multilevel tensions inside sales organizations
Mark Micallef, Joona Keranen & Olga Kokshagina
Personal selling and sales management are undergoing a major transformation driven, in part, by the increasing use of digital technologies in the sales environment.
These digital technologies have the potential to revolutionise sales, making it much easier for salespeople to connect with potential customers, research and gather information, and ultimately more close deals. However, many sales organisations are struggling to realise the benefits they should be of digital technologies.
One reason for this is that digital technologies create huge tensions within sales organisations.
These tensions are positive or negative and can be experienced differently at various levels of your sales organisation. For example, digital technology can give salespeople more autonomy, but also makes it more difficult for sales managers to control their activities.
This study explores how digital technology use in sales organisations result in multiple factors leading to both positive and negative consequences.
The study draws empirical insights from 32 interviews with sales professionals in ten different organisations in the Australian construction industry. The findings reveal six tensions:
- Autonomy: Digital technologies can give salespeople more autonomy but can also make it more difficult for sales managers to control their activities.
- Innovation: Digital technologies can encourage innovation but can also disrupt existing sales processes.
- Information: Digital technologies can make it easier for salespeople to access information but can also lead to information overload, greatly reducing the effectiveness and increasing burnout.
- Interaction: Digital technologies can make it easier for salespeople to reach potential customers but can also lead to less personal and meaningful interaction.
- Resources: Digital technologies can require added resources, which can strain sales budgets with implementation and unforeseen and rarely considered other costs.
- Control: Digital technologies can make it more difficult for sales managers to control and direct their salespeople’s activities.
The findings show how these tensions can be perceived differently at each level.
For example, sales leaders could be more concerned with the potential for digital technologies to disrupt existing sales processes, while salespeople may be more attracted to the potential for digital technologies to give them more autonomy.
These findings advance research on personal selling and sales management offering a multi-dimensional perspective on the why and how the use of digital technologies can have both positive and negative consequences in sales organisations.
The findings also generate important insights for sales managers who are adopting digital technologies. Sales managers must consider the potential tensions and conflicts that digital technologies can create, and they need to develop proven strategies for managing and mitigating these.
By understanding the potential conflicting pressures that digital technologies can create in their sales organisations, sales leaders can better position their sales organisations to succeed in the digital age and make the best use of the right digital tools.
Reflection
- How does the concept of cognitive unlearning apply to the digital transformation of B2B sales operations? Discuss the importance of unlearning outdated knowledge and routines in facilitating organisational change and adapting to the digital era. Provide examples and insights from the study to support your arguments in your workplace with your customers.
- What are the four phases of the unlearning process outlined in the study, and how do they contribute to cognitive unlearning in the context of B2B sales management? Discuss each phase in detail, highlighting the key themes identified by the researchers. How can sales managers effectively apply these phases to facilitate unlearning among salespeople during digital business transformation?
- In what ways can top management play a crucial role in facilitating cognitive unlearning within B2B sales organisations during the digital transformation? Discuss the findings of the study regarding the role of top management and their influence on the unlearning process. Provide examples of strategies and approaches that sales managers can employ to effectively engage top management in supporting the unlearning efforts of sales teams.
- How does the introduction of cognitive unlearning contribute to the existing thinking on sales management and digital transformation? Explain the significance of this new perspective and its potential implications for sales managers in the B2B context. Discuss how sales managers can leverage the insights from the study to enhance the unlearning process and drive successful digital transformation within their organisations.