LULEA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
PhD Program in Marketing
Sales Management
Instructor
Professor Constantine S. Katsikeas, Ph.D.
Arnold Ziff Research Chair in Marketing & International
Management
Leeds University Business School
United Kingdom
Course Overview
Effective management of the sales force is one of the critical success factors in the marketing
strategy of many organizations, and evidence suggests that this will become increasingly
important in the years to come. In many markets, particularly business-to business, personal
selling is the heart and soul of the firm’s marketing strategy; organizations that succeed are
those able to develop and maintain inspired sales forces that are respected, admired, and even
feared!
It might be arguable that there should not be a sales management course for any one,
anywhere at any time. After all, salespeople are just like others, and as employees of the firm
should be managed just like all other employees. Therefore, the capabilities required to
manage sales people should be exactly the same as those needed to manage all other members
of the organization. The nature of the sales job, however, tends to negate this. Sales tasks and
responsibilities differ considerably from most other jobs within the firm for a number of
reasons; thus, salespeople need to be managed somewhat differently. Selling is by far the most
expensive marketing communication tool a firm that can deploy – if it is to be used effectively,
it must be managed well. Sales people are perhaps the only group in the firm who tend to
have regular and quite intimate contact with customers. If they are ineffective, there is a direct
and very considerable effect on the firm’s revenues. Few members of the organization know
customers as well as sales people – if this knowledge is not managed and exploited effectively,
the consequences can be dire. Unlike most other members of the firm, sales people are
expected not to be in the office, which means that they have to be managed at a distance in
many ways!
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Finally, the nature of selling work tends to be different from most other jobs in organizations:
selling is not nearly as predictable as other work. Whereas administrators, accountants,
operations workers, and even many marketing employees can look forward to a relatively high
degree of predictability, sales people tend to be faced by far more instability. They can move
from dastardly failure to great success in the space of two calls, or two days, or two weeks,
without anyone really being able to predict what will work and what will not.
The primary objective in this course is to help participants develop a sound understanding of
the problems, issues, and challenges facing sales managers in performing effectively the
fundamental activities pertaining to sales force development, management, and success.
Specifically, at the end of the course participants will understand:
The role of the sales function in achieving and sustaining competitive advantage
How to integrate sales and the other functions of the company
The capabilities required for effective sales management
How to recruit, screen and select members of a sales force
How to train and coach sales people
How to implement effective market segmentation and targeting
How to develop and manage key accounts
How to organize and structure a sales force
How to effectively lead a sales force and the move toward behavior-based control approaches
How to motivate and reward sales people
How to evaluate and control a sales force
The factors that influence sales force performance and sales unit effectiveness
Approach
As with many activities in marketing and business in general, when it comes to sales force
management, there are frequently no “right” or “wrong” answers. Thus, our approach in this
course will not focus on remembering and rote learning of facts. Our aim is to encourage
individual thinking in the context of practicing effective sales management. Therefore, in
addition to our lectures and interactive discussions of fundamental theoretical and practical
aspects of sales management, we will make use of case studies and executive insight exercises
that focus on contemporary developments and best practices. Group work is also encouraged
and participants will have to work in small teams in order to assess and evaluate sales
management problems and strategies and consider ways of applying best practices to their own
sales units. Practical action plans for participants to use on the job will be formulated.
Readings
The main text for the course is:
• Cron, W.L. & T.E. DeCarlo (2006). Dalrymple’s Sales Management: Concepts and Cases. 9th
Edition, New York: Wiley & Sons.
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There will be case studies that will be analyzed and discussed in class. Some of the cases are
provided in the prescribed textbook and some others will come from outside sources. It
should be remembered that course participants should read and prepare the cases.
Participant Teams
Team work is important from a learning perspective and will be an important part of
participant assessment in the course. You are therefore required to develop small groups by
the end of the morning session of the first day.
Course Requirements and Assessment
Team work will be an important constituent in the course. You are required to develop
small groups of two-three participants by the beginning of the second class session.
Each participant or group (comprising up to three students) will be required to develop and
submit a paper focusing on a systematic examination of a relevant and important issue
which falls into the domain of sales management. In a series of workshops, the instructor
will work with the class participants and will provide guidance on key aspects of this
exercise including the relevance and significance of the idea selected for the paper, the
review of the pertinent literature, the method or approach proposed for the execution of the
study, and the development of a skeleton concerning the structure of the manuscript.
Participants will be encouraged to submit their work to a conference recognized for its
academic standing and reputation and subsequently to a marketing journal. Participants
will be given specific advice regarding marketing and sales conferences and journals
appropriate for submitting their work. Further details including submission dates and
guidance concerning the course requirements will be provided during the course.
Course Outline
DAY 1
Morning Session
Course Overview
Introduction to Selling and Sales Management
Developing Capabilities for Effective Sales Management
Afternoon Session
Integrating Sales and Marketing
Market Segmentation and Key Account Management
Case Study Analysis and Discussion
Executive Insight and Workshop Exercises
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DAY 2
Morning Session
Sales Force Organization and Territory Design
Afternoon Session
Recruiting and Selecting Sales People
Sales Force Training and Development
Case Study Analysis and Discussion
Executive Insight and Workshop Exercises
DAY 3
Morning Session
Managing the Sales Force – Motivation
Leadership and Attention to Behavior- Based Control Approaches
Afternoon Session
Managing the Sales Force – Compensation
Evaluating Sales Person Characteristics and Behavior
Case Study Analysis and Discussion
Executive Insight and Workshop Exercises
DAY 4
Morning Session
Managing the Sales Force – Evaluation of Sales Force Performance
Sources of World Class Excellence in Sales Operations
Drivers of Salesperson Outcome Performance and Sales Unit Effectiveness
Afternoon Session
Contemporary Developments in Sales Management
Case Study Analysis and Discussion
Executive Insight and Workshop Exercises
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Biographical Sketch
Professor Constantine S. Katsikeas, Ph.D.
Professor Constantine S. Katsikeas is the Arnold Ziff Research Chair in Marketing and
International Management at Leeds University Business School, Leeds University. Prior to
this, he held the Sir Julian Hodge Chair in Marketing and International Business at Cardiff
Business School, Cardiff University. He holds a B.Sc. from Athens University of Economics
and Business, an M.A. from Lancaster University and a Ph.D. from Cardiff University. His
doctoral studies were supported by a scholarship from the ONASSIS Foundation. Professor
Katsikeas also possesses considerable industrial experience in sales and export management.
His main teaching and research interests lie in the areas of marketing and sales management,
international marketing and purchasing, strategic alliances and competitive strategy. He has
published widely in these fields and his articles have appeared in Journal of Marketing, Journal of
International Business Studies, Decision Sciences, Journal of International Marketing, [formerly
Columbia] Journal of World Business, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business
Research, Industrial Marketing Management and Journal of Global Marketing in the U.S., as well as in
Management International Review, Long Range Planning, European Journal of Marketing, International
Marketing Review, Journal of Marketing Management and International Business Review in Europe. He
is ranked number one author based on articles published in Journal of International Marketing
during the ten-year period1993-2002, and is among the six most prolific authors in the general
field of international business during the ten-year period 1996-2005. He is the recipient of the
1999 S. Tamer Cavusgil Award for the best Journal of International Marketing article that
advances the practice of international marketing management. His work is ranked among the
most widely cited Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science publications in the period
1998-2004.
Professor Katsikeas is Associate Editor of British Journal of Management, serves on the editorial
and advisory boards of several scholarly academic and practitioner-focused journals, and is an
active member of the American Marketing Association, the Academy of International
Business, the Academy of Marketing Science, the European Marketing Academy, the (British)
Academy of Marketing and the Greek Marketing Academy. He has engaged in several major
consulting projects in both public and private sectors, and led management development and
training courses for business executives on the themes of strategic marketing management,
personal selling and sales management, global marketing strategy, retail management,
relationship marketing, export management, internal marketing, key account management, and
competitive strategy in various countries including the U.K., the U.S., Belgium, Portugal,
Austria, Greece, Cyprus, the Middle East, and China. He has worked with a wide range of
organizations including Toyota, Delhaize Le Lion, Coca Cola, Atkins, Siemens, Minerva,
FirstPlus, Boehringer Ingelheim, AB Vassilopoulos, and Johnson & Jonhson.
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Suggested Reading
Journals
Participants are encouraged to proactively look for and read relevant articles on sales
management problems and issues that are published in scholarly academic and practitioner
journals. Such journals include:
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management
Journal of Marketing
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Journal of Marketing Research
Journal of Business Research
European Journal of Marketing
Journal of Retailing
Articles
Agarwal, Sanjeey (1999), “Impact of Job Formalization and Administrative Controls on
Attitudes of Industrial Salespeople,” Industrial Marketing Management, 28, 4 (July), 359–368.
Anderson, Erin, and Richard L. Oliver (1987), “Perspectives on Behavior-Based Versus
Outcome-Based Salesforce Control Systems,” Journal of Marketing, 51 (October), 76–88.
Arnett, Dennis B., Barry A. Macy and James B. Wilcox (2005), “The role of Core Selling
Teams in Supplier-Buyer Relationships,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (1),
27-42.
Attia, Ashraf M., Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr., and Mark P. Leach (2005), “A Three-Stage Model for
Assessing and Improving Sales Force Training and Development,” Journal of Personal Selling &
Sales Management, 25 (3), 253-268.
Atuahene-Gima, Kwaku, and Haiyang Li (2002), “When Does Trust Matter? Antecedents and
Contingent Effects of Supervisee Trust on Performance in Selling New Products in
China and the United States,” Journal of Marketing, 66 (July), 61–81.
Babakus, Emin, David W. Cravens, Ken Grant, Thomas N. Ingram, and Raymond W.
LaForge (1996), “Investigating the Relationships among Sales Management Controls, Sales
Territory Design, Salesperson Performance and Sales Organization Effectiveness,”
International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13 (4), 345–63.
Baldauf, Artur and David W. Cravens (1999), “Improving the Effectiveness of Field Sales
Organizations,” Industrial Marketing Management, 28 (1), 63–72.
———, ———, and Nigel F. Piercy (2001a), “Examining Business Strategy, Sales
Management, and Salesperson Antecedents of Sales Organization Effectiveness,” Journal of
Personal Selling & Sales Management, 21, 2 (Spring), 109–122.
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———,———,——— (2005), “Sales Management Control Research—Synthesis and an
Agenda for Future Research,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (1), 7-26.
———, ———, and ——— (2001b), “Examining the Consequences of Sales Management
Control Strategies in European Field Sales Organizations,” International Marketing Review, 18
(5), 474–508.
Behrman, Douglas N. and William D. Perreault Jr. (1982), “Measuring the Performance of
Industrial Salespersons,” Journal of Business Research, 10 (3), 355–70.
——— and ——— (1984), “A Role Stress Model of the Performance and Satisfaction of
Industrial Salespeople,” Journal of Marketing, 48 (Fall), 9–21.
Brown, Steven P., and Eli Jones (2005), “Introduction to the Special Issue: Advancing the
Field of Selling and Sales Management,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (2),
103-104.
———, Kenneth R. Evans, Murali K. Mantrala, and Goutam Challagalla (2005), “Adapting
Motivation, Control, and Compensation Research to a New Environment,” Journal of Personal
Selling & Sales Management, 25 (2), 156-167.
Cano, Cynthia Rodriguez, James S. Boles, and Cynthia J. Bean (2005), “Communication media
Preferences in Business-To-Business Transactions: an Examination of the Purchase Process,”
Journal of Personal selling & Sales Management, 25 (3), 283-294.
Challagalla, Goutam N., and Tasadduq A. Shervani (1996), “Dimensions and Types of
Supervisory Control: Effects on Salesperson Performance and Satisfaction,” Journal of
Marketing, 60 (January), 89–105.
———, and ——— (1997), “A Measurement Model of the Dimensions and Types of Output
and Behavior Control: An Empirical Test in a Salesforce Context,” Journal of Business Research,
39 (January), 159–172.
Cooper, Robert G. and E.J. Kleinschmidt (1985), “The Impact of Strategy on Export Sales
Performance,” Journal of International Business Studies, 16 (Spring), 37–56.
Coughlan, Anne T., and Subrata K. Sen (1989), “Salesforce Compensation: Theory and
Managerial Implications,” Marketing Science, 8 (Fall), 324–342.
Cravens, David W., Thomas N. Ingram, Raymond W. LaForge, and Clifford E. Young (1993),
“Behavior-Based and Outcome-Based Salesforce Control Systems,” Journal of Marketing, 57
(October), 47–59.
Cron, Willim (1984), “Industrial Salesperson Development: A Career Stages Perspective,”
Journal of Marketing, 48 (Fall), 41-52.
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———, Alan Dubinsky, and Ronald Michaels (1988), “The Influences of Career Stages on
Components of Salespeople’s Motivation,” Journal of Marketing, 52 (January), 78-92.
———, Greg W. Marshall, Jagdip Singh, Rosann L. Spiro, and Harish Sujan (2005),
“Salesperson Selection, Training, and Development: Trends, Implications, and Research
Opportunities,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (2), 123-136.
———, and John W. Slocum Jr. (1986), “The Influence of Career Stages on Salespeople’s Job
Attitude, Work Perceptions, and Performance,” Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (May),
119-129.
Darmon, René Y. (1998), “The Effects of Some Situational Variables on Sales Force
Governance System Characteristics,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 28, 1
(Winter), 17–30.
Dixon, Andrea L., Rosann L. Spiro, and Maqbul Jamil (2001), “Successful and Unsuccessful
Sales Calls: Measuring Salesperson Attributions and Behavioral Intentions,” Journal of
Marketing, 65 (July), 64-78.
Grant, Ken, David W. Cravens, George S. Low, and William C. Moncrief (2001), “The Role of
Satisfaction with Territory Design on the Motivation, Attitudes, and Work Outcomes of
Salespeople,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29 (2), 165–78.
Gonzalez, Gabriel R., Douglas K. Hoffman, and Thomas Ingram (2005), “Improving
relationship Selling Through Failure Analysis and Recovery Efforts: A Framework and Call To
Action,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (1), 57-65.
Hultink, Erik, J., and Kwaku Atuahene-Gima (2000), “The Effect of Sales Force Adoption on
New Product Selling Performance,” Journal of Product Innovation Management, 17, 6 (November),
435–450.
Ingram, Thomas N., Raymond W. LaForge, William B. Locander, Scott B. MacKenzie and
Philip M. Podsakoff (2005), “New Directions in Sales Leadership Research,” Journal of Personal
Selling & Sales Management, 25 (2), 137-154.
Jackson, Donald W., Jr. and Stephen S. Tax (1995), “Managing the Industrial Salesforce
Culture,” Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 10 (2), 34-47.
John, George, and Barton Weitz (1989), “Salesforce Compensation: An Empirical
Investigation of Factors Related to Use of Salary Versus Incentive Compensation,” Journal of
Marketing Research, 26 (February), 1–14.
Jones, Eli, Steven P. Brown, Andris A. Zoltners, and Barton A. Weitz (2005), “The Changing
Environment of Selling and Sales Management,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management,
25 (2), 105-111.
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———, Andrea L. Dixon, Lawrence B. Chonko, and Joseph P. Cannon (2005) “Key
Accounts and Team Selling: A Review, Framework, and Research Agenda” Journal of Personal
Selling & sales Management, 25 (2), 182-198.
Joshi, Ashwin W., and Sheila Randall (2001), “The Indirect Effects of Organizational Controls
on Salesperson Performance and Customer Orientation,” Journal of Business Research, 54, 1
(October), 1–9.
Kohli, Ajay K. and Bernard J. Jaworski (1994), “The Influence of Coworker Feedback on
Salespeople,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (October), 82–94.
———, Tasadduq A. Shervani, and Goutam N. Challagalla (1998), “Learning and
Performance Orientation of Salespeople: The Role of Supervisors,” Journal of Marketing
Research, 35 (May), 263–274.
Krafft, Manfred (1999), “An Empirical Investigation of the Antecedents of Sales Force
Control Systems,” Journal of Marketing, 63 (July), 120–134.
Landry, Timothy D., Todd J. Arnold, and Aaron Arndt (2005), “A Compendium of Sales-
Related literature in Customer Relationship Management: Processes and Technologies with
Managerial Implications,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (3), 231-251.
Leach, Mark P., Annie H. Liu, and Wesley J. Johnston (2005), “The Role of Self-Regulation
Training in Developing the Motivation Management Capabilities of Salespeople,” Journal of
Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (3), 269-281.
Leiblein, Michael J., and Jeffrey J. Reuer (2004), “Building a Foreign Sales Base: The Role of
Capabilities and Alliances for Entrepreneurial Firms,” Journal of Business Venturing, 19 (2), 285–
307.
Leigh, Thomas W., John F. Tanner, Jr., (2004), “Introduction: JPSSM Special Issue on
Customer Relationship Management,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 24 (4),
259-262.
Levy, Michael, and Arun Sharma (1994), “Adaptive Selling: The Role of Gender, Age, Sales
Experience, and Education,” Journal of Business Research, 31 (1), 39-47.
Mantel, Susan Powell (2005) “Choice or Perception: How Affect Influences Ethical Choices
among Salespeople,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 25 (1), 43-55.
Mawell, Sarah, Gary Reed, Jim Saker and Vicky Story (2005), “The Two Faces of Playfulness:
A New Tool to Select Potentially Successful Sales Reps,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, 25 (3), 215-229.
Menguc, Bulent, and A. Tansu Barker (2003), “The Performance Effects of Outcome-Based
Incentive Pay Plans on Sales Organizations: A Contextual Analysis,” Journal of Personal Selling
& Sales Management, 23, 4 (Fall), 341–358.
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Oliver, Richard L., and Erin Anderson (1994), “An Empirical Test of the Consequences of
Behavior- and Outcome-Based Sales Control Systems,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (October), 53–
67.
———, and ——— (1995), “Behavior- and Outcome-Based Sales Control Systems:
Evidence and Consequences of Pure- Form and Hybrid Governance,” Journal of Personal Selling
& Sales Management, 15, 4 (Fall), 1–15.
Piercy, Nigel F., and Nikala Lane (2001), “Sales Manager Behavioral Control Strategy and Its
Consequences: The Impact of Gender Differences,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, 21 (1), 39–49.
———, ———, and Neil A. Morgan (1997), “Sources of Effectiveness in the Business-to-
Business Sales Organization,” Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, 3 (1), 43–
69.
———, ———, and ——— (1998), “Salesforce Performance and Behavior-Based
Management Processes in Business-to-Business Sales Negotiation,” European Journal of
Marketing, 32 (1–2), 79–100.
———, ———, and ——— (1999), “Relationships between Sales Management Control,
Territory Design, Salesforce Performance and Sales Organization Effectiveness,” British
Journal of Management, 10 (2), 95–111.
Pullins, Ellen Bolman, Leslie M. Fine, and Wendy L. Warren (1996), “Identifying Peer
Mentors in the Sales Force: An Exploratory Investigation of Willingness and Ability,” Journal
of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24 (Spring), 125-136.
Ramaswami, Sridhar N. (1996), “Marketing Controls and Dysfunctional Employee Behaviors:
A Test of Traditional and Contingency Theory Postulates,” Journal of Marketing, 60 (April),
105–120.
——— (2002), “Influence of Control Systems on Opportunistic Behaviors of Salespeople: A
Test of Gender Differences,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 22, 3 (Summer),
173–188.
Robertson, Diana C., and Erin Anderson (1993), “Control System and Task Environment
Effects on Ethical Judgment: An Exploratory Study of Industrial Salespeople,” Organization
Science, 4 (November), 617–644.
Rouzies, Dominique, and Anne Macquin (2002), “An Exploratory Investigation of the Impact
of Culture on Sales Force Management Control Systems in Europe,” Journal of Personal Selling
& Sales Management, 23, 1 (Winter), 61–72.
———, Erin Anderson, Ajay K. Kohli, Ronald E. Michaels, Barton A. Weitz, Andris A.
Zoltners (2005), “Sales and Marketing Integration: A Proposed Framework,” Journal of Personal
Selling & Sales Management, 25 (2), 113-122.
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Singh, Jagdip, and Gary K. Rhoads (1991),”Boundary Role ambiguity in Marketing-Oriented
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Behaviors in Motivating Salesperson Work Performance,” Journal of Marketing, 49 (Summer),
76–86.
Sujan, Harish (1986), “Smarter Versus Harder: An Exploratory Attributional Analysis of
Salespeople’s Motivation,” Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (February), 41-49.
Tanner, John F. Jr., Michael Ahearne, Thomas W. Leigh, Charlotte H. Mason (2005), “CRM in
Sales-Intensive Organizations: A Review and Future Directions,” Journal of Personal Selling &
Sales Management, 25 (2), 169-180.
Teas, Kenneth R., and James C. McElroy (1986), “Causal Attributions and Expectancy
Estimates: A Framework for Understanding the Dynamics of Salesforce Motivation,” Journal
of Marketing, 50 (January), 75-86.
Yim, Frederick Hong-kit, Rolph E. Anderson, and Srinivasan Swaminathan (2004), “Customer
Relationship Management: Its Dimensions and Effect on Customer Outcomes,” Journal of
Personal Selling & Sales Management, 24 (4), 263-278.
Zablah, Alex R., Danny N. Bellenger, and Wesley J. Johnston (2004), “Customer Relationship
Management Implementation Gaps,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 24 (4),
279-295.
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