Download susceptibility of the salesperson`s role

MODULE 10 : THE SALES PERSON’S ROLE PERCEPTIONS
THE SALESPERSON’S ROLE
An employee’s role represents the activities and behaviours that are to be performed by any person who
occupies that position. The salesperson’s role is defined through a three step process :
(i)
Stage 1 : Role partners communicate expectations
(ii)
Stage 2 : Salespeople develop perceptions
(iii)
Stage 3 : Salespeople convert perceptions into behaviours
Stage 1 : Role Partners Communicate Expectations
Expectations and demands concerning how the salesperson should behave, together with pressures to
conform, are communicated to the salesperson by members of that role set. The salesperson’s role set
consists of people with a vested interest in how the representative performs the job. They could include
the salesperson’s superior, other executives in the firm, purchasing agents and other members of
customers’ organizations and the salesperson’s family.
All these people try to influence the person’s behaviour through organizational policies, operating
procedures, training programmes and the like or informally through social pressures, rewards and
sanctions.
Stage 2 : Salespeople Develop Perceptions
This involves the salesperson’s perceptions of the expectations and demands communicated to them by
their role set members.
Salespersons may suffer from perceptions of role ambiguity, role conflict or role inaccuracy.
Perceived Role Ambiguity :
Occurs when the representatives do not think they have the necessary information to perform the job
adequately.
Perceived Role Conflict :
Exists when a salesperson believes the role demands of two or more members of the role set are
incompatible. The rep’s perception that it is impossible to satisfy simultaneously all members of the role
set creates conflicting role forces and psychological conflict within the sales person.
Perceived Role Inaccuracy :
Arises when the salesperson’s perceptions of the role partners’ demands are inaccurate. Role inaccuracy
differs from role ambiguity in that with role inaccuracy, the sales person feels fairly certain what should
be done – except that the sales rep is wrong. It differs from role conflict in that the salesperson does not
see any inconsistencies in that it is unrealized. The representative does not know that the perceptions held
are inaccurate.
Stage 3 : Salespeople convert Perceptions into Behaviours
This involves the salesperson’s conversion of these role perceptions into actual behaviour.
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE SALESPERSON’S ROLE
Several characteristics of a salesperson’s role that make it particularly susceptible to role conflict, role
ambiguity, and the development of inaccurate role perceptions :
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It is at the boundary of the firm
The salesperson’s performance affects the occupants of a large number of other positions
It is an innovative role
Boundary Position
Sales persons are likely to experience more role conflict than most other organization members because
they occupy positions at the boundaries of their firms. They receive demands from organizations that have
diverse goals, policies and problems. Since each partner wants the salesperson’s behaviour to be
consistent with the partner’s own goals, their demands are diverse and often incompatible.
-
-
To satisfy the demands of one partner, the salesperson must at times ignore or attempt to
change the demands of the other.
Role partners in one organization often do not appreciate the expectations and demands made
by role partners in the other. Even a role partner who is aware of another’s demands may not
understand the reasoning behind them and consider them arbitrary or illegitimate.
A boundary position also increases the likelihood that the salesperson will experience role
ambiguity or form inaccurate perceptions.
Large Role Set
The salesperson’s role set includes many diverse individuals. this increases the probability that at least some
role demands will be incompatible. It also increases the probability that the salespersons’ perceptions of
some demands will be inaccurate and that the rep will be uncertain about others.
Innovative Role
The salesrep is often called on to produce new solutions to non-routine problems, particularly when the
salesperson is selling highly technical products or engineered systems designed to the customer’s
specifications.
Occupants of innovative roles tend to experience more conflict than other organization members because
they must have the flexibility to perform their roles well. This need for flexibility often brings the
salesperson in conflict with the standard operating procedures of the firm and the expectations of the
organization members who want to maintain status quo.
Occupants of innovative roles also tend to experience more role ambiguity and inaccurate role perceptions
than occupants of noninnovative roles because they frequently face unusual situations where they have no
standard procedures or past experience to guide them. Consequently, they are very uncertain about how
their role partners expect them to proceed. The perceptions that they do have are more likely to be
inaccurate because of the nonroutine nature of the task. The flexibility that is needed to fulfill an
innovative role can consequently have unforeseen, negative consequences.
ROLE CONFLICT AND AMBIGUITY
Common expectations and Key areas of Conflict and Ambiguity
Different role partners emphasize different types of expectations. Salespersons see some role
partners as being concerned with what they do while others are concerned with how they do it.
Perceived role expectations are consistent among salespeople. The major area where sales
representatives do not perceive similar role expectations involves the demands of family
members, which are more likely to differ from one salesperson to the next than are the
expectations of customers and superiors.
Most industry salespersons do not seem uncertain about what they are expected to do or how
their performance is being evaluated. However, a substantial proportion are plagued by
ambiguity concerning some aspects of their job and some role partners. They are particularly
uncertain about company policies, how their performance is being evaluated by company
superiors, and what their sales managers expect.
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Most salespersons perceive conflicts between some company policies or expectations and their
customer demands. Although job conflicts are not unique to sales people, their pervasiveness in
the sales force should be recognized as a major influence on job satisfaction and performance.
Consequences of Conflict and Ambiguity
(i)
Psychological Consequences
Job tensions increase
Overall anxiety increases
Decrease in satisfaction with role partners, the company and the job
Perceived role ambiguity results in loss of confidence in the ability to perform the sales role
successfully.
Perceived role conflict primarily affects extrinsic job satisfaction, but has little or no effect on the intrinsic
satisfaction salespeople derive from the job.
Perceived role ambiguity has a negative impact on the intrinsic components of salespeople’s job
satisfaction as well as the extrinsic components.
(ii)
-
Behavioural Consequences
Absenteeism
High employee turnover (moderated by economic conditions and availability of alternative jobs)
Causes of Conflict and Ambiguity
Salespersons who experience a great deal of conflict become dissatisfied and quit, whereas those who stay
on the job, do not perceive much conflict.
Salespersons may learn with experience how to deal with conflict so that they are no longer stressful..
Demands that initially appear to be in conflict may turn out to be compatible.
Finally, they may develop psychological defense mechanisms to screen out conflicts and ease the tension.
Perhaps sales training programmes can prepare salespeople to deal with conflicts they will encounter on the
job.
Perceived role conflict also seems to be affected by how closely salespeople are supervised. When sales
managers structure and define their roles, salespersons seem to experience more conflict. Close supervision
decreases the flexibility in dealing with the diverse role expectations with which salespeople must contend.
Thus, by increasing the salesperson’s say in what they do and how they do it, role conflict can be reduced.
Sales training can also help reduce role ambiguity.
Less ambiguity is experienced when salespeople are closely supervised.
Salespeople who have an input in determining the standards by which they are evaluated are more familiar
with these standards, which tends to reduce role ambiguity. This can be achieved by altering the sales
managers’ span of control.
Howwver, close supervision is a two-edged sword because of the difference in its relation with role conflict
and role ambiguity.
ROLE ACCURACY
Nature of Role accuracy
A salesperson has accurate role perceptions when he correctly understands what role partners expect when
performing the job. Role inaccuracy can be either general or linkage specific.
General Role Inaccuracy involves such considerations as whether salespersons correctly think they can
negotiate on price, promise shorter delivery times than normal, and handle back charges and adjustments for
customers. It can occur on almost any job dimension that also gives rise to role ambiguity and conflict.
Linkage Role Inaccuracy arises when the salesperson incorrectly perceives the relationships between the
activities and performance dimensions or between the performance dimensions and the rewards. It relates to
the motivational component and, more particularly, to the expectancy and instrumentality estimstes.
There is a great potential for linkage role inaccuracy among salespeople because all three components –
activities, performance dimensions and rewards – are multidimensional.
Common Activities, performance Criteria and Rewards for Industrial salespeople
Activities
Selling :plan selling activities, search out leads, identify person in authority, select
products for calls, prepare sales presentations, call on accounts, make sales presentations,
overcome objections.
Working with Orders : correct orders, expedite orders, handle back orders, handle
shipment problems
Servicing the Product : Supervise installation, test the product, train customers in
product use, teach safety instructions, order accessories, perform maintenance
Information Management : Receive feedback from clients, provide feedback from
superiors, provide technical information, read trade publications.
Servicing the Account : Set up POP displays, assist with inventory control, stock shelves,
handle local advertising
Conferences/meetings : attend sales conferences, attend regional sales meetings,
set up exhibitions and trade shows, work client conferences, attend training sessions, fill
out questionnaires
Training/recruiting : look up for new sales representatives, train them, travel with
trainees, help company management plan selling activities
Entertaining
Out of town traveling
Working with distributors : establish relations with distributors, sell to
distributors, extend credit, collect past-due accounts
Performance Criteria
Total sales volume and increases over last year
Degree of quota attainment
Selling expenses and decrease versus last year
Profitability of sales over last year
New accounts generated
Improvement in performance of administrative duties
Improvement in service provided to customers
Rewards
Pay-related awards :
Increased take-home pay
Increased bonuses and other financial incentives
Promotions :
Higher-level job
Better territory
Non-financial incentives :
contests
travel
prizes
Special recognitions
Job security
Feeling of self-fulfillment
Feeling of worthwhile accomplishment
Opportunity for personal growth and development
Opportunity for independent thought and action
Causes, Consequences and Management Implications of Perceived Linkages Accuracy of
Expectancies
It is possible for a salesperson to misjudge the true relation between the effort expended on a particular task
and resulting performance. When this happens, the salesperson misallocates efforts. A worker’s immediate
superior, by virtue of greater knowledge and experience, will more accurately perceive the linkages between
effort and performance in the worker’s job than the worker will. Thus, inaccurate expectancy perceptions in
the salesforce can be improved through closer contact between salespeople and their supervisors. Expanded
sales training programmes, closer day-to-day supervision, and periodic review of each salesperson’s time
and effort allocation by the supervisor might improve the accuracy of expectancy estimates.
If sales managers have an unrealistic view of conditions in the field, then managers’ perceptions of the
linkages between effort and performance may not be the appropriate criteria for judging the accuracy of
salespeople’s expectancies. It may be better to use the expectancy estimates of the highest performing
salesperson in the company as a model for sales training and supervision.
Causes, Consequences and Management Implications of Perceived Linkages
Accuracy of Expectancies
It is possible for a salesperson to misjudge the true relation between the effort expended on a particular task
and resulting performance. When this happens, the salesperson misallocates efforts. A worker’s immediate
superior, by virtue of greater knowledge and experience, will more accurately perceive the linkages between
effort and performance in the worker’s job than the worker will. Thus, inaccurate expectancy perceptions in
the salesforce can be improved through closer contact between salespeople and their supervisors. Expanded
sales training programmes, closer day-to-day supervision, and periodic review of each salesperson’s time
and effort allocation by the supervisor might improve the accuracy of expectancy estimates.
If sales managers have an unrealistic view of conditions in the field, then managers’ perceptions of the
linkages between effort and performance may not be the appropriate criteria for judging the accuracy of
salespeople’s expectancies. It may be better to use the expectancy estimates of the highest performing
salesperson in the company as a model for sales training and supervision.
Magnitude of Expectancies
The magnitude of a salesperson’s expectancy estimates reflects the rep’s perceptions of
his or her ability to control or influence his or her own job performance.
Several individual characteristics that influence these perceptions include the worker’s
overall level of self-esteem, perceived ability to perform necessary tasks, general
intelligence, previous sales experience, etc.
Environmental characteristics like the rep’s perceptions of general economic conditions,
territory potential, the strength of competition, restrictions on product availability, etc
also influence a salesperson’s perceptions of the linkages between effort and
performance.
The greater the environmental constraints a salesperson sees as restricting performance,
the lower the rep’s expectancy estimates will be.
Accuracy of Instrumentalities
It is important to compare salesperson’s instrumentality perceptions witth stated company
policies and management perceptions of the true or desired linkages between
performance and rewards. This can be improved through closer supervision and more
direct feedback about evaluation and the determination of rewards.
Magnitude of Instrumentalities
The firm’s compensation plan has a notable impact on the magnitude of a salesperson’s
instrumentality. A salesperson compensated largely or entirely by commission is likely to
perceive a greater probability of attaining more pay by improving on the dimensions
directly related to total sales volume (increase in total sales dollars or percentage of
qquota). On the contrary, the salaried salesperson is more likely to perceive a freater
probability of receiving increased pay for improving performance on dimensions not
directly related to short-term sales volume (new-account generation, reduction of selling
expenses, or performance of administrative duties).
The rep may also value other rewards like promotion, recognition, feelings of
accomplishment, etc more than the increase in pay. However, a compensation plan by
itself is inadequate for explaining differences in motivation among salespeople.
The salesperson’s personal characteristics may also influence the magnitude of
instrumentality estimates (eg. Internalisers versus externalisers).