Chapter 7

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Salesperson Performance:
Motivating the Sales Force
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 Learning Objectives
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• Understand the process of motivation
• Discuss the effect of personal characteristics on salesperson
motivation
• Understand how an individual’s career stage influences motivation
• Discuss the effect of environmental factors on motivations
• Discuss the effect of factors inside the company on motivation

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 Key Terms

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• motivation • performance attributions
• expectancies – stable
– accuracy of expectancy – unstable
estimates – internal
– magnitude of expectancy – external
estimates • career stages
• instrumentalities – exploration
– accuracy of instrumentality – establishment
estimates
– maintenance
– magnitude of instrumentality
– disengagement
estimates
• • plateauing 3
valences for rewards
• earnings opportunity ratio
 Key Terms
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• Motivation (pg. 225)
– It is the amount of effort the salesperson desires to expend on each
activity or task associated with the job. It can be further defined as
an individual’s choice to (1) initiate action on a certain task, (2)
expend a certain amount of effort on that task, and (3) persist in
expending effort over a period of time.

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 Expectancies (pg. 226)
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– Perceived linkages between expending more effort on a particular task and
achieving improved performance.
– Accuracy of expectancy estimates (pg. 227)
• The degree to which the salesperson clearly understands the
relationship between effort expended on a task and the resulting
achievement on some performance dimension.
– Magnitude of expectancy estimates (pg. 228)
• The degree to which the expectancy estimates of the salesperson
reflect the rep’s perceptions of his or her ability or influence his or her
own job perceptions.
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 Instrumentalities (pg. 229)
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– The perceived relationship between improved performance and the attainment of
increased rewards.
– Accuracy of instrumentality estimates (pg. 230)
• The true linkage between performance on various dimensions and the attainment
of rewards as determined by management practices and policies on sales
performance evaluation and rewards for levels of performance.
– Magnitude of instrumentality estimates (pg. 231)
• The degree to which the salesperson believes that an improvement on some performance
dimension will result in attainment of rewards for the performance
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 Valences for rewards (pg 231)
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• The perceived attractiveness of various
rewards the salesperson might receive.
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 Performance attributions (stable,
unstable, internal, external) (pg.
236)
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– Stable internal factors – these factors are unlikely to change much in the near future
(personal skills and abilities).
– Unstable internal factors – these factors may vary from time to time (effort expended
or mood at the time).
– Stable external factors – these factors are external to the salesperson and remain
relatively stable over time (nature of the task, competitive situation in the territory).
– Unstable external factors – these factors are external to the salesperson and vary over
time (a boost in sales from a aggressive advertising campaign).
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 Career stages (exploration, establishment,
maintenance, disengagement) (pg 239)
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– The stages in a salesperson’s career.
– Exploration (pg. 239)
• Salespeople in the earliest stage of their career (often less than 30) who are
unsure about whether selling is the most appropriate occupations for them to
pursue and whether they can be successful.
– Establishment (pg. 240)
• Salespeople who have settled on an occupation and desire to build it into a
successful career (often late 20’s or early 30’s).
– Maintenance (pg. 240)
• Salespeople who primarily concerned with retaining their present position, status
and performance level within the sales force (often late 30’s or early 40’s).
– Disengagement (pg. 240)
• Salespeople who are beginning to prepare for retirement and the possible loss of
self-identity that can accompany separation form one’s job (often in their late 50’s
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 Plateauing (pg. 241)
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Often described as early disengagement it occurs when salespeople
have reached the limit of the potential (promotion and or performance)
and begin to exhibit negative job behaviors and attitudes.

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 Earnings opportunity ratio (pg.
246)
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The ratio of the total financial compensation of the highest paid salesperson to
the average in the sales force.

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 Psychological Process of Motivation
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Motivation is an individual’s choice to:
– Initiate action on a certain task
– Expend a certain amount of effort on that task
– Persist in expending effort over a period of time 12
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 Bases for Motivation
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• Expectancies – the perceived linkages between more effort and achieving
improved performance
• Instrumentalities – the perceived relationship between improved performance
and receiving increased rewards
• Valence for rewards – the perceived attractiveness or intrinsic value the rewards
the salesperson might receive

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 Expectancy
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•A salesperson’s perceived link between job effort and achieved performance
• Estimates the probability that increased effort will lead to improved performance
• Accuracy of expectancies is based on one’s understanding of the relationship
between effort and achievement
• Magnitude of expectancies is the perceptual value assigned to an expectancy
based on the ability to control the required performance

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Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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 Instrumentalities
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• Link job performance and available rewards.
• Estimate of the likelihood that an improvement in performance will lead to a
specific reward.
• Accuracy of Instrumentalities - based on the perceptual clarity of understanding
the relationship between improvement, achievement and available rewards
• Magnitude of Instrumentalities - an estimate of the intrinsic value of firm’s
compensation plan

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 Valences for Rewards
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• Measure perceptions of the desirability of receiving increased rewards through
improved performance
• Other rewards may equal or exceed the value of increased financial
compensation
• The kinds of rewards deemed most desired and most effective for motivation
varies per individual
• Satisfaction with current rewards depends upon perceived value

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 Personal Characteristics
Affecting Motivation
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• Job experience

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Individual satisfaction with current rewards
• Demographic variables

Psychological variables –personality traits and attribution of meaning to

performance
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 Satisfaction

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• Workers currently dissatisfied with their rewards value lower-order rewards most
highly
– Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
– Herzberg’s theory of motivation
– Alderfer’s existence and growth theory
• High-order rewards will be valued more highly after lower-order needs for
rewards have been satisfied
• Salespeople satisfied with their current income (a lower-order reward) assign
lower valences to earning more pay

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 Demographic Characteristics

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Older, more experienced salespeople obtain higher levels of low-order rewards
Satisfaction with the current level of lower-order rewards may also be influenced
by the demands and responsibilities the sales rep must satisfy with those
rewards
Individuals with more formal education are more likely to desire opportunities for
higher-order rewards

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 Job Experience
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• More experience provides

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– clearer idea of how expending effort affects performance
– understanding of how superiors evaluate performance
– how certain performance leads to rewards
Magnitude of expectancy perceptions relates to experience.

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 Psychological Traits
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rewards

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Motivation seems to be affected by psychological traits.
• Strong achievement needs coincide with higher valences for higher-order

• Self-esteem, perceived competence, and ability to perform job activities relate

positively to the magnitude of expectancy estimates

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 Performance Attributions
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• People try to identify and understand the causes of major events and outcomes
in their lives
• Stable internal factors – unlikely to change much in the near future
• Unstable internal factors – vary from time to time
• Stable external factors – e.g., the nature of the task or competitive situation in a
particular territory
• Unstable external factors – may change next time

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 Management Implications
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Relationships between characteristics and motivation levels have two broad
implications for sales managers:
– They suggest people with certain characteristics are likely to understand
their jobs and their companies’ policies especially well
– Some personal characteristics are related to the kinds of rewards
salespeople are likely to value and find motivating
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 Career Stages and Motivation
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• Exploration – lack of assurance
• Establishment – selection of selling as an occupation and desire for career
success.
• Maintenance – seeking to retain present position, high status, and achievement
• Disengagement – preparation for retirement and possible loss of self-identity

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 Causes of Plateauing
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Lack of a clear career path
Boredom
Failure to manage the person effectively

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 Solutions for the Plateaued
Salesperson
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• Talk with salesperson about problem
• Discuss reasons and possible solutions
• Conduct motivations sessions
• Manage, lead and communicate
• Cut salesperson’s responsibilities
• Assign to a new territory
• Inform rep on his/her responsibilities
• Provide time off 36
 Impact of Environment on
Motivation
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achieve high levels of performance

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Variations in territory potential and strength of competition constrain ability to

• Understanding how and why salespeople perform differently under varying

environmental circumstances is useful to sales managers

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 Supervisory Variables and
Leadership
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• Closeness of supervision

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– Most occupations prefer relatively free from supervision
– B-2-B salespeople prefer close supervision
• Span of control – increased span of control results in decreased supervision
• Frequency of communication – increased communication means decreased role
ambiguity
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 Incentive and Compensation
Policies
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• Policies concerning higher-order rewards can influence the desirability
of such rewards
• Preferential treatment for “stars” may reduce morale
• The range of financial rewards currently received may influence the
valences of additional financial rewards
• Earnings opportunity ratio
– The ratio of the total financial compensation of the highest paid
salesperson to that of the average in a sales force
– higher ratio equals a higher valence
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 Summary
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• The amount of effort the

salesperson desires to expend on

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each activity or task associated

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with the job—the individual’s

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motivation—can strongly influence
job performance. This chapter
reviewed the factors that affect an
individual’s motivation level. The
chapter suggested an individual’s
motivation to expend effort on any
particular task is a function for that
person’s (1) expectancy, (2)
instrumentally, and (3) valence 41
perceptions.
 Summary
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Expectancy refers to the

salesperson’s estimate of the probability

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that expending a given amount of effort

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on some task will lead to improved
performance on some dimension.

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Expectancies have two dimensions that
are important to sales managers—
magnitude and accuracy. The magnitude
of a salesperson’s expectancy
perceptions indicates the degree to
which the individual believes that
expending effort on job activities will
directly influence job performance. The
accuracy of expectancy perceptions
refers to how clearly the individual 42
understands the relationship between
 Summary
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Instrumentalities are the person’s

perceptions of links between job

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performance and various rewards.

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Specifically, an instrumentality is a

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salesperson’s estimate of the probability
that a given improvement in performance
on some dimension will lead to a specific
increase in the amount of a particular
reward. A reward can be more pay,
winning a sales contest, or promotion to
a better territory. As with expectancies,
sales managers need to concerned with
both the magnitude and accuracy of their
subordinates’ instrumentalities. 43
 Summary
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The salesperson’s valence for a specific
reward is the individual’s perception of the

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desirability of receiving increased amount of that

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reward. This valence, along with the individual’s
valence for all other attractive rewards and the
person’s instrumentality perceptions, determines

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how attractive it is to perform well on some
specific dimension.
Several factors influence salespeople’s
expectancy, instrumentality, and valence
perceptions. Three major forces are (1) the
personal characteristics of the individuals in the
sales force, (2) the environmental conditions they
face, and (3) the company’s own policies and
procedures. The chapter reviewed some major
influences and their likely impacts on each of the
three categories.
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