Wilson 1993; Pardo et al. 1995; Millman & Wilson 1995, 1996, 1998; Millman
1996; McDonald et al. 1997; McDonald & Rogers 1998; Holt 2003) or even global
account managers (Yip & Madsen 1996; Millman 1996; Millman & Wilson 1999;
Holt 2003).
Traditional sales role
Historically, personal selling has been viewed from a transaction orientation (Jackson
et al. 1994; Cespedes 1994), a mindset reinforced by reward systems that focus on
revenue generation (Wotruba 1996). The traditional role of sales has been defined as
“To stimulate, rather than satisfy, demand for products. To persuade customers that
they need a supplier’s product, sales people in this role focus on achieving short-term
results for their companies by using aggressive selling techniques to persuade
customers to buy products” (Weitz & Bradford 1999:243) through the use of
“aggressive selling techniques” (Weitz & Bradford 1999:243). This role is supported
by five basic types of activity carried out by the sales person: contacting customers,
selling the product or service, working with wholesalers, servicing the account, and
managing information between the seller and buyer (Cespedes 1994). So,
traditionally, salespeople have considered their roles fulfilled when the sale is made
(Corcoran et al. 1995).
However, this tactical view of sales activities is beginning to change, driven by the
move from a transactional to a relational focus (Jackson et al. 1994; Wotruba 1996;
Anderson 1996; Leigh & Marshall 2001). In practice, in business-to-business markets,
relationship marketing for the supplier organization is largely carried out through
7
people in boundary roles, such as salespeople, area managers, account managers and
key account managers. These people increasingly play a key role in the formation of
long-term buyer-seller relationships (Burger & Cann 1995; Biong & Selnes 1995,
1996; Doney & Cannon 1997; Piercy 2006; Weitz & Bradford 1999).
Impact of relationship marketing on sales
Relationship marketing is bringing a change to the practice of personal selling and
sales management as a result of this increased attention on long-term, buyer-seller
relationships (Biong & Selnes 1996; Wotruba 1996; McDonald et al. 1997; Piercy et
al. 1997, 1998; Weitz & Bradford 1999). The salesperson’s role in long-term
relationships is increasingly seen as crucial in creating value for customers as well as
for their own organization (Weitz & Bradford 1999).
The transition to relationship management (Marshall & Michaels 2001; Piercy 2006;
Rackham & DeVincentis 1999; Storbacka et al. 2009; Weitz & Bradford 1999) means
that the practice of sales increasingly involves longer-term strategic roles such as
customer partner, buyer/seller team coordinator, customer service provider, buyer
behavior expert, information gatherer, market analyst, planner, sales forecaster,
market cost analyzer and technologist (Anderson 1996; Marshall & Michaels 2001;
Piercy 2006; Rackham & DeVincentis 1999; Storbacka et al. 2009; Weitz & Bradford
1999; Wilson 1993). Consequently, it has been argued that not only the role but also
the necessary attitudes, competences and skills required of modern sales people and
relationship managers differ from those needed by traditional salespeople (Shapiro &
Moriarty 1984a; McDonald et al. 1997; Millman & Wilson 1998; Weitz & Bradford
8
1999). If so, a re-evaluation of sales typologies that pre-date these developments and
were originally developed around more traditional selling is needed.
Sales Typologies
Until Moncreif et al. (2006) revisited their earlier work (Moncreif 1986), the
traditional typologies for sales people (McMurray 1961; Newton 1973) had been
developed around the traditional sales role. However, a number of authors have
attempted to identify the attitudes, skills and behaviors required by salespeople in
relational situations in business-to-business markets as opposed to transactional
situations (Lagace et al. 1991; Biong & Selnes 1995; Corcoran et al. 1995; Boles &
Johnston 1999; Wotruba 1996; Leuthesser 1997; Rackham & De Vincentis 1998;
Weitz & Bradford 1999) and in services markets (Crosby et al. 1990) which Moncreif
et al. (2006) utilize to provide a contemporary taxonomy of sales roles. Moncreif et
al. (2006) suggested the typological roles of Consultative Seller (a nurturing role with
existing customer providing product support as well as promotional activities making
up 34.2% of the work force) and Key Account Seller (a customer partner role
involving high levels of support services, contact time, product delivery management,
making up 8.3% of the sales force). These types were identified through a cluster
analysis of the activities of sales people, which identifies what sales people do but not
their attitudes to the relational roles they are increasingly being asked to fulfill.
Attitudes of sales people towards relationship management
Conceptually, the notion that sales people have different attitudinal predispositions
forms the basis for sales models such as Blake & Mouton (1964; see also Sternberg &
Soriano 1984). In practice, many relationship managers manage more than one
9
customer (Ryals et al. 2005) and the preferred relationship management strategy for
each may differ based on the type of customer and the supplier’s strategy in relation to
that customer (Johnson & Selnes 2004; Gopalan 2007). Therefore, the attitudes of
sales people and of relationship managers could be an important issue for
organizations wanting to introduce relationship management practices, in order to
‘match’ them to customers where their particular attitudes and approach chimed with
the organization’s strategic stance towards that customer. It has even been suggested
that sales people who are good at traditional selling may be ill-suited to relationship
manager roles (Ryals and McDonald 2008).
Transitioning services sales people into relationship manager roles
Managerially, whether good sales people make good relationship managers is an
increasingly important question. As the demand for relationship managers grows
(McDonald et al. 1997; Piercy 2006), it is the successful sales person who is most
likely to be appointed into a relationship manager role managing strategically
important customers. However, the requirements of the relationship manager role are
very different from those of the traditional sales role (Ryals & McDonald 2008).
Furthermore, Moncreif et al. (2006) argue that there is a need to investigate the roles
of sales people outside the manufacturing sector (where earlier typologies have
mainly been developed) and examine the service sector, which previous research has
indicated might have distinct sales and relationship management roles (Crosby et al.
1990; George & Kelly 1983).
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The research aim is to investigate whether the modern sales force is attitudinally
adjusted to relationship selling roles. It extends previous research on sales typologies
into the service context, comparing attitudes and job roles across a large international
business-to-business sales force in a service organization that had recently committed
itself to relationship management.
METHODOLOGY
Research Objective and Approach
The research objective was to investigate the attitudes towards relationship
management amongst a group of service sales people in a context where the supplier
had a differential relationship management strategy towards its different business-to-
business customers.
The case study approach is the most appropriate for looking at a complex
phenomenon that is underdeveloped in the literature (Yin 2003, Scholz & Tietje 2002,
Strauss & Corbin 1998, Baker 2001) such as the roles and attitudes of sales and
relationship managers in service sector organisations. To gain a deep insight into the
range of sales and relationship management functions and typologies within an
organization we utilised a two-step methodology as suggested by Moncrief et al.
(2006): firstly a qualitative study to identify the roles of a relationship manager within
service sector organisations and secondly a quantitative empirical investigation of the
attitudes of sales people from different functional roles across an entire global sales
organisation towards relationship management roles, providing attitudinal typologies
of sales people within the service sector.
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Research instrument development
To explore our research objective we developed an instrument that was capable of
exploring the full scope of a service sector sales force across the differing roles of
sales and relationship management. We created a structured questionnaire designed to
explore attitudes and approaches to sales and relationship management. The
instrument was developed using both in-depth practitioner interviews and cross-
comparison to the extant literature regarding the roles a service sector relationship
manager had to fulfill and how these differed from the traditional sales role.
Four global business-to-business service organisations were selected for the
development of the instrument. The selection criteria included having a range of
different size customer accounts, with existing relationship management practices
which had been in place for between one and five years, having a large sales force,
and having a range of distinct sales and relationship management functions. The four
companies were: Courier Co. a global logistics and courier business; Computer Co. a
networking and software service company; Component Co. a distributer of
manufacturing components; and Equipment Co. an office fitter and supplier and
distributer of office equipment. Key informants were selected for interview to develop
our understanding of the roles fulfilled and the attitudes required by relationship
managers.
Following Yin (1994), the sources were organised into four key groups that could
provide information on various aspects of relationship management. Data were
collected from the relationship managers about their activities and roles. To ensure an
exhaustive list of relationship manager activities we also interviewed their customers,
12
senior or line managers, and colleagues or team members. A full review of the
methodology used in this first research stage is available in Holt & McDonald (2000;
2001).
Thirty-eight interviews were carried out across four organisations, with a further 5
relationship manager interviews used for cross-checking purposes, giving 43
interviews in total (Table 1). The results of this first phase of study are summarized in
table 2, which was the starting point in developing scales to explore the differences
between relationship management and sales roles. The totality of the research
uncovered in these interviews is reported elsewhere (Holt 2003; Davies et al. 2008).
[Table 1 about here]
To ensure external validity, the results of the qualitative phase were compared and
qualified against the extant literature on sales and relationship management. Table 2
cross-validates the constructs developed in the qualitative interviews with the
literature and compares the role of a traditional sales person with that of a relationship
manager. Those activities with an asterisk identify where the roles of the relationship
manager in the service sector match the manufacturing sector components in Moncreif
et al. (2006). Table 2 formed the basis for the quantitative phase of the study
(following Moncrief et al. 2006).
[Table 2 about here]
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Using qualitative data from four very different industries enhanced external validity
and generalizability, enabling the development of a quantitative survey instrument
with wide service sector applicability. The survey comprised a series of 42 questions,
23 of which are reported here, answered by means of a 7 point Likert scale (see
Appendix 1 for the scales). As with other questionnaire designs, several of the
statements were worded negatively and were then reversed during data analysis
(Hague 1993, Brace 2004).
Quantitative survey participating company
For the quantitative stage, we sought a service business meeting the same criteria as
previously. We focused on a single company to get census-style data from across their
sales force, thereby ensuring that we covered all potential groups within the sales
force (high internal validity) and could standardize the descriptions of the types of
customers they were managing. The company selected is a global airline company and
was selected because the company and the industry are ‘unremarkable’ or typical
(Miles & Huberman 1994). Although the industry has experienced recent
disintermediation in business-to-consumer markets, the organization is still required
to maintain high levels of sales operations in the business-to-business sector which
was the focus of this study. The business-to-business sales and customer management
teams deal predominantly with freight, tour operators and commercial partners and
with bulk seat sales to travel agents (including to major and key accounts).
Differentiation in the market is largely based on existing relationships and differential
service bundles which the sales force actively create and sell a partially customized
manner. At the time of the study, the case company was seeking to redevelop its sales
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strategy through relationship management. In particular, it was looking to identify
people who might become future key account managers for a number of key accounts.
Data collection
The sample frame at the airline was just over 400 individuals, accounting for all seven
of the sales and customer management functions within the organization. Computer
terminals were set up at the global sales conference and 30 minutes set aside per
delegate in their conference schedule to partake in the research. Two researchers were
on hand at all times to provide assistance when required and, although the company
language was English, translation support was provided in three other languages. This
resulted in a very high response rate of 85% of the global sales force and customer
management teams.
[Table 3 about here]
Classification data were collected relating to job title, number of accounts managed,
relative value of accounts (generally this is inversely proportional to the degree of
relationship management required), and number of years in sales (as an indication of
sales experience – Table 3). Gender and nationality data were not collected, at the
request of the case organization. Respondents identified themselves by entering their
unique employee number. This item was used by senior managers within the company
to identify the type of account(s) they worked with, and the sales roles they fulfilled.
This reduced the risk of self-reporting bias regarding account importance identified as
a problem in pilot studies.
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Data analysis
Attitudinal data do not necessarily follow the conventions of normality as assumed in
many analysis techniques (e.g. ANOVA and Structural Equation Modelling). Under
Kolmogorow-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests all 23 measures were
significant at the