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 manager
