2018 Q2 Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad

18th May 2018 |   Dr Jeremy Noad

Research Review

These pages aim to keep readers informed of recently published research on sales-related topics, by including abstracts of peer-reviewed academic research published in a range of journals. In this edition, we have grouped them into four broad themes: sales performance, customer management, capability development, and behavioural studies.

Sales performance

Sales organisations need to transform

Professional sales and sales management are changing rapidly and significantly. This change is driven by the twin needs of responding to increasing demands to improve the effectiveness of the selling organisation and the ongoing sophistication of the customers’ buying activities. To meet these twin demands, sales organisations need to transform rapidly. This research identifies three key areas for sales transformation. The composition of the offer that suppliers bring to customers, the nature of the relationships between suppliers and customers, and the configuration of sales organisations and the role of salespeople. The study identifies the need to reconcile seemingly disparate approaches to managing sales forces if sales professionals are to become genuine enablers of customer development. It outlines the tensions that underpin the management of both transactional and strategic selling, suggesting the adoption of ambidexterity and paradoxical leadership in the management of modern sales organisations.

Dr Jeremy Noad

Dr Noad coaches sales leaders and teams | + posts

Dr Jeremy Noad edits our Research Review. As an advocate both of sales excellence and translating sales research into action, he has been our Research Review section editor since day one. A 25-year sales and marketing veteran who has worked with sales organisations on all major continents, Dr Noad guides and coaches sales leaders and their teams to transform sales performance and effectiveness. His present focus is on global sales effectiveness with a $20bn market leader. He completed his doctorate on improving sales performance at Portsmouth University.