Measuring sales performance of home décor products

Abstract

Sales personnel play a key role in the formation of long-term relationships with business partners including buyers and suppliers. The relationship acts as the primary link between the buyer and the seller, creating the possibility for considerable influence on the buyer's perceptions of the seller's reliability, the value of their services and consequently the buyer's interest in continuing the relationship. This study discusses the impact of sales territory, design and compensation on salespeople as predictors of performance of sales unit effectiveness. The findings of the study show that the balance between territory design (TD) and incentive pay affect the overall performance of sales tasks executed by the field sales teams. Sales TD also largely influences the level of performance both directly and indirectly through its relationship with salespeople's behavioural performance. The study reveals the balance between territory designing and incentive pay in performing sales activities in developing countries, which affects overall performance of sales tasks. Managers may emphasise commission-oriented tasks owing to the link with performance and the need to re-conceptualise the shift of sales personnel from a hard selling to a smart selling approach. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.