270 MANAGING THE CONTEMPORARY SELLING PROCESS

GLOBAL CONNECTION

WHEN JOB AND FAMILY COLLIDE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Companies demand much from their salespeople and managers. Travel and entertaining are part of
the sales environment. The challenge of balancing home and work demands has never been greater.
It is not surprising that, as the demands of the job increase, the conflict between work and family grows
as well. In addition, the trend toward working longer hours shows no signs of slowing down. American
workers tend to work longer hours than their counterparts in Europe, even when they would rather
spend more time with their family.
Employers are increasingly worried about productivity problems among workers with conflicting
job and family responsibilities. But the Families and Work Institute, a nonprofit research and planning
group, says the family also bears a heavy burden. In a recent study, over half of the respondents said
they had felt overworked in the last three months. The study suggested overworked employees:

1. Experience more conflict between the demands of the job and home.
2. Feel less successful in their personal relationship with spouses and children.
3. Get less sleep.
4. Experience more stress.

Technology that lets employees be in almost constant contact with the office and customers has also
led to increases in work-related stress and conflict between job and home. Nearly 40 percent of the
employees who said they are heavy users of technology reported being overworked. Half of employees
who believe they are unnecessarily accessible feel they are overworked and experience higher levels
of job-related stress.
Over 40 percent of employees who feel overworked reported being angry with their employers
often or very often. Nearly half said they were going to look for employment elsewhere in the next year.
These two outcomes can have serious negative consequences for the company, since the salesperson
is the primary connection to customers.
Families are paying an even higher price. More than a quarter of respondents said they are often
or very often not in as good a mood as they would like when they get home at night. And 28 percent
often or very often do not have enough energy to do things with their families.
The findings, which echo those of similar studies by the Institute, have major implications. One key
finding is summarized as follows. “Of particular concern are the negative spillover effects that demand-
ing and hectic jobs can have on the quality of workers’ personal lives and well-being. This spillover is
reflected in high stress, poor coping, bad moods, and insufficient time and energy for people who are
personally important, creating ‘problems’ that, in turn, spill over into work and impair job performance.”
Despite the sobering reality of job–family conflict, people are finding ways to get balance. Occasionally,
that means a new career; more often it means making family a more significant priority.
Indeed, this work–life balance is an issue around the world as even European workers, who have
traditionally worked fewer hours than workers in Asia or the United States, are reporting highers levels
of work-related stress. It is clear that it is difficult for employees around the world to find the right
balance between work and life.

Adapted from Fernanado Jaramillo, Jay Prakash Mulki, and James S. Boles, “Workplace Stressors Job Attitude,
and Job Behaviors: Is Interpersonal Conflict the Missing Link,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management
31 (Issue 3, Summer 2011), pp. 339–56; Mahmoud Darrat, Douglas Amyx, and Rebecca Bennett, “An Investigation
into the Effects of Work-Family Conflict and Job Satisfaction on Saleperson Deviance,” Journal of Personal Selling
& Sales Management 30 (Issue 3, Summer 2010), pp. 43–60; James T. Bond, Ellen Galinsky, and Michele Conlin,
“Work-Life Balance: How to Get a Life and Do Your Job,” BusinessWeek (August 14, 2008), www.businessweek.com/
magazine/content/08_34/64097036727134.htm.
292 MANAGING THE CONTEMPORARY SELLING PROCESS

GLOBAL CONNECTION

PROS AND CONS OF HIRING SALESPEOPLE FROM COMPETITORS

Competitors are often used as a source for new salespeople. In considering competitor salespeople
for a new position, it is important to understand the pros and cons. Let’s take a closer look at the
advantages and disadvantages.

Pros
Reduce the learning curve. Competitor salespeople take less time to get up to speed and selling for
the company. For example, they already know the industry and are frequently familiar with the
company’s products having sold against them in the past.

External motivator. There is nothing like an external competitor to get your existing salespeople
motivated. Quite often hiring salespeople from competitors motivates your current salespeople to
demonstrate they are better than the new hire.

Knowledge base. Someone who knows the customers, products, and market environment has a
distinct advantage over an “outsider.” The more experienced a competitor’s salesperson, the less they
need to learn and the more value they can add to the company immediately. In addition, much of
the knowledge experienced salespeople bring to the table is not easily trained; rather, it is the result
of spending time in the field.

Cons
Square Peg in Round Hole. The single biggest concern in hiring salespeople from competitors is
assimilating those individuals into the company culture and getting them to learn the policies and
procedures. It can be difficult for a salesperson trained in one sales culture to “unlearn” what they
currently know and successfully adapt to a new culture. The real problem occurs when those salespeople
interact with customers; the resulting culture clash can spill over into the customer relationship.

Customer Trust. It is unsettling for a customer who has seen a salesperson marketing one company’s
products suddenly switch companies and argue that these new products do a better job of meeting the
customer’s needs. If it is not handled properly customers question the honesty of the salesperson. By
extension they also may question the honesty of the company. Again, these types of circumstances
can do significant harm to the customer relationship.

Short-Term Versus Long-Term Strategy. Hiring competitor salespeople does offer some short-term
benefits (lower training costs, reduced learning curve) but at a price. There is evidence to suggest these
salespeople are less loyal and have the potential to create greater cultural conflict that younger, less
experienced salespeople trained in the company culture, policies, and procedures. The question
becomes, “does the company want to take a long- or short-term approach to building the sales force?”
Younger, less experienced salespeople will take longer to become profitable in the field but may be a
better investment long term.
 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON CONTEMPORARY SELLING 367

Technology

Technology has fundamentally changed the contemporary sales process. In many respects it has improved
the customer–salesperson relationship but technology also creates new challenges for the salesperson. Let’s
consider these changes from the perspective of both the customer and the salesperson.
The “old” customer–salesperson relationship model was based on the assumption that a company’s best
customers demanded the most “face” time. Salespeople would call on them more frequently and seek to build
a personal relationship with their key decision makers. While it is still true that a company’s largest customers
require the unique benefits that personal selling brings to the customer–salesperson relationship, it is also
true that customers are redefining what a successful relationship means. The Internet now allows customers
to have an immediate, personalized, and comprehensive relationship with their suppliers without a sales-
person. They can order, check on order status, review product information, and receive customer service.
All of these activities used to fall under the job description of the salesperson. When the Internet was
becoming a dominant business tool in the late 1990s, many salespeople became concerned that this would
eliminate or greatly reduce the need for the personal selling function, but just the opposite has happened.
The Internet has increased the need for professional salespeople who can identify the customer’s needs and
deliver effective solutions. This is especially true in global sales. Indeed, most companies realize that a well-
trained sales force is a huge competitive advantage in the global sales environment. In developing countries
like Vietnam, companies often find that salespeople can use their product knowledge to gain the trust of their
customers and win business.11
Technology has also impacted the global salesperson. Customers demand instant access to their sales-
person and today’s technology enables that to happen. This has created a lot of pressure for global account
managers as they struggle to accommodate the challenges of instant access, 24/7. Consider that many
companies (IBM, Disney, Coca-Cola) have large operations in the United Kingdom that service customers
as far away as the Middle East and even Asia. Salespeople based in London must be able to reach customers
by phone or email even though they may be several time zones away. In addition, salespeople must be able
to work with colleagues around the world to service their global customers.12
In addition, communication is now mobile and salespeople must be able to access and effectively use
this new technology. For example, tablet computers are an essential business tool for salespeople and
customers expect more effective sales presentations, faster and more accurate information, and better
customer service overall from their salespeople. This means salespeople need to understand and be able to
use these new technologies. Finally, technology enables “virtual sales teams” composed of individuals from
around the world to effectively communicate with customers no matter where they are located. This is
especially helpful with technical products where a limited number of people with sufficient skills (product
knowledge and application, customer knowledge) are available.
Another challenge for many companies in a rapidly changing mobile technology environment is
choosing the technology platform, developing the content for the platform, then giving salespeople the tools
to use it effectively. In addition, salespeople must work within the constraints of local market conditions.
In cities like São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, both in Brazil, there is good access to Wi-Fi and cellular data
networks, but in smaller cities coverage is not as good and a salesperson can find that his or her tablet (or
laptop) is not as effective.
The use of technology in global markets becomes a very difficult problem for smaller companies, who
need to balance the cost of the technology against the benefits. Increasingly local customers demand high
customer service and large customers demand exceptional customer service, which means that salespeople
need to know how to use technology and have access to customer information. When a customer contacts
a company about a product inquiry, or a customer service question, they expect the salesperson to know,
and this is true if that customer is local or a large global company.