When the Control System Decreases the Sales Performance

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the moderator effect of the salesforce control system in the relationship between sales behavior (locomotion, working hard and working smart) and salesperson performance. Two perspectives of the control system are addressed: outcome and behavior. To test the hypotheses, a descriptive survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 140 salespersons of retail stores of construction materials. The results demonstrate that high levels of behavior-based salesforce control systems decrease the performance of salespersons that present high level of locomotion and working smart and high levels of outcome-based salesforce control systems improve the performance of salesperson that present low levels of working hard and working smart. Furthermore, the study showed that the salesperson behavior interferes in performance, specially the working hard. The findings indicate that sales managers must take actions to evaluate the salesperson behavior individually, adopting distinct control system for different salesperson in the same sales team. Finally, the findings also indicate that the high performance salespersons must transmit their expertise to inefficient salesperson, through the creation of informal or formal ties.