Exploring the Deliberate and Creative Problem Solving Routines of Business-to-Business Salespeople in the Context of Solution Selling: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

The provision of innovative solutions has been recently identified as one of the five under-researched areas that are vital to sales performance. Specifically in business-to-business markets, very little research exists on the mechanisms employed by salespeople in solving customer problems and providing appropriate solutions. Although management and marketing academics have long been studying the problem solving skills of managers that can help in facilitating specific managerial activities, research efforts with reference to problem solving and personal selling and sales management are very limited. In recent times, sales researchers have begun to introduce the concept of problem solving into sales literature. However, in the context of business-to-business salespeople, there is no systematic research on creative and deliberate problem solving. That is, there is no research that addresses the potential firm-level and individual-level antecedents of creative and deliberate problem solving routines of business-to-business salespeople. Similarly, there is no research that addresses the issue of potential consequences of creative and deliberate problem solving routines. Therefore, in this paper, we develop a conceptual framework and corresponding propositions that detail the potential antecedents and consequences of the creative and deliberate problem solving routines of business-to-business salespeople in the context of solution selling. This is an important research topic that can inform business-to-business organizations on how they can improve the creative and deliberate problem solving routines of salespeople and firm performance in the context of solution selling.