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Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554 – 564

Changes in sales call frequency: A longitudinal examination of the

consequences in the supplier–customer relationship
Sergio Román ⁎,1,2 , Pedro J. Martín 3
Marketing Department, Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad de Murcia 30.100 Espinardo (Murcia), Spain
Received 24 November 2005; received in revised form 23 December 2006; accepted 28 December 2006
Available online 20 February 2007

Abstract

Sales calls are one of the most valuable and expensive resources available to industrial sales managers. The main purpose of this research was
to look at the relationship between an increase in sales call frequency and some important outcomes in the buyer–seller relationship. To do so, we
adopted a longitudinal research design where data from 357 customers of one industrial supplier were obtained over a two-year period of time.
Results indicated that an increase in call frequency has a positive effect on sales volume, perceived service quality, perceived value for money and
overall customer satisfaction. Furthermore, these effects tend to diminish as relationships become longer, and are stronger at higher levels of
hierarchy in the buying company.
© 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Buyer–seller relationships; Sales call frequency; Longitudinal

1. Introduction
Personal selling represents an important resource as well as a
huge investment for many industrial firms. Though business
relationships are established between organizations, they are
actually managed by individuals. In fact, “people make a
relationship work or fail” (Wilson & Jantrania, 1995). The
salesperson is still the primary point of contact for the customer
in industrial markets (Homburg & Stock, 2004), and more
importantly, in competitive environments, organizational
buyers who are interested in establishing long-term relation-
ships are increasingly demanding higher level of contact and
value-added services from salespeople (Liu & Leach, 2001).
Nevertheless, the most recent Sales and Marketing Manage-
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 68 367891; fax: +34 68 367986.
E-mail addresses: sroman@um.es (S. Román), pjmartin@um.es
(P.J. Martín).
1
An earlier draft of this manuscript was awarded the Best Paper Award in the
Sales, Sales Management and Direct Marketing Track at the 2005 AMA
Summer Marketing Educators' Conference.
2
The authors would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their
helpful comments and suggestions.
3
Tel.: +34 68 367987; fax: +34 68 367986.
ment cost survey reports an average cost per sales call of US
$169.644 (Marchetti, 2000).
This study focuses on quantity of calls, rather than on quality
of calls. Contact intensity (i.e., call frequency) has a major
impact on the development and maintenance of the buyer–seller
relationships. Frequent contact facilitates relationship selling
strategies focused on working with the customers to give them
what they need when they need it (Jolson, 1997). With an
increase in frequency of interaction, parties can more easily
exchange information, and they can more easily predict each
other's behaviors due to increased time spent together across
various situations (Doney & Cannon, 1997). In addition,
contact intensity is particularly important for the seller
company: calling frequently may in fact close more sales.
The present study addresses two managerial research
questions in the context of established supplier–customer
relationships: (1) how does an increase in the sales call
frequency affect the supplier–customer relationship over time in
terms of sales volume, perceived service quality, perceived
value for money and overall customer satisfaction?, and (2) are
4
This information is based on a survey of 238 high-level sales executives
conducted in the U.S.A.

0019-8501/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2006.12.004
 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564 555

these effects moderated by the length of the buyer–seller
relationship and the hierarchical position of the contact person
in the buying organization? To do so, we adopt a longitudinal
research design where data from 357 customers of one industrial
supplier were obtained over a two-year period of time.
In the literature review that follows, earlier research on sales
call frequency is addressed. Building on this review, in the
subsequent section, we develop a theoretical model that outlines
the consequences of frequency of interaction in an industrial
buying context. Then, we describe the research method and
present the results and key implications of the findings.
2. Literature review
Several studies in the sales management literature have
placed special emphasis on sales force allocation strategies.
These studies can be classified on the basis of their different
measures of selling effort. These alternate measures include the

Table 1
Consequences of contact intensity in the buyer–seller relationship
Author(s) Context of the study and sample characteristics
Crosby, Evans, and Cowles (1990) Final consumer–salesperson
Cross-sectional data from 151
owners of whole life insurance
policies.
Heide and Miner (1992) Buyer–supplier.
Cross-sectional data from 155
industrial buyers (firms involved
in general machinery, electrical and
electronic machinery and
transportation equipment) referring
to their largest firm supplier (data
from 60 suppliers was also obtained).
Frankwick, Porter, and Crosby (2001) Final consumer–salesperson.
Longitudinal data from 983 owners
of whole life insurance policies.
Barnes (1997) Final consumer–salesperson.
Cross-sectional data from 400
retail bank customers.
Doney and Cannon (1997) Industrial buyer–salesperson.
Cross-sectional data from 210
members of the National Association
of Purchasing Management
(codes 33–37).
Boles, Brashear, Bellenger, and Barksdale (2000) Organizational buyer–salesperson.
Cross-sectional data from 1009
business customers of a Fortune
500 communications firm.
Beverland (2001) Organizational buyer–salesperson.
In-depth interviews with 30
salespeople of organizations that
employed at least 500 employees.
Cannon and Homburg (2001) Industrial buyer–supplier.
Cross-sectional data from 529
American and German
manufacturing firms in the
chemical, mechanical and
electrical industries.
Nicholson, Compeau, and Sethi (2001) Wholesale buyer–salesperson.
Cross-sectional data from 238
wholesale franchisees for new
agricultural machinery.
Respondents provided information
about the relationship with their
major supplier's salesperson.
Schultz and Evans (2002) Organizational buyer–manufacturer.
Cross-sectional data from 122
organizational buyers of a Fortune
500 consumer goods manufacturer.
Results
Frequency of contact with the
salesperson positively
influenced customer's perceptions
of relationship quality (satisfaction
and trust in the salesperson).
Frequency of contact had a positive
effect on the level of buyer–seller
cooperation.
Salesperson–customer contact
improved the salesperson–customer
relationship status.
High levels of personal contact
contributed to higher levels of
customer satisfaction, relationship
strength and relationship closeness.
Frequency of business contact with
the salesperson positively influenced
the buying firm's trust of the
salesperson.
Frequency of contact with the
salesperson positively influenced
customer's perceptions of relationship
quality (satisfaction and trust in the
salesperson).
Salespeople generally argued that
constant contact with customers is
critical to building a more intimate
relationship with the customer.
Frequency of face-to-face
communication between the industrial
buyer and different supplier personnel
lowered operations costs for customer
firms.
The buyer's general level of liking for
the salesperson was positively influenced
by frequency of personal interaction
with the salesperson.
Customer's perceptions of key account
representative role performance, trust
in the key account representative and
synergistic solutions were positively
influenced by frequency of contact.
556 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564
number of salespeople (e.g., Lucas, Weinberg, & Clowes, 1975;
Ryans & Weinberg, 1987), the number of sales calls to be
completed (e.g., Spiro & Perrault, 1978; Parsons & Abeele,
1981), and the amount of customer contact time (Beswick &
Cravens, 1977; Lodish, 1971; Parasuraman, 1982). Most of this
work is concerned with the analysis of the factors that determine
the selling effort. For example, Lodish (1971) developed one of
the original, but still popular, interactive computer system
(CALLPLAN) designed to aid salespeople or sales managers in
allocating sales call time more efficiently. The study by Spiro
and Perrault (1978) reported on an empirical investigation of the
relationship between call frequency of salespeople and select
characteristics of the market, the customer, and the salesperson–
customer interaction. Similarly, Parasuraamn (1982) proposed a
conceptual framework for establishing a sales call effort
allocation plan that considered factors such as competitive
pressure, account familiarity, multiple buying influence,
purchase assortment, and account potential.
As shown in Table 1, more recent empirical work addresses
the consequences of contact intensity/frequency of contact
between the buyer and the seller. Much of this research has been
conducted in a business-to-business context (Boles, Brashear,
Bellenger, Barksdale, 2000; Cannon & Homburg, 2001; Doney
& Cannon, 1997; Heide & Miner, 1992; Nicholson, Compeau,
& Sethi, 2001; Schultz & Evans, 2002), and, to a minor extent,
in a business-to-consumer context (Barnes, 1997; Crosby,
Evans, & Cowles, 1990; Frankwick, Porter, & Crosby, 2001).
Overall, this research stream emphasizes the influence of
contact intensity on constructs central to building long-term
relationships with customers, such as satisfaction (Barnes,
1997; Boles et al., 2000; Crosby et al., 1990), trust (Boles et al.,
2000; Crosby et al., 1990; Doney & Cannon, 1997),
cooperation (Heide & Miner, 1992), relationship strength and
closeness (Barnes, 1997), and relationship status (Frankwick
et al., 2001).
Fig. 1 represents our conceptual model. The present study
adds to the existing literature in three ways. First, we consider
the effect of an increase in sales call frequency on subjective
variables – assessed from the buyers' point of view (service
quality, value and satisfaction) – and on objective company data
(sales volume). As shown in Table 1, prior research has mainly
Fig. 1. The role of sales call frequency in the buyer–seller relationship.
focused on intermediate outcomes of the relationship from the
customers' perspective. Yet, if the sales manager decides to
increase sales calls, taking into account that they are highly
expensive and time-consuming, he/she would like some
assurance that it would filter through to some more concrete
and objective outcomes such as sales volume.
Second, the current study adopts a longitudinal research
design where data were gathered over a two-year period of time.
Most of the previous studies5 have employed cross-sectional
(single survey) designs. Although the use of longitudinal data in
a non-experimental study does not necessarily establish
causality, it does provide stronger support for causal relation-
ships than can be inferred from analysis of cross-sectional data
(Menard, 1991). Furthermore, several researchers have called
for longitudinal research in the context of personal selling. For
example, in a recent review of the field of sales research, Tanner
(2002) noted that: “we don't need more calls for longitudinal
research — let's agree here that we know it needs to be done”
(p.570).
Third, to the best of our knowledge, none of the previous
studies has incorporated the analysis of moderating variables on
the consequences of an increase in contact intensity in the
buyer–seller relationship. Fig. 1 proposes that the direct effects
are moderated by the length of the buyer–seller relationship and
the hierarchical position of the contact person in the buying
organization. Such analysis may provide companies with
valuable information on when (at what stage of the buyer–
seller relationship) call frequency is to be increased, and to
whom salespeople need to call on in the buying organization.
3. Research model and hypotheses
In what follows, the dependent variables of the study are
defined, then their hypothesized relationship with sales call
frequency is explained. Sales volume is a summary indicator of
organizational outcomes for which the salesperson is at least
partly responsible (Churchill, Ford, Hartley, & Walker, 1985).
This implies that sales volume is a function of salesperson's
behaviors, as well as additional factors not under the individual
salesperson's control — such as sales potential in a territory and
competitive actions.
Service quality can be defined as a form of an attitude that
results from the comparison of expected service levels with
perceived performance (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988). In other words, customers enter a
purchase experience expecting a certain level of service. During
that purchase experience they observe actual service perfor-
mance. The customer's subjective evaluation of how well (or
poorly) that actual performance compares to expected perfor-
mance results in perceived service quality (Cronin & Taylor,
1992).
Customer value is defined by Zeithaml (1988) as a
“consumer's overall assessment of the utility of a product
based on perceptions of what is received and what is given”
5
The only exception is the remarkable effort by Frankwick et al. (2001) in a
business to consumer context.
 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564
(p.14), and implicit in her definition is the notion of a consumer
trade-off between a “get” and a “give” component. Although
Zeithaml's use of the get and give components are in terms of
the benefits and sacrifices involved in the use of a product or
service, it has most often been operationalized in terms of the
trade-off between quality (benefit) and cost (price) (see Bolton
& Drew, 1991). As Monroe (1990) notes, value is “the trade-off
between the quality or benefits [consumers] perceive in a
product relative to the sacrifice they perceive by paying the
price” (p. 46).
Overall customer satisfaction is an overall evaluation of
performance based on all prior experiences with a firm
(Anderson, Fornell, & Lehman, 1994). The current study
takes a global rather than a transaction-specific perspective.
Accordingly, customer satisfaction pertains to an affective
reaction to the overall postpurchase appraisal of a supplier
(Babin & Griffin, 1998).
It is important to note that earlier research has shown
that service quality, value for money and customer satisfac-
tion are related, but distinct constructs (Bolton & Drew, 1991;
Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Sweeney, Soutar, & Johnson, 1999).
In addition, evidence from prior studies reveals that improve-
ment in perceptions of quality, value and satisfaction leads to
favorable outcomes such as customer retention and positive
word of mouth (e.g., Liu, Leach, & Bernhardt, 2005; Huntley,
2006).
3.1. Direct effects
Sales volume is expected to be influenced by the extent of
contact between the customer and the salesperson. One
plausible explanation is that the salesperson can devote more
time to making the sales presentation and demonstration,
negotiating customer resistance and objections and using
closing techniques. Thus, the salesperson is likely to close
more sales. Another supporting argument for this relationship is
that the frequency with which the partners meet is a key
indicator of the resources being committed to the relationship by
the parties. Following Pillai and Sharma's (2003) study, sales
call frequency can be considered as a transaction-specific asset
obtained by the buyer that increases the buyer's relational
orientation with the supplier, and in turn, the likelihood of
selling more product to the buyer. Consequently, the more
salespeople invest in the relationship in terms of personal
contact, the more product customers are likely to purchase
(Wilson, 1995).
As for the empirical evidence, results from Beswick and
Cravens (1977) revealed that sales of one firm's high-priced
consumer goods were determined by the salesperson's
percentage of time spent in a geographic area. All the above
leads us to propose the following:
H1. Sales volume is positively influenced by an increase in the
sales call frequency.
A customer's total relationship with a seller has been
conceptualized as having three aspects: the product, the
company and the salesperson (Crosby & Stephens, 1987).
557
Weitz and Bradford (1999, p. 241) underscored the importance of
the salesperson: “as the primary link between the buying and the
selling firm, salespeople have considerable influence on the
buyer's perceptions of the seller's reliability and the value of the
seller's services”. In other words: “through these interactions,
salespeople influence the customer's perception of the selling firm”
(Johnson, Barksdale, & Boles, 2001, p. 123). Next, we explain how
an increase in these interactions positively influences customers'
perceptions of service quality, value and overall satisfaction.
In industrial markets, “good service quality is formed when
the supplier knows the buyers' needs and develops and adjusts
the problem solution so that it meets these needs” (Holmlund &
Kock, 1995, p.120). It is reasonable to expect improvements in
customers' perceptions of service quality under conditions of
frequent salesperson–customer contacts. This is because the
salesperson is in a better position to: check on customer
satisfaction with products, suggest changes in current product
portfolios that more closely meet their needs, inform customers
of new product availability and provide technical assistance.
Furthermore, frequency of contact also enhances communica-
tion between parties (Mohr, Fisher, & Nevin, 1996), which
implies that problems are more easily and rapidly addressed.
Overall, this adds improved, supplemental service that custo-
mers depend on to more effectively manage their supply chain
activities (Huntley, 2006). Stated formally:
H2. Perceived service quality is positively influenced by an
increase in the sales call frequency.
Frequent interaction is likely to foster perceived value for
money. The rationale is straightforward: an increase in contact
frequency with the customer improves customer's assessment
of what is being received in relation to cost (Zeithaml, 1988). In
other words, the customer is “getting” more because the
salesperson becomes more knowledgeable regarding the
customer's requirements and needs (O'Neal, 1993). This
knowledge facilitates the tailoring or customizing of product
offering(s) that fulfill the customer's needs.
As for the empirical evidence, recent findings from in-depth
interviews with industrial buyers from Ulaga (2003) revealed
that supplier availability as well as the need to receive
appropriate information in a timely manner (speed of
information) were effective ways by which the supplier could
add value to the relationship. In a retail environment, Sweeney
et al. (1999) found that the salesperson's advice and knowledge
as perceived by the customer had a positive effect on perceived
value for money. Therefore, we propose the following:
H3. Perceived value for money is positively influenced by an
increase in the sales call frequency.
The expectancy disconfirmation paradigm (e.g., Oliver &
DeSarbo, 1988) argues that consumers make a comparison
between product expectations and performance that will result
in either confirmation or disconfirmation. Customers' expecta-
tions are confirmed when product performance exactly meet
expectations. Positive disconfirmation occurs when product
performance exceeds prior expectations, and negative discon-
firmation occurs when expectations exceed performance.
558 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564
Confirmation and positive disconfirmation will be likely to result
in satisfaction. Drawing on the expectation paradigm, it is
reasonable to expect that customers have a positive disconfirma-
tion when the salesperson effort (e.g., number of calls) is superior
to that expected, thus leading to greater satisfaction. Customer
expectations are based, amongst other things, on past experiences
with that particular salesperson, the one who has increased the
number of calls, and other salespeople in the industry.
Empirically, the frequency with which salespeople and cus-
tomers interact for business reasons has been shown to be a key
determinant of customer satisfaction (e.g., Barnes, 1997; Boles
et al., 2000; Crosby et al., 1990). Accordingly, we propose that:
H4. Overall customer satisfaction is positively influenced by an
increase in the sales call frequency.
3.2. Moderating effects
Several studies show that “new” customers differ from “old”
ones (those who have for long been a client of their company)
with respect to a number of aspects, including the way of
forming satisfaction (e.g., Coulter & Coulter, 2002). For
example, younger buyer–seller relationships need more frequent
interactions than older relationships, because such interactions
help buyers acquire important information (Nicholson et al.,
2001). Wilson (1971) supports this notion, as he found that
buyers respond favorably to the salesperson's attempts to reduce
uncertainty. That is to say, the more encounters the buyer has
with his/her representative, the more information is accumulated
about that salesperson, and the more knowledge is gained about
the product, the company and the industry.
As knowledge is gained over the course of a relationship, the
initial uncertainty (and inherent risk) associated with a particular
supplier may be reduced (Coulter & Coulter, 2002). Further-
more, in the early stages of the relationship, frequency of
interaction may signal the salesperson as well as its company's
interest in the buyer and the value they place on the buyer,
facilitating the achievement of positive outcomes for the seller
company such as higher sales and increased customer
satisfaction (Nicholson et al., 2001). For instance, empirical
findings in the service literature indicate that as the relationship
grows mature, the influence of person-related aspects (e.g.,
contact intensity with the salesperson) diminishes over time, and
the relationship is maintained on a more rational basis such as the
offer-related characteristics (Coulter & Coulter, 2002; Gounaris
& Venetis, 2002). Similarly, drawing on the marital literature,
recent results from Rosen-Grandon, Myers, and Hattie (2004)
reveal that the effects of some marital interaction processes (e.g.,
communication and intimacy) on marital satisfaction diminish
over time. All the above leads us to propose the following:
H5a–d. The shorter the length of the buyer–seller relationship,
the stronger the effect of an increase in sales call frequency on
(a) sales volume, (b) perceived service quality, (c) perceived
value for money and (d) overall customer satisfaction.
As a dimension of relational selling, contact intensity reflects
an effort on the part of the salesperson to keep the com-
munication channels open with the customer and exhibit a
commitment to the relationship (Crosby et al., 1990). In
addition, contact intensity is of crucial importance in making the
customer feel that the salesperson is not merely after a short-
term sale, but is willing to help the customer address long-term
needs (Boles et al., 2000). That is to say, frequent contact is an
important relationship signal that indicates to the buyer that he
or she is important to the seller (Nicholson et al., 2001). The
salesperson's effort in terms of increased frequency of contact
will be further valued in proportion to the hierarchical position
of the contact person in the buying organization.
Findings from DelVecchio, Zemanek, McIntyre, and Claxton
(2003) suggest that the organizational role occupied by the
buyer plays an important part in the results obtained as a
consequence of a salesperson's actions. This is especially true in
industrial markets, where salespeople are considered as key
informants for the buyers, often serving as the customer's
principal diagnostician and counselor (Wotruba, 1996). In
particular, salespeople provide sales and cost analysis as well as
expertise and resources for all product designs and installations,
while maintaining and improving communication and coordi-
nation between the buyer and seller companies (Jolson, 1997).
Likewise, they become key means by which buyers acquire
market knowledge (Wilson, 1993).
Results from Qualls and Rosa (1995) reveal that functional
areas (i.e., purchasing and corporate management) have
different factors that determine their satisfaction with suppliers.
More specifically, a survey of buyers in the electronic utility
industry concluded that buyers in strategic positions (such as
those who are at higher levels of authority) tend to take a
“broader perspective” when interacting with salespeople (Hayes
& Hartley, 1989). The broader perspective moves beyond the
technical aspects of the product to a problem-solving approach
that focuses on achieving the goals of the buying organization
(DelVecchio et al., 2003). A buyer who carries a high level of
authority within the buying company may take this broader
perspective, require more interaction with the salesperson and
thus be more responsive to a higher effort on the part of the
salesperson in terms of increased contact intensity. Furthermore,
the more powerful the contact person is in the buying
organization, the more likely that he/she will compensate the
efforts of the salesperson by placing more orders. Based on the
above discussion we propose that:
H6a–d. The higher the hierarchical position of the contact
person in the buying organization, the stronger the effect of
an increase in sales call frequency on (a) sales volume,
(b) perceived service quality, (c) perceived value for money
and (d) overall customer satisfaction.
4. Method
4.1. Data collection and sample
Prior to designing the questionnaire, in-depth interviews
were conducted with twenty two industrial buyers from
different industries. On average, each interview lasted for 2 h.
 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564 559

During these interviews, a variety of open-ended questions was Table 2

discussed to gain insight into the role of the salesperson in Sample description
maintaining and developing the supplier–customer relationship. Control group (n = 180) Survey group (n = 177)
The methodology used in this study required close and No. of Percentage No. of Percentage
continuous co-operation of at least one supplier. After several companies companies
meetings with general managers of the three major suppliers of Number of employees
industrial machinery equipment and supplies in a southeastern Less than 10 62 34.4 60 33.9
region of Spain6, one of them accepted to participate in the 10–50 69 38.3 66 37.8
More than 50–250 49 27.2 51 28.3
study. The machinery industry serves and relies on new
Activity
equipment orders from a wide range of other industry sectors. Manufacturers 11 6.5 18 10.2
Furthermore, once machinery and equipment have been sold, of machinery
customers often follow up with additional products and services Manufacturers of 15 8.3 19 10.7
such as maintenance contracts, operating cost guarantees, and metallic containers
Carpentry and 23 12.8 24 13.6
remanufactured units (Dolbeck, 2005).
locksmith businesses
At the time of the data collection, the seller was well into a Die-stamping companies 29 16.1 21 11.9
multi-year process of strategically developing and improving Metal working 43 23.9 35 19.8
relational exchanges with its customers. The seller's goal was to milling companies
become the regional leader in the development of long-term Manufacturers of 25 13.9 22 12.4
metallic structures
relational exchanges with its customers. The seller was offered a
Mechanical industry 21 11.7 28 15.8
summary report of the findings as well as customized data in general
analyses in return for its invaluable co-operation. Seller's total Automobile-related 13 7.2 10 5.6
sales volume for 2003 was €18.9 million, and during that industry
period had 42 employees. The sales department was comprised
of the sales manager, one supervisor and twelve salespeople.
Three salespeople (salesperson A, B and C) of similar Data were split in two halves to provide a control group and
characteristics in terms of age, education, experience, perfor- a survey group (for a similar procedure see Frankwick et al.,
mance (e.g., closing ratios) and territory were selected from the 2001). In this step, we aimed to create two similar groups of
seller company. Next, the supplier firm provided us with a list companies7 in terms of their size, activity and length of
comprising of the mailing address, number of employees, length relationship with the supplier (see Table 2). For example, 38.3%
of relationship, activity and contact person of all the customers of the companies in the control group have between 10 to 50
assigned to each salesperson (295, 276 and 283 respectively). employees. This percentage goes down to 37.8% in the survey
On average, each salesperson calls on approximately 12 group. Similarly, length of relationship was equal or greater than
customers a day. We randomly selected 140 customers per 15 years in 25.5% of the control group companies, and 23.2% in
salesperson (making a total of 420 customers). These customers the survey group. Respondents represented a wide range of
were called on once a month. Pre-notification postcards were industries in both groups. Over the two-year period since the
sent to each firm. Brief questionnaires were sent to the key first survey took place, call frequency remained the same in the
contact person in each organization (either the general manager control group (once a month), whereas it was increased to two a
or the purchasing manager), along with a postage-paid envelope month in the survey group8. In order to compensate for the
and a cover letter from the seller management introducing the higher workload of the three salespeople (who increased their
study and encouraging participation. A three-euro incentive was average number of sales calls per day from 12 to 15), an
attached to each survey. In addition, buyers were informed that employee from the administration department was assigned to
three premium discounts of 1500, 1000 and 500 euros, to be work on their administrative tasks for 2 h each day.
redeemed on future purchases, will be drawn at random from
respondents to both questionnaires. Each buyer received a
reminder telephone call two weeks after the first survey was 7
The company wanted to keep selling expenses to a minimum, so they
mailed. Completed questionnaires were received from 360 encouraged the authors to assign to the survey group those customers that
buyers, giving a response rate of 85.71% in the first survey. allowed the salespeople to visit them with a minimum expenditure of travel
Non-response bias was assessed by comparing early and late time. Salespeople were calling on existing customers. Consequently, several of
respondents (Armstrong & Overton, 1977). No significant dif- these calls were aimed to check on customer satisfaction, and did not take more
than 20 min, on average. Furthermore, the average driving distance to
ferences were found on any of the constructs (p N .10). The high customers was 12.5 miles. Therefore, there were no lodging expenses. In such a
response rate can be explained in several ways: the incentive context, salespeople were making an average of 3420 calls a year (after
provided, the brief length of the questionnaire, the letter from the allowing for vacation time, sickness and other emergencies). The annual cost of
supplier management accompanying the questionnaire, and the supporting each of these three salespeople in the field ranged from €36,977 to
follow-up calls (Larson & Chow, 2003). €40,257. The company had a margin of 45% on sales.
8
Every four months, the authors had a meeting with the management of the
cooperating company to check on a sample of call reports. This was
6
The authors decided to develop the research in the same region where they implemented to confirm that salespeople were actually doubling their sales
lived based on convenience reasons. calls consistently over time in the survey group.
560 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564

Twenty four months later a second survey was conducted to Table 3

examine changes in the supplier–customer relationships in Construct measurement summary: means, SD and scale reliability (α)
terms of sales volume, perceived service quality, perceived Item description Mean values (SD)
value for money and overall customer satisfaction. This survey Control group Survey group
wave yielded a 99.16% response rate. The final sample for data (n = 180) (n = 177)
analysis is comprised of 180 buyers from the control group, and Year t Year t + 2 Year t Year t + 2
1779 from the survey group. Sales volume (in euros) 20,148 20,490 22,968 24,278
It is important to note that purchasing relationships between (19,140) (19,670) (24,458) (24,892)
small and medium sized (SMEs)10 industrial suppliers and
manufacturers provided the setting for this study. The economic Perceived service quality (αt = .90; αt + 2 = .92)
impact of small businesses is about equal that of large This firm gives me 2.23 2.67 2.31 4.15
individual attention (1.14) (1.32) (.99) (1.52)
businesses. For instance, in the United States they employ This firm's employees 3.67 3.62 3.76 4.43
50.1% of the private work force and represent 99.7% of all provide me with (1.47) (1.27) (1.38) (1.45)
employers (United States Small Business Administration, technical assistance
2006). These companies are able to capitalize on customer This firm's employees 3.64 3.10 3.59 3.65
are easy to access (1.38) (1.07) (1.23) (1.25)
closeness and flexibility to satisfy rapidly changing customer
demands, yet they face scare resources (Hausman, 2005). Perceived value for money
Therefore, since sales calls are an expensive resource with finite The products offered by this 3.44 3.47 3.32 3.68
supply, the study of sales effort allocation in small companies company have a good (1.19) (.96) (1.24) (1.07)–
seems especially relevant. Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, quality/price ratio as
most of the research on contact intensity has been developed in compared to the
competition
the context of large companies selling to large companies.
Overall customer satisfaction (αt = .78; αt + 2 = .80)
4.2. Measures Overall, I am very satisfied 3.55 3.54 3.66 4.34
with this supplier (1.27) (1.25) (1.20) (1.23)
In this study, sales call frequency refers to the number of Overall, I am very satisfied 2.46 2.54 2.41 3.31
with this supplier as (1.20) (1.24) (1.05) (1.22)
salesperson's face-to-face communication with the customer within compared to the
a month. As for the dependent measures, sales volume was pro- competition
vided to us from the supplier company during the two-year period.
The remaining scales consisted of seven-point agree–
disagree Likert questions (items and summary statistics are judgments. Overall customer satisfaction was measured by two
provided in Table 3). It has been generally recognized that items based on Homburg and Rudolph (2001). Perceived value
measurement of service quality should be conducted taking into for money was approached by a single item adapted from Bolton
account the aspects that customers consider most relevant and Drew (1991). There is precedence in the academic literature
(Zeithaml, Parasuraman, & Berry, 1990). For example, findings of the use of single-item measures. For example, customer value
from Wetzels, De Ruyter, Lemmnick, and Koelemeijer (1995) is measured as a single item in Bolton and Drew (1991), Rust,
reveal that “the very concept of customer service may differ by Danaher, and Varki (2000) and Varki and Colgate (2001).
market segment. What may be considered important by one As shown in Table 3, reliability of the multi-item measures
customer group may be regarded as less important by another” (perceived service quality and overall customer satisfaction)
(p. 57). Holmlund and Kock (1995, p. 121) further argued that was confirmed with coefficient alpha higher than the recom-
“it is obviously difficult to generalize buyer perceived service mended level of .7 in both surveys (Nunnally, 1978). The multi-
quality as it is embedded in a specific context”. Accordingly, item scales were further evaluated through confirmatory factor
buyer's perception of service quality was measured by three analysis using the maximum likelihood procedure in LISREL
items based on the B-to-B literature review on service quality 8.30. Following the procedures suggested by Anderson and
(e.g., Durvasula, Lysonski, & Mehta, 1999; Kong & Mayo, Gerbing (1988), the multi-item scales showed acceptable
1993; Wisner & Stanley, 1999) and on the results of the in-depth convergent and discriminant validity in both surveys11.
interviews with industrial buyers.
A quick look at Table 3 will reveal that value and satisfaction 5. Results
are measured by overall questions. In this sense, Finn and
Kayande (1997) have argued in favor of overall measures as Hypotheses were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA)
being reliable as respondents are better able to make aggregate for each of the dependent variables: sales volume, perceived
9 11
One buyer stopped dealing with the seller, and two buyers went out of Convergent validity was assessed by verifying the significance of the t values
business. General managers and purchasing managers remained the same over associated with the parameter estimates. All t values were positive and significant
the two years. Job stability in management positions is very common in (p b .01). Discriminant validity was tested by comparing the average variance
Spanish SMEs (Aragón & Sánchez, 2005). extracted by each construct to the shared variance between both constructs
10
According to the European Commission (96/280/EC) small companies employ (perceived service quality and customer satisfaction). For each comparison, the
up to 50 employees, and medium companies have fewer than 250 employees. explained variance exceeded shared variance in both surveys.
 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564 561

Table 4
Results of the ANOVA: mean values⁎
Dependent Variables Categorical variables
Survey group Control group
Length of relationship Contact person Length of relationship Contact person
Less than Equal or greater Management Purchasing Total Less than Equal or greater Management Purchasing Total
3 years than 3 years 3 years than 3 years
Sales volume 12.5 8.2 14.8 6.7 10.7 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
Per. service quality 24.2 5.6 19.2 10.7 14.9 − .4 − 2.6 −1.5 − 1.5 − 1.5
Per. value for money 9.8 5.1 13.2 1.6 7.4 4.7 − .5 3 1 2.0
Overall C. satisfaction 20 8.5 20.3 8.3 14.3 .9 .7 1.7 0 .8
⁎Mean values refer to the variation in percentage terms of the score of each dependent variable in the two-year period.

service quality, perceived value for money and overall customer
satisfaction. For data analysis, the items of the multi-item scales
were averaged to form composite scores in both surveys. Then
we calculated the variation in scores for the two-year period for
all dependent variables.
Mean levels of the dependent variables were tested across the
different levels of the categorical independent variables: group
(survey and control), salesperson (A, B and C), length of
relationship (less than 3 years, equal or greater than 3 years12
and contact person (general management or purchasing
department). First of all, it is worth noting that in neither case
the variable salesperson had a significant effect on the
dependent variables. Further, since there was no significant
two-way interaction of salesperson and the group, results were
aggregated across the three salespeople.
Findings revealed that sales volume (F = 57.11, p = .00),
perceived service quality (F = 34.09, p = .00), perceived value
for money (F = 5.42, p = .02) and overall customer satisfaction
(F = 29.43, p = .00), were significantly higher in the survey
group than in the control group. Consequently, the main effects
of the analysis of variance confirm H1, H2, H3 and H4
respectively. For example, overall customer satisfaction in-
creased by 14.3% in the survey group as opposed to .8% in the
control group over the two-year period (see Table 4). Cohen's
(1988) measure of effect size revealed that the influence of an
increase in call frequency on sales volume was strong (d = .68).
The effect size was medium when the dependent variables were
service quality and overall satisfaction (d = .57 and d = .50
respectively), and small when the dependent variable was value
for money (d = .25).
Further, to test for the moderating effects, two interactions
between group and length of relationship and group and con-
tact person were also calculated for each of the dependent
variables. Length of relationship moderated the influence of an
increase in call frequency on sales volume (F = 2.76, p = .09),
perceived service quality (F = 8.53, p = .00), and customer
satisfaction (F = 5.29, p = .02). These results confirm H5a–d.
For instance, in the survey group (where the frequency of
contact was increased), the increase in customer satisfaction in
percentage terms goes from 8.5 (when the length of relationship
12
In a business-to-business context, Liu et al. (2005, p. 565) distinguished
between short (less than three years) and long relationships (three years or more).
is equal or greater than 3 years) to 20 (when the length of the
relationship is less than 3 years); as opposed to 0.7 and .9
respectively in the control group. Length of relationship did not
have a moderating role when the dependent variable is
perceived value for money (F = .01, p = .9).
As for the interaction between group and contact person, in
all cases it was significant providing empirical support for H6a–
d (F = 14.78, p =.00; F = 2.75, p = .09; F = 4.78, p = .02;
F = 4.63, p = .03 respectively). Mean values of the dependent
variables for each of the categorical variables are shown in
Table 4. These results correspond to the aggregated data of the
three salespeople. Mean values for each of the individual
salesperson replicated the findings obtained in the aggregated
data.
6. Discussion and implications
Sales managers have long tried to understand the determi-
nants of key outcomes for the company such as sales volume
and customer satisfaction. Sales calls, or time that the sales force
is capable of devoting to customers, is one of the most valuable
and expensive resources available to industrial sales managers.
The main purpose of the present research was to look at the
relationship between an increase in sales call frequency and
some important outcomes in the buyer–seller relationship. In
order to achieve such a goal, longitudinal data were gathered
from 357 buyers of one industrial supplier. Data were split in
two halves to provide a control group and a survey group. Over
a two-year period, sales call frequency was not modified in the
control group (once a month), whereas salespeople increased to
two a month the number of calls to the companies in the survey
group.
Our results indicate that an increase in sales call frequency
has a positive effect in sales volume, perceived service quality,
perceived value for money and overall customer satisfaction.
Interestingly, the stronger effect was on sales volume. This is
particularly relevant for practice and research. While several
studies have made an attempt to explain the consequences of
contact intensity few, if any, have paid explicit attention to
objective and concrete company outcomes, such as sales
volume. For managers, this result provides them assurance
that increasing sales call frequency translates into higher level
of sales.
562 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564
In addition, our findings add to the existing literature by
demonstrating the positive effects of frequency of interaction
through the use of longitudinal methods. As discussed earlier,
longitudinal data provide stronger support for causal relation-
ships than can be inferred from analysis of cross-sectional data
(Menard, 1991).
Another contribution of the study is related to the analysis of
the moderating effects. Our findings indicate that the impact of
interpersonal interactions on organizational outcomes is time and
context-dependent. In particular, over time, as customers become
more experienced and confident in evaluating supplier's offer-
ings, they may change their evaluation strategies, weighting prior
opinions more heavily than new information. Thus, customers
who have long-standing relationships with suppliers may need
fewer interactions with the salespeople to maintain their levels of
satisfaction. Accordingly, our results suggest that as relationships
become longer, investments in certain resources (increasing sales
call frequency) may have diminishing marginal returns.
Nevertheless, contrary to expectations, relationship duration
does not seem to moderate the effect of an increase of call
frequency on perceived value for money. The measurement of
perceived value for money may explain this result. This
measure specifically referred to the products offered by the
supplier, whereas perceived service quality and overall
satisfaction were more related to the aspects of the interpersonal
relationship. In this vein, our results are somewhat consistent
with Egger, Ulaga, and Schultz (2006), who found that
customers perceived a stronger need for personal interaction
and service support during the build-up phase, as opposed to the
maturity and decline phase of business relationships, but cus-
tomer's perceptions of product quality (as compared to the
second supplier) were independent from the life cycle phase.
Finally, consistent with recent work by DelVecchio et al.
(2003), it seems that at higher levels of buying authority, buyers
consider more issues and criteria than just product attributes and
prices. Our findings suggest that buyers at higher levels of
authority are more responsive to an increase in sales call fre-
quency13. A high level of contact intensity allows the sales-
person to adopt a customer-focused approach, that requires
more time to be implemented, as opposed to a product-focused
approach. Our results indicate that the investment made by the
salesperson is worthwhile when the buyer occupies an in-
fluential role in the buying organization.
6.1. Managerial implications
The implications for managers are straightforward. Sales
managers consider poor use of sales time and poor planning to
13
In a number of situations, as you go up the hierarchy, managers would like
to see fewer salespeople since this task may be delegated to others lower in the
hierarchy. This might be especially true in large corporations. Yet, we have to
take into account the context of the current study. In small companies there are
not that many management positions. Moreover, it is quite common that the
sales manager simply does not exist, and the general manager acts as the sales
manager (Román et al., 2002). Consequently, the general manager is more
aware of the effort that implies increasing sales call frequency, and more willing
to compensate such effort in terms of higher sales, for example.
be major problems of sales force management. It may be both
practical and desirable to stimulate salespeople to reallocate
time among various work-related activities to achieve a more
productive mix of activities, and in turn, to achieve better
results. For instance, it can be possible that the salesperson's
behavior (i.e., customer service support, frequency of sales
calls) may be worse than what their customers expected.
Therefore, the sales manager needs to know and understand
customer and industry expectations. This data can be obtained
from expert salespeople or market research.
The salesperson monitoring and compensation systems can
be designed to ensure that industry expectations (in terms of
frequency of sales calls) are met. For example, the number of
sales calls made to each customer can be a specific goal which
can be monitored and rewarded. Managers of small companies
should pay special attention to this issue. Prior research has
shown that customers of small companies, as compared to large
companies, demand more frequent contact from salespeople
(Gilmore, Carson, O'Donnell, & Cummins, 1999).
In addition, our findings show that increasing salesperson's
contact with customers improves the buyer–seller relationship in
terms of sales volume, perceived service quality, perceived value
for money and overall satisfaction. This is especially relevant for
supplier companies since buyers frequently face with multiple
competing suppliers whose offerings are similar to each other,
and in today's highly competitive markets, traditional forms of
product differentiation are declining rapidly (Preis, 2003). In this
context, offering superior value through personal interaction
becomes a promising means of differentiation.
We encourage sales managers to maximize the time their
salespeople spend calling on customers. For example, this can be
implemented by providing salespeople with company support to
carry out the office work. The salesperson, then, may become
the leader of a team in order to better serve customer needs.
One common structure makes the salesperson responsible for
working with the entire selling team to manage the customer
relationship.
One of the assumptions of this study is that buyers prefer to
be called on and be closely monitored. This seems to be the case
in the context of the current research: a small supplier of
industrial machinery equipment selling to local customers that
demand after-sales service. However, at a certain level, “number
of calls becomes excessive, and the salesperson becomes
nuisance to the account” (Churchill, Ford, Walker, Johnston, &
Tanner, 1997, p.206). This is especially true for “intrinsic value
customers”. For these customers, “product quality, price, and
availability are the most important determinants of vendor
choice” (Beverland, 2001, p.207). In this situation, a strategy
that aims to build a closer relationship with these customers
through an increase in contact frequency could be harmful as
well as costly. Therefore, the type of customer, the attractive-
ness of the account to the firm (the account potential), and the
likely difficulties to be encountered in managing the account
need to be determined on an account-by-account basis.
Finally, when contacting customers our results suggest a
sequential use of various forms of communication, with more
face-to-face sessions occurring early in the relationship;
 S. Román, P.J. Martín / Industrial Marketing Management 37 (2008) 554–564
whereas telephone, email or written communications may be
increased (in detriment of face-to-face contacts) in longer
relationships. Similarly, face-to-face contacts are highly recom-
mended the higher the buyer's authority level.
6.2. Limitations and directions for future research
This research represents an initial step in the longitudinal
analysis of the influence of an increased sales call frequency on
key outcomes for the seller company. Data were gathered from
purchasing relationships between small and medium sized
industrial suppliers and manufacturers. Such a design may
restrict the generalizability of the findings. We encourage future
longitudinal research to be developed in the context of large
companies selling to large companies.
This study specifically focused on the number/quantity of
sales calls. Further longitudinal research may explore the pro-
cess through which sales call frequency leads to favourable
outcomes. These studies may incorporate aspects of the quality
of the sales call, such as ethical sales behaviors (e.g., Román &
Ruiz, 2005), adaptive selling (e.g., Spiro & Weitz, 1990),
collaborative communication (e.g., Schultz & Evans, 2002) and
communication quality (Sengupta, Krapfel, & Pusateri, 2000).
Likewise, such research may consider the consequences on
relational outcomes not included in this study, such as trust and
commitment. This is particularly relevant because the longitu-
dinal study by Narayandas and Rangan (2004) indicated that
“interpersonal trust can build interorganizational commitment”
(p.74).
Finally, gathering longitudinal data on business-to-business
relationships poses serious problems (Anderson, 1995). This is
because researchers need to collect data about the same set of
relationships with identical partners over several periods. In
many instances, this is a very difficult task and may partly
explain why “longitudinal research is still an exception” (Eggert
et al., 2006, p. 22). As shown in this study, the collection of
longitudinal data requires significant practitioner interaction
and cooperation in the development of the research. In this vein,
satisfactory arrangements could be made between researchers
and organizations who recognize the need for realistic research
in personal selling and sales management.
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Sergio Román is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of
Murcia (Spain). His articles have appeared in the Journal of Business Research,
International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Ethics, International
Journal of Market Research, European Journal of Marketing and Journal of
Marketing Management. His research interests are focused on personal selling
and sales management, international marketing and business ethics.
Pedro J. Martín is a doctoral student in marketing at the University of Murcia
(Spain). He has occupied sales and management positions in several
companies. His research interests are focused on industrial marketing as well
as personal selling and sales management.