Taxonomy of Salesperson - Customer Interaction

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes current research on salesperson and customer interactions. The paper includes the dynamics of buyer-supplier relationships, an overview of selling model definitions and research efforts used to validate them, and a comprehensive review of key findings from research into these areas. The paper intends to show specifically how salesperson-to-customer and buyer-to-supplier relationships are being clarified and made more effective through the research efforts of the theorists, educators, and practitioners mentioned in the paper.

Outline:
Executive Summary
Selling Approach in Buyer-Seller Relationships
Essentials of Relationship Selling
Principles of Adaptive Selling
Putting Dyadic Sales Techniques to the Test: Selling of Services
Taxonomy of Buyer-Seller Relationships Research
Organizational Buyer Behavior (OBB)
Buyer-Seller Relationships Models
Overview of the Dwyer, Schurr and Oh (1987) Model
Other Models of Buyer-Seller Relationship Stages
Buyer-Seller Relationships and the Values of the Salesperson
Buyer-Seller Relationships Trends and Future Direction

From the Paper:

"The awareness stage is characterized as a bilateral interaction that marks the beginning of the next phase of the possible relationship (e.g., a general inquiry). It is only the recognition of the feasibility of a relationship. The second stage, exploration, is the search and trail phase. It has five sub-processes: 1) attraction, 2) communication and bargaining, 3) development and exercise of power, 4) norm development, and 5) expectation of development (trust plays an important role in this sub-process). Phase three is the expansion stage and refers to continual increase in benefits obtained by exchange partners and to their increasing interdependence. Commitment is the fourth phase that refers to the implicit and explicit pledge of relational continuity between exchange partners (e.g., top accounts). The criteria of this phase are inputs (i.e., what the parties contribute), durability (i.e., bonding is a factor in this criteria) and consistency. The final phase is dissolution that shouldn't be considered as a reversal according to Dwyer et al. (1987)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alessandra, Tony & Barrera, Rick. (1993). Collaborative Selling: How to Gain the Competitive Advantage in Sales. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Anderson, Rolph E. (1996). Personal selling and sales management in the new millennium. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 16 (4), 17-32.
• Boorom, Michael L., Goolsby, Jerry R. & Ramsey, Rosemary P. (1998). Relational communication traits and their effect on adaptiveness and sales performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 26 (1), 16-30.
• Borys, Bryan & Jemison, David B. (1989). Hybrid arrangements as strategic alliances: theoretical issues in organizational combinations. Academy of Management Review, 14 (2), 234- 249.
• Buttle, Francis. (1993). Selling services: a contingency model. Journal of Services Marketing, 7 (3), 36-48

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