334. IJRM. B2B Sales after Dropping the Ball.
October 3, 2024
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Knowing how to repair things after "dropping the ball" in B2B sales is crucial because it helps rebuild trust and maintain long-term relationships with clients. In today’s episode, we speak with Dr. Stephanie Mangus, an associate professor of marketing at Baylor University, who specializes in sales, about Dr. Mangus's research on how B2B salespeople can recover after they disappoint their clients.
Items discussed include:
Two Types of Sales Mistakes: Dr. Mangus identified two categories: relational transgressions (violating unwritten relationship rules) and sales process transgressions (violating the sales process itself).
Communication is Key: Effective communication is crucial for addressing these mistakes and maintaining relationships. Synchronous communication (e.g., face-to-face meetings) is better for relational issues, while asynchronous communication (e.g., email) can suffice for sales process issues.
Customer Preferences Matter: Understanding customer preferences for communication methods is essential. While salespeople may prefer face-to-face, customers may prefer more efficient options like video calls or email.
Balancing Efficiency and Effectiveness: Salespeople need to balance efficiency with building strong relationships. While asynchronous communication can save time, synchronous communication may be necessary for addressing relational issues and building trust.
Synchronous Communication Isn't Always Necessary: Asynchronous communication can be effective in many situations, especially for sales process issues.
Competence Matters: Demonstrating competence is crucial, especially when addressing relational issues. Customers want to see that the salesperson can handle the situation and fix the problem.
Click here for the Research Article
The Up Next podcast’s access to this content is courtesy of the International Journal of Research in Marketing, an international, double-blind peer-reviewed journal for marketing academics and practitioners. IJRM aims to contribute to the marketing discipline by providing high-quality, original research which advances marketing knowledge and techniques. As marketers increasingly draw on diverse and sophisticated methods, IJRM‘s target audience is comprised of marketing scholars, practitioners (e.g., marketing research and consulting professionals) and policymakers.
IJRM aims to be at the forefront of the marketing field with a particular emphasis on bringing timely ideas to market. The journal embraces innovative research with the potential to spur future research and influence practice. Hence, it welcomes contributions in various aspects of marketing. The editors, while accepting a wide array of scholarly contributions from different disciplinary approaches, especially encourage research that is novel, visionary or path breaking.
Dr. Stephanie M. Mangus is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Baylor University in the Center for Professional Selling. Her research focuses on buyer-seller dyads in sales and the sales and service interface, including service recovery and the emotions driving salesperson and customer behaviors. Her research has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and Psychology & Marketing. She is also an accomplished educator earning multiple awards for her efforts, including at the national level when she earned the 2019 AMA Sales Interest Group’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
Mangus serves the discipline through engagement in the academy. She serves as Area Editor and Editorial Review Board member for the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management and as an ERB member for the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of Business Research. Notably, she has served on the Board of the American Marketing Association’s Sales Special Interest Group since 2019, currently as Chair-Elect. This Board serves the sales academy worldwide developing programming and recognizing scholars for their work. She regularly contributes to scholarly programming, facilitating and moderating research sessions, while regularly presenting at conferences such as the American Marketing Association Educator’s Conference, Sales Educator’s Academy, and the Global Sales Science Institute. She received her PhD from Louisiana State University, an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, and a BA from Ohio Northern University.
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International Journal of Research in Marketing
Dr. Stephanie Mangus