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Winter 2007
CONTENTS
JSMAM VOLUME 7, WINTER 2007
7
From the Editor
by Dan C. Weilbaker, Ph.D.
ACADEMIC ARTICLES
8
The Challenges of Key Account Management Implementation in
Professional Service Organizations
by Satu Nätti, Teea Palo, and Jukka Ojusalo
Are You Willing to Relocate? Recruiting the College Student in Today’s
Mobile Work Environment
21
by Richard E. Buehrer, Michael A. Mallin, and Dierdre E. Jones
APPLICATION ARTICLES
Questions Do Make the Sale
34
by Bill Brooks
Intent—A Crucial Component of Success in Selling
42
by Jerry Acuff and Wally Wood
Mission Statement
The main objective of the journal is to provide a focus for collaboration between
practitioners and academics for the advancement of application, education, and
research in the areas of selling and major account management. Our audience is
comprised of both practitioners in industry and academics researching in sales.
©2007 By Northern Illinois University. All Rights Reserved. ISSN: 1463-1431
Vol. 7, No. 1
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
Strategic Partner
BALL STATE UNIVERSITY
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Northern Illinois University
UNIVERSITY OF AKRON
OHIO UNIVERSITY
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO
Winter 2007
Manuscripts
1. Articles for consideration should be sent to Editor: Dan C. Weilbaker, Department of Marketing Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, IL 60115 USA or by fax: 001 815-753-6014 or by email to dweilbak@niu.edu
2. Articles in excess of 6000 words will not normally be accepted. The Editor welcomes shorter articles, case studies and
reviews. Contributors should specify the length of their articles.
3. A manuscript copy of the contribution along with four (4) copies should be submitted if possible with a copy on 3.5"
diskette in Microsoft Word format, author's name(s) and short title of the article. Alternatively, the contribution may be emailed to
the above address as a Microsoft Word document; however contributors are advised to check by telephone that submissions have
been received. Neither the Editor nor Northern Illinois University, Department of Marketing accepts any responsibility for loss or
damage of any contributions submitted for publication in the Journal.
Biographical note - supply a short biographical note giving the author(s) full name, appointment, institutions or
organization / company and recent professional attainments.
Synopsis - an abstract not exceeding 100 words should be included.
Diagrams / text boxes / tables - should be submitted without shading although a copy of how the authors wishes the
diagram to appear shaded may be submitted by way of illustrative example. These should be numbered consecutively and
typed on separate pages at the end of the article with an indication in the text where it should appear.
References - should be cited using the Harvard method. No footnotes should be used for references or literature citations.
Wherever possible, full bibliographic details (e.g., volume number issue number or date, page numbers publisher year of
publication) should be included.
Footnotes - for clarification or elaboration should be used very sparingly - they may be indicated in the text and at the
beginning of the footnote by the use of asterisks and / or daggers.
4. Any article or other contribution submitted must be the original unpublished work of the author(s) not submitted for
publication elsewhere.
5. Manuscripts should be typewritten using one side of 8 1/2” X 11” or A4 paper with all margins of 1" and double-spaced.
Font style should be Times New Roman in 12 pitch. Footnotes should be typed at the bottom of the page and numbered
consecutively throughout the text.
6. Cross references should not be to page numbers but to the text accompanying a particular footnote.
7 An address for correspondence (including email address) should be supplied as well as a telephone and fax number at which
the author(s) may be contacted. .
8. Authors undertake to check proofs and to return them within the specified date. They should be free from grammatical,
syntax or spelling errors. Failure to return proofs will result in the publication of the article at the editor’s discretion in which
event the editor does not accept liability for any changes made to grammar syntax, spelling or other changes deemed necessary.
The Editor reserves the right not to accept any alterations or corrections made.
PERMISSIONS
The copyright owner’s consent does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creating new works, or for
resale. Specific written permission must be obtained from the publisher for such copying.
Subscriptions
To subscribe to Journal of Selling & Major Account Management, please go to www.cob.niu.edu/jsmam/subscription.asp or mail
the subscription form to The Journal of Selling & Major Account Management,. 128 Barsema Hall, Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, IL 60115. Subscription prices are: U.S. Individual-$50; U.S. Corporation-$60; Foreign Individual-$70; Foreign
Corporation-$80.
EDITORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
EDITOR—Dan C. Weilbaker, Ph.D.
McKesson Pharmaceutical Group
Professor of Sales
Department of Marketing
Northern Illinois University
dweilbak@niu.edu
EUROPEAN EDITOR—Kevin Wilson
Sales Research Trust
Peyrenegre
47350 Labretonie
France
Kevin@sales-research-trust.org
ASSISTANT—Laura Weaver
Graduate Assistant
Professional Sales Program
Department of Marketing
Northern Illinois University
Vol. 7, No. 1
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
EDITORIAL BOARD
Rolph E. Anderson
Drexel University
Mark C. Johlke
Bradley University
Ramon A. Avila
Ball State University
Eli Jones
University of Houston
Sonke Albers
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
Buddy LaForge
University of Louisville
Terri Barr
Miami University—Ohio
Terry W. Loe
Kennesaw State University
Jim W. Blythe
University of Glamorgan
Daniel H. McQuiston
Butler University
Richard E. Buehrer
University of Toledo
Pete Naude
Manchester Business School
Steven Castleberry
University of Minnesota—Duluth
Stephen Newell
Western Michigan University
William L. Cron
Texas Christian University
Nigel F. Piercy
University of Warwick
Laura Cuddihy
Dublin Institute of Technology
Richard E. Plank
William Paterson University
René Y. Darmon
ESSEC Business School
Gregory A. Rich
Bowling Green State University
Dawn R. Deeter-Schmelz
Ohio University
Rick Ridnour
Northern Illinois University
Bill Donaldson
Aberdeen Business School
Elizabeth Rogers
Portsmouth Business School
Sean Dwyer
Louisiana Tech University
Jeffrey K. Sager
University of North Texas
Paolo Guenzi
SDA Bocconi
Charles Schwepker, Jr.
Central Missouri State University
Jon M. Hawes
University of Akron
C. David Shepherd
Kennesaw State University
Earl D. Honeycutt
Elon University
William A. Weeks
Baylor University
Thomas N. Ingram
Colorado State University
Michael R. Williams
Illinois State University
Northern Illinois University
Winter 2007
From the Editor
This is the first issue of our second year as publishers of the Journal of Selling & Major
Account Management. It is our hope that everyone who reads the journal finds at least
one article that provides some new insight or process that assists them or their sales
team in increasing their sales performance. Publishing the journal has been a labor of
love in that the generation and dissemination of knowledge useful to practitioners has
been increased. I have even heard from one of our corporate subscribers that they use
the journal as part of their sales meetings.
I want to thank all of our subscribers for their patients with our publishing schedule. As a new journal
without a reserve of articles it is difficult to keep to a strict schedule. It is my hope that we will be able to
generate enough articles in the future so that the journal can be published on time each quarter.
In this first issue of Volume 7, we present two academic articles and two practitioner articles. The first
academic article deals with key account management and the issues involved in introducing it into a services
context rather than a product arena. The article looks at three factors (operational capabilities, the set up
issues, and the type of organization that can support the implementation). The second article deals with
an issue that is critical for recruiting entry-level salespeople from college campuses. The willingness to
relocate has impacted many companies and new hires when it comes to accepting a sales position. The
article identifies several factors that help predict graduates’ willingness to relocate.
The two application articles provide new insight into two issues that have a great impact on the selling
process. The first article covers questioning and how different questions help in different situations. In
fact, the article contains over 100 questions that can be put to use immediately. The second article
looks at the role of Intent for sales success. The article positions Intent as a key driver in convincing the
customer that their needs are paramount to salespeople. Intent is one point from his new book, “stop
acting like a seller and Start Thinking Like a Buyer.” I know you are going to enjoy and benefit from these
two application articles.
It is our hope that every reader can find at least one important idea or application that can help them
improve their performance in their quest to become an outstanding sales professional.
We are grateful to the University Sales Center Alliance for their financial support which helps us produce
and distribute the journal while we continue to build our subscriber base to become self-supporting. Our
thanks also go to the dedicated members of the Editorial Review Board, our ad hoc reviewers, our
authors and finally our subscribers.
Dan C. Weilbaker, Ph.D.
Editor and
McKesson Pharmaceutical Group
Professor of Sales
Northern Illinois University
Vol. 7, No. 1
8
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
The Challenges of Key Account Management
Implementation in Professional Service Organizations
by Satu Nätti, Teea Palo, and Jukka Ojusalo
The purpose of this paper is to describe what kind of challenges there are for key account management system
implementation in the specific context of professional service organization. Influencing factors are defined under three
categories: what type of operational capabilities there should be to form a supportive organizational context for KAM
implementation, what should be considered when the KAM system is set up and what kind of KAM organization
would support KAM implementation. This article is based on an explorative, qualitative single-case study in a
professional service organization implementing the KAM system for the first time.
Introduction
Identifying and maintaining strategic client
relationships is an ever-salient point in
professional service organizations. Maintaining
those relationships requires special attention, and
in many companies this is done by using key
account management systems, which is an
organized way to develop and conduct key
relationships.
In this article, KAM system implementation is
examined in the specific context of professional
service organization. Even though the KAM
system is nowadays widely used in the business
sector, related studies are scarce and the
discussion fragmented (Homburg, Workman &
Jensen 2002). Thus, more profound
conceptualization is needed. A context-bound
approach may be especially beneficial, because
KAM systems or their implementation in
professional service organizations is a topical but
unexplored area (Ojasalo 2002).
Key account management (KAM)
implementation is a long-term and strategic
process during which many far-reaching
decisions are made (Kempeners & van der Hart
1999). Its main goal is to facilitate interactions
with the customer and to improve the
coordination of the relationship. This kind of
Northern Illinois University
system may be especially beneficial in a
professional service organization’s strategic
customer relationships because 1) it is important
to capture knowledge and learn from the
customers in order to be able to produce highquality professional services, 2) trust between the
buyer and the seller is a key component of a
functioning relationship, and 3) nowadays,
professional services are even outsourced when
customers are focusing on their key
competencies. In those situations special
challenges of relationship coordination are faced.
There are also characteristics of the professional
service itself that may justify KAM system
implementation. The selling, development and
realization of professional services takes place
very intensively and in an integrated process with
the customer. The services are often highly
tailored to suit specific needs. Thus, the KAM
system may offer a supportive structure for this
type of service production. A considerable part
of the job in professional service organizations
involves common idea creation and
brainstorming among experts, when there is a
group of professionals conducting the same
project for the customer. The KAM system may
also provide a supportive structure for internal
cooperation and knowledge transfer in the form
of a cross-functional KAM team, for example
Academic Article
(see also Nätti et al. 2006). Considering these
characteristics of the professional service, it is
natural to see the KAM system as an effective
tool to facilitate relationship coordination and
customer-related interactions both internally and
externally in the professional service
organization.
Professional service organizations and key
account management
Many organizations are trying to achieve a
competitive advantage and stability by creating
strategic relationships and alliances with their
customers and suppliers, and key account
management is one result of this development
(Millman & Wilson 1995). Sellers acknowledge
that better customer relationship coordination
increases customer loyalty and customer
retention, improving organizations’ competitive
advantage (Abratt & Kelly 2002). In many
business-to-business contexts, serving fewer,
larger customers is generally more profitable
than selling to a larger amount of smaller
customers (Boles, Johnston & Gardner 1999).
Stevenson (1981) concludes that the key benefits
of account management are increased share of
buyer’s purchases, increased sales and profits,
and improved communication between buyer
and seller.
Customer relationships are central especially in
professional service organizations, whose
relationships differ from other industries in
terms of richer and deeper interaction between
different parties (Dawson 2000). Knowledge,
which is the most important resource in
developing professional services, is mostly
gained in customer interaction (Halinen 1997,
48) for which key account management may
offer a facilitative structure.
Winter 2007
9
Discussion around key account management
systems can also be seen as a natural
consequence of the current discussion of
organizational customer-orientation. In that
discussion we can see influences from different
areas: industrial marketing, organizational buying
behavior, sales management, procurement
management, network and relationship
marketing (see e.g. McDonald, Millman &
Rogers 1997; Homburg et al. 2002). For example,
Homburg et al. (2002) have conceptualized the
research on KAM activities on three different
levels depending on the focus: 1) key account
managers, 2) dyadic relationships between the
seller and key account and 3) KAM system
planning in the organizations. Of these, the first
one is related to sales management and the
second one is closely related to relationship
marketing discourse (see also Millman & Wilson
1995; Shapiro & Moriarty 1984). The third group
is the most extensive one; however, it does not
connect all these focal aspects of key account
management together.
In this article we focus on KAM system in the
professional service organization, especially on
its implementation process. Our aim is to offer a
holistic description. We base our presentation on
empirically grounded categorization which
examines the following three aspects of KAM
implementation and its challenges in professional
service organizations: the organization’s
operational capabilities needed in KAM
implementation, organizing the KAM system
and finally, KAM organization and its
individuals.
Related to the three aspects mentioned, for
example Ojasalo (2001) refers to the importance
of the development of operational-level capabilities
related to products and services, organizational
structure, information exchange and individuals.
Vol. 7, No. 1
10
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
Millman and Wilson (1999) see that excellent
products and advanced levels of technical and
process knowledge as well as the ability to apply
these to customer problems ensure an effective
way of serving customers at the operational
level. Knowledge transfer internally in the
professional service organization is indeed seen
as an important factor when implementing
KAM. For example, Walter (1999) sees that one
important relationship-specific coordination task
is to search, filter, judge and store information
related to customer’s organization, strategies,
goals, potentials and problems. In addition,
related to the operational capabilities, Shapiro
and Moriarty (1984b) talk about “support
functions”, referring to the physical production
and delivery of goods, pricing and the marketing
departments, for example.
Internal organizing of the KAM system is also a
central theme in the implementation process of
key account management. When implementing
the KAM system, many decisions related to
systems design and organizations have to be
made (see e.g. Shapiro and Moriarty 1984a). It is
suggested that a supplier’s ability to respond to
key accounts’ needs can be improved by
adjusting the organizational structure and
developing special teams to take care of the
accounts (also McDonald et al. 1997). It is
important to consider the position of the
manager him/herself in the organization, his/her
relation to current sales activities and possible
conflicts within the organization due to KAM
system implementation (Boles et al. 1999). There
is also the problematic question of to what
extent selling companies should adjust their
internal structures, systems and processes to suit
those of their key accounts (Millman & Wilson
1996). It is worth mentioning that for example
Kempeners and van der Hart (1999) have
Northern Illinois University
developed a model for decision-making in the
design of account management systems,
including decisions related to the integration and
position of KAM, key account managers and
teams.
Designing a suitable organization of individuals for key
account management is also an essential part of
the implementation process, e.g., selecting the
right people as key account managers and for
KAM teams (Ojasalo 2001). A key account
manager needs to possess some skills and
capabilities, such as integrity, product/service
knowledge, communication skills, understanding
of the buying company’s business and business
environment as well as selling and negotiating
skills. (McDonald et al. 1997). The key account
manager facilitates knowledge absorption from
the customer, as he/she is responsible for the
customer relationship as a whole instead of just
single projects as in professional organizations
(Nätti et al. 2006). Furthermore, the involvement
of other employees besides key account
managers is important in order to maximize
resources, develop trust and build relationships
(Abratt & Kelly 2002). Barret (1986) sees that in
the case of account management there should be
a group or a team of people influencing a team
of buyers being able to reach the customer
better. The members of the team can take care
of the various contacts between the seller and
the buyer, and the key account manager is in
charge of this (McDonald et al. 1997). A key
account team can be seen as a forum for
discussing issues related to the specific customer,
and it fosters internal knowledge-sharing,
facilitating cooperation between different
professional groups (Nätti et al. 2006).
Academic Article
Research methodology
This article is based on a qualitative, explorative
single-case study in a professional service
organization implementing the KAM system for
the first time (Yin 2003). The case organization
is named “Primum”. Our intention was to create
new knowledge of the phenomenon under study
by selecting a case rich in information.
Semi-structured interviews were the primary
method used to collect data, and data collection
took place in Primum at two different stages:
before the KAM implementation process and
during the process. Interviews revolved around
themes that were organized in such a way that
they covered the phenomena confronted
internally in the professional service
organization. Before the implementation process
the themes focused on the prevailing challenges
of customer relationship coordination, the
characteristics of the professional organization
and professionalism in general. Informants were
also encouraged to tell about their customer
relationships and their predominant ways of
coordinating customer relationships in the
organization on a practical level. At the second
stage the interviewees involved were asked to tell
about the key account management program,
how it was organized and what parties were
involved.
Informants at the first stage were people
responsible for the organizational development
and professionals conducting individual projects
with the customers. At the second stage they
were people responsible for key account
management in the company. For example, key
account managers and the development manager
responsible for the KAM implementation were
interviewed. A total of 11 interviews (of 8
informants) were done at the first stage during
Winter 2007
11
2003 and 2004, 5 interviews were carried out at
Primum during 2006, one of which was a group
interview. Thus, the total amount of informants
at this second stage was 7.
All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed.
The research material including interviews, other
documentation and notes of observation was
analyzed with the help of content coding, themebased categorization, matrixes and mind
mapping. The analysis began by us reading the
material through several times. During that
process we picked up key words (coding) and
discovered themes, which gave us the possibility
to proceed to building matrixes of the different
themes brought up related to potential
challenges of KAM implementation, for
example. Mind mapping was also helpful when
developing connections between theoretical
concepts and empirical phenomena.
During the research process it became evident
that this data strongly emphasized the challenges
confronted in the KAM implementation process
and in this specific context. Therefore we chose
to base our article on those themes. In the
following, we present the case description and
analysis, followed by managerial implications. In
the end of the paper, empirically-based
conclusions are drawn.
Empirical findings; challenges of KAM
implementation in professional service
organizations
The point of departure
Primum is a professional service organization offering
educational and consultancy services in Finland. A
lion’s share of their customers come from companies
representing traditional industries, such as paper and
metal industries, but lately medium-sized companies
from new industrial sectors and public organizations
have also become more important customer segments.
Vol. 7, No. 1
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
The special expertise areas of Primum are
human resource management, organization
development, social and co-operative skills,
production, economy, quality and project
management. Thus, a wide variety of different
types of expertise is represented, ranging from
personal interaction skills to technical issues
such as paper machine maintenance. Primum
employs a total of 60 people. The organizational
design is matrix-like, where the areas of expertise
mentioned are combined into subgroups
focusing on different types of professional
services in the area of leadership, human
resource management services, production
technology and production-related services.
Every expertise unit has its own superior, and
internally in the unit, professionals responsible
for narrower expertise areas. Professionals in the
group usually have quite a similar type of
education and/or background.
Based on this expertise of Primum, service
offerings are formed for customers by planning
and conducting open programs, companyspecific programs and company-specific
consulting, and by forming strategic partnerships
with the customer. Among these services,
strategic partnership is a new form of
cooperation, whereas all the others are
traditional ways of bringing the expertise of the
organization to the customer. While building the
business area of strategic partnerships,
developing a key account management system
for Primum has also become topical.
Primum started its key account management
program approximately two years ago (2004),
and the system is thus still quite new in the
organization. For the most important customers,
“strategic partners”, Primum has chosen - based
on their customer experience and industry
orientation - consultants (all together 10
Northern Illinois University
persons) to act as key account managers. Those
consultants are also responsible for the key
account management system implementation
together with the development manager in
charge. The aim is that key account managers
meet up regularly to improve the system itself
and to discuss account-specific issues, including
key account portfolio updates. KAM activities
naturally also include marketing and selling, as
well as interactions like meetings with the
customer, where the situation of the relationship
is updated. Before KAM implementation there
was already an information system established to
handle customer-specific and expertise-related
information organizationally. The kind of system
is seen as a real asset from the key account
management perspective, too.
Why set up a KAM system at Primum? The
original plan has been that with the help of this
system, key customer relationships could be
more effectively and profitably coordinated on
the organizational level. Earlier activities have
been fragmented, and every professional has
more or less coordinated their own customer
relationships. This has led to a situation where
the service offering may have been one-sided
and interactions with the client representatives
unsystematic. Thus, there has been no one
taking care of the relationship itself, although
many professionals might have been conducting
individual projects simultaneously for the same
customer. From the customer point of view,
fragmented actions have often been perceived as
distracting; for example, two experts from
Primum may have worked intensively with the
customer within their own projects without
knowledge of each other, or similar types of
services have been offered by different
professionals from Primum. There were thus
plenty of overlapping activities.
Academic Article
Challenges faced
implementation
Winter 2007
in
Primum’s
KAM
From the empirical data it became evident that
there are certain dilemmas in implementing the
KAM system in professional service
organizations. Firstly, there seems to be a search of
balance between controlling the system and local flexibility
gained by delegating power to the managers. The
idea of establishing a KAM system was brought
up by the higher management of the company,
which has also done strategic planning and
organized KAM activities. However, in the
implementation process the power was to a large
extent delegated to the key account managers,
whereas they found that their field of activities
should be more thoroughly defined and there
should an obligation to report to the
management board. Thus, as is usually the case
in professional organizations, freedom is valued,
but people in charge of the KAM system also
seem to appreciate a certain level of formal
control system.
“Well the fact is that we have the customers, we
have a system, we have an organization so to speak,
but no one’s really given much thought to the way
the process actually works.” (Consultant A)
Secondly, based on the empirical material it is
interesting to evaluate to what extent the KAM
system should be integrated to the professional
organization itself, and to what extent it should
be kept separate. Should there be separate key
account managers on a full-time basis, or should
the professionals themselves take care of the
activities besides their work as an expert? From
one point of view it is natural that professionals
take care of the KAM activities, for they are
interacting intensively with the customer.
However, in that case they have to do it besides
their “everyday work”. In such a scenario, do
13
they have the time and resources to conduct
such
time-consuming tasks as relationship
coordination, selling the holistic offering of an
organization to the key customer, and in many
ways maintaining the relationship above the
project-level activities? Are professionals even
willing to do that?
“…in my case and maybe with other KAMs or
the like as well you kind of get this gut feeling that
you’re most at home being that expert, and
you’ve got so much to give there that you really
don’t want to do these things, but the thing is that
they’ve had to appoint someone.” (Consultant C)
“…you just can’t find time for it, and it’s just not
in my nature to take that time from the
productive work I do. And then it just kind of
gets neglected. Taking care of those KAM
activities.” (Consultant C)
If the KAM is one of the professionals, are the
roles clear, does a real KAM organization even
exist? Does the customer know who is
responsible for that specific relationship on a
long-term basis? This is related to the third
dilemma, i.e., the role of information gatekeeping
between the seller and buyer. On the one hand it is
beneficial to keep as many actors as possible in
contact with the customer, and it is also
beneficial if as many actors as possible are active
on the customer side. In that way information
flows are not prohibited between the
organizations by a single actor. However, such
multiple relationships make relationship
coordination and customer knowledge
management more difficult. The KAM system
should also be seen
from the customer
knowledge management point of view.
“…the problem here may be that the experts
that we’ve got in this expert organization, they’re
all very independent, and very stubborn, and,
Vol. 7, No. 1
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
working with. In addition, it is expected that
KAM has a holistic understanding of the whole
service offering its organization has. The KAM
is an actor who connects seller and buyer, and
brings the right service to the customer.
However, professionals named to be KAMs
often lack passion towards anything else except
professional work in their own area of expertise
and developing their own expertise further.
Experts seem to be highly project-oriented, and
customer relationship coordination is not seen as
being “a real job.” They are not particularly
interested in widening their understanding on
the expertise possessed by the whole
organization. This is also related to the fact that
in the KAM role, the expert has a possibility to
“monopolize” the customer when the
well, they might even kind of think that, erm,
because knowledge equals power, you should
keep it to yourself and not share it with
others.” (Consultant B)
There are also some underlying structures of the
organization challenging KAM implementation at
Primum which we were able to define. These
structures naturally influence the phenomena
mentioned earlier and are in that sense
overlapping, but still worth mentioning. First of
all, professionalism and the professionals themselves.
Expertise possessed by the professionals is an
important prerequisite for service production in
this context. Besides professionalism, the key
account manager needs wider understanding of
the entire industry of the customer they are
THE CHALLENGES OF KAM IMPLEMENTATION IN
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE ORGANISATIONS
S
Y
M
P
T
O
M
S
S
T
R
U
C
T
U
R
E
S
Justification and determination of
KAM
Development of services
Transfer of knowledge ,
information systems
Integration of KAM
Organisational structure
Organisational
culture
Resources
Professionalism and
professionals
Follow -up and control
Choosing of key account managers
Customer interface
Involvement of
management
General view of the
account
Personal relationships
Discretion
Professionalism
and professionals
Intensiveness and diversity of customer relationships
Knowledge and
customers as power
INTERNAL
ORGANISING
Developing
professional services
Knowledge and customers
as power
DEVELOPMENT OF
OPERATIONAL
CAPABILITIES
Figure 1. The challenges of key account implementation in professional service organizations.
Northern Illinois University
Discretion
KAM ORGANISATION
Academic Article
Winter 2007
15
relationship is viewed only from the own
expertise point of view, whereas a more holistic
approach would be more beneficial to the
customer. This might also lead to customer
knowledge protectionism, which may further
hamper the relationship coordination.
“Because many people have this attitude that
since they’ve always cooperated with this
company, and they’ve got people there that they
know well, they’re going to be working with
them in the future as well, and that’s the way it
should be.” (Consultant B)
“…when you’ve got big companies [as
customers], interesting new openings that
actually interest you, you’d like to be involved [in
project implementation]. And I think this is the
case with every KAM who’s also an expert in
some field, that there’s this kind of natural
incentive there in all your development and
actions.” (Director G)
As mentioned, professionals may often think
that the customer knowledge they possess improves their
power position in the organization, and that is why
they do not like to share it with others. This
poses an even greater challenge on the
coordination of customer interaction. Partly
because of this, common IT systems are not
actively used to share customer knowledge. This
hampers coordination efforts because
knowledge is not accessible to experts and
KAMs.
Looking from another point of view, it may be
hard for an expert doing a project with the
customer to cooperate with the named KAM
because of a strong will to conduct a project on
an individualistic basis as usual. Customer
relationships are very intensive, diverse and may be
based on long cooperation the client. Because of
the variety and intensity of the relationships and
the influence of professionalism described
earlier, discretion seems to be needed when
implementing key account management. Experts
might even see this kind of organization-level
coordination system as an attack towards their
highly appreciated autonomy in the work.
“We have different trainers who are in charge of
all these individual product groups that we’ve
got here. So the thing is, they work very
independently, and are in touch with companies
very independently, so in a worst-case scenario it
leads to a kind of hassle where no one really
knows what we’re doing with each individual
company. And from the viewpoint of our
operation that can lead to some pretty weird and
even embarrassing situations…” (Consultant B)
Conclusions
The purpose of this paper was to define what
kind of challenges there are for KAM system
implementation in the specific context of
professional service organization. Following
from the previous empirical analysis, conclusions
are illustrated in the following figure, which is
divided into two main parts: underlying
structures and the symptoms caused by them.
The structures and symptoms are related to the
earlier analyzed aspects of organizations’
operational capabilities needed in KAM
implementation, organizing the KAM system
and finally, KAM organization and its
individuals.
Some underlying structures can be recognised
that challenge the implementation of key
account management in a professional
organization. These structures are caused by
special qualities and characteristics of
professional work, professional service
organizations and services. We have identified
Vol. 7, No. 1
16
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
six main underlying structures: professionalism
and the professionals themselves, the
development of professional services, possession
of customers and knowledge, personal
relationships, intensity and diversity of customer
relationships and the need for discretion. These
structures cause some symptoms and challenges
that need to be solved when implementing
KAM.
As mentioned in earlier theory, operational
capabilities can involve the development of
services, organizational structure, information
transfer and individuals of the organization.
Besides these, some other capabilities can also be
recognized that are linked to professional service
organizations such as resources, follow-up and
control mechanisms as well as the importance of
justification and determination of goals in the
implementation process.
In the context of professional service
organizations it is important to justify the actions
of a system like KAM as the preliminary
attitudes of the professionals may not be
supportive towards a system such as key account
management. Another operational capability
concerns follow-up and control mechanisms.
Clear responsibilities and tasks need to be
defined. Efficient follow-up and coordination
also emphasizes the importance of the KAM
system for the whole organization, which is
needed in order to facilitate the implementation
process. However, flexibility is also needed, as
clients differ from each other and flexibility is
highly appreciated among professionals.
Discretion is also needed, because the
development of professional services is a very
intensive process with the customer, and
personal contacts and tacit knowledge of the
customer may thus play a central role in that
process. Those who know the customer well
Northern Illinois University
based on earlier cooperation should not be left
aside.
Perhaps the most important operational
capability in the specific context of professional
service organizations is the ability to transfer
knowledge. Basically this means sharing of
customer information and expertise in order to
coordinate customer relationships successfully,
and being able to recognize needs and potential
offerings for those needs. This may, however, be
difficult, as many professionals have their own
personal relationships with the customer and
these relationships are very intensive and diverse
in nature. Professionals may not be willing to
share their knowledge on customers or a specific
area of expertise as they may feel that their
position and status within the organization is
improved by knowledge and customers. This is
seen further for example as unwillingness to
update and utilize common IT systems, such as
the CRM system.
The reason for the intensity and variety of
customer relationships is partly the way
professional services are developed and sold:
with the customers in a very intensive process.
The selling, producing and marketing of services
are all integrated in a process where customers
and professionals work together. The very
challenge is indeed how to coordinate this
process effectively with a tool like key account
management.
When implementing key account management,
one crucial task concerns the internal organizing of
the KAM system. Developing operational
capabilities is naturally one part of this, but there
are also some other things to consider besides
this. Considering the integration of the key
account management system is one of the first
steps in the implementation process, as it is
Academic Article
possible to establish a wholly separate
organization for KAM, or it can be integrated
into the organization. The position of key
account management also needs to be clearly
expressed in the structure positioning in the
customer interface.
Organizational culture also needs to support the
implementation of key account management by
being customer-oriented and cooperative. In a
professional organization where services are
developed in an intensive relationship with the
customers, people and their actions are naturally
very much customer oriented, “outward”
looking. Internal cooperation in the professional
organization on the other hand may be more
problematic as professionals may not want to
share their knowledge on customers or expertise.
Key account management could also be seen as a
potential forum for cooperation.
When implementing key account management, a
suitable KAM organization has to be developed.
This mainly means selecting key account
managers who are responsible for the KAM
system. There are many requirements for these
managers as they need to possess
professionalism and wider understanding as well
as the ability and willingness to serve the
customers and answer their needs.
Unfortunately, professionals may not see a
system such as key account management worth
working for besides their professional work in
individual customer projects.
Along with choosing the key account manager,
developing key account teams may be very
useful in the context of professional service
organization, as professionals meet up regularly
and share information in the teams. Customers
can also be involved in these teams besides
professionals.
Winter 2007
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The following themes for further research and
limitations emerged from the present study. As a
qualitative single case study has some limitations
concerning the possibilities to make a
comparative analysis, it would be interesting to
conduct a multiple case study in the future
including other than professional service
organizations. Based on that, interesting
comparisons could be made. In this study we
focused solely on educational and consultancy
services, which is why it would be interesting to
study the phenomenon in other professional
industries as well. As we interviewed only people
from the professional service organization, the
viewpoint of customers would provide an
additional perspective on the phenomenon
under study.
Managerial implications
Certain managerial viewpoints and approaches
can be suggested worth considering in the
implementation process and/or to compensate
the negative influences that may be caused by
underlying structures in the professional service
organization. When implementing key account
management, there are some problems and
challenges that managers need to solve in order
to succeed. First of all, justification and determination
of goals seems to be quite a challenging task in the
implementation process of key account
management in a professional service
organization. The attitudes of professionals may
be quite negative towards actions such as KAM,
and it may therefore be difficult to make them
understand why the system is being implemented
in the first place. The goals should be
determined collectively and they should be
outlined systematically on a continuous basis.
This calls for special attention in the
implementation process. Another challenge
relating to this is weak and low commitment of
Vol. 7, No. 1
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
experts which hinders the KAM implementation.
In order to achieve high commitment from the
whole organization and especially from the
persons that are directly involved, goals and
tasks should be clearly determined and KAM
system implementation justified so that experts
are able to see how the system can also benefit
them on an individual level, for that may the
most meaningful point of view for professionals.
It is also important to notice that if those
benefits are not realized quite soon, the
motivation to maintain the system may vanish.
Involvement of the top management is also an
important prerequisite in the implementation
process. Effective follow-up and control are
important ingredients in KAM implementation
and achieving commitment from others, but this
also seems challenging in this context. There
clearly is a need for some clear guidelines and
responsibilities from the top management in
order to get some results, but on the other hand,
flexibility is also needed because different
customers need different ways of action and
there are also earlier, intensive professionalcustomer relationships that cannot be
overlooked. The same plans of action do not
apply in every situation. This is quite conflicting
and challenging as both ways are needed, but
some sort of compromise has to be found.
Another challenge concerns the organizational
structure and resources. Organizational structure
should be modified in order to support key
account management. There has to be a clear
position for key account management in the
structure, and this should be clearly
communicated to the personnel. On the other
hand, the implementation of the system and the
development of organizational structure at the
same time may be too many changes too soon,
so incremental and consistent change as well as
Northern Illinois University
discretion is also needed. Another decision has
to be made about the integration of key account
management. One option is to establish a separate
organization for key account management with
full-time account managers who have their own
subordinates. If key account management is
integrated into the organization, there are
different possibilities. One option is for
professionals themselves to work as key account
managers on a part–time basis. Another option
is to have industry-specific key account
managers working as a pair side by side with
professionals in a specific industry. These
managers work full time. Each organization has
to decide which solution is best for them. Lack
of resources may be a problem concerning the
implementation process. It should therefore be
guaranteed that the people involved have
enough time to focus on their efforts to build up
reasonable KAM activities. If the strategic choice
to establish KAM system is made, sufficient
resources to maintain it should also be provided
in any case. Otherwise the work conducted may
be wasted. Based on our empirical material, it
should be carefully considered whether the best
alternative is to choose a professional to act as a
KAM besides his/her other jobs, or whether
someone should take on the task on a full-time
basis.
In the process of choosing key account managers there
are many factors that need to be considered. That
is why it is also a challenging task. Key account
managers need to possess a sufficient degree of
professionalism, but they also need wider
understanding concerning the expertise areas and
services the whole professional service
organization is able to provide in order to be able
to answer the customers’ needs properly. Besides
this they should also be willing to act as key
account managers.
Academic Article
One major challenge concerned the transfer of
knowledge, both internal and external to
organizations, e.g., customer-related or expertiserelated information. This is a crucial element
supporting key account management. On the
one hand there needs to be cultural cohesion
that fosters cooperation and knowledge-sharing
among the experts, but also a conscious effort to
steer the knowledge sharing via a CRM system,
for example. This would improve knowledge
transfer and utilization, thus supporting the
coordination of customer interaction. Systemic
readiness is only developed by influencing
attitudes, clearing up the motivation behind
using those systems, showing why it is beneficial
for the customer and for the experts themselves,
and by tearing down the competitive attitudes
internally in the organization. Those attitudes
may namely
lead to further knowledge
protectionism and hamper the effectiveness of
the KAM system.
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Winter 2007
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Halinen, A. (1997). Relationship Marketing in
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account selling to key account
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underpinning the customer-facing
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Ojasalo, J. (2001). Key account management at
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Ojasalo, Jukka (2002) “Key Account
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Services, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 269–276.
Shapiro, B. P. and Moriarty, R. T. (1984a).
Organizing the national account force.
Working paper, Marketing Science
Institute, MA.
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“Support systems for national account
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Northern Illinois University
Satu Nätti, Ph.D. is a researcher at the University of Oulu
where she recently earned her Ph.D. in Marketing. Her research
interest lies in customer-related capability development in professional service organizations. Her main interest within this area is
customer-specific knowledge sharing capabilities.
Jukka Ojasalo, Ph.D. is Professor of Marketing at Lappeenranta University of Technology in the Department of Business Administration. He has worked for several years in the IT
industry doing R&D and account management. He has published articles in journals such as Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services, International Journal of Customer Relationships Management, Managing Service Quality,
and The Market Review. Dr. Ojasalo’s email address is
jukka.ojasalo@lut.fi.
Teea Palo is a researcher at the University of Oulu. Her
research interest lies in professional service organizations and key
account management systems.
Winter 2007
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Are you willing to relocate? Recruiting the college
student in today’s mobile work environment
by Richard E. Buehrer, Michael A. Mallin &
Deirdre E. Jones
Willingness to relocate is just one factor that companies use to profile the ideal employment candidate. While most of the
relocation literature focuses on the relocation of current employees, this exploratory study investigates the issue through
the eyes of the recent marketing college graduate. Marketing students were surveyed relative to their attitudes toward
relocation. Eight demographic variables and twelve attitude statements were studied to explore the ability to predict
students’ willingness to relocate. The findings show a student’s level of activity in campus organizations, marital status, and
several attitudes relative to promotion and success are predictors of marketing students’ willingness to relocate.
Introduction
The demographic makeup of the American
workforce is cause for concern among human
resource managers who are responsible for
recruiting, selecting, and hiring for marketing
and sales positions. First off, a vast majority of
business students enter the workforce as
salespeople (Stevens & Kinni 2007).
Furthermore, the growth in the number of nonretail salespeople is expected at a rate of 7%19% through 2014, faster than any other sector
(U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor
Statistics 2006). Second, the oldest of the Baby
Boomer workers (those born between 1946 and
1964) are turning 60 years of age and are racing
towards retirement at a rate of 7,918 per day
(Administration on Aging/Department of
Health and Human Services 2006). Third, the
estimated 53 million members of the Millennial
generation (born between 1981 and 2002
(Bartlett 2005), are the prime replacement
marketing and sales targets and are not large and
geographically disperse enough to fill the needs
of the retiring Baby Boomer workforce.
In recognition of these problems, business
colleges are busy preparing their graduates to fill
the shoes of retiring workers.
Likewise,
recruiters are drawn to campuses in pursuit of
students who are skilled in the areas best suited
to fill job their job vacancies. Listen in on any of
these job interviews and you are likely to hear
the question, “Are you willing to relocate?” This
simple inquiry sends chills of uncertainty
through college recruiters and graduating college
students alike. This is because hiring entry level
workers who are open to relocation is
increasingly important to recruiters, yet little is
understood in the way of being able to identify
these recruits. What is designed a qualifying
interview question still remains ineffective at
identifying entry-level candidates who are willing
to pack their bags to pursue a career away from
home. As one Fortune-100 recruiter puts it, “…
students will answer the question about
relocation with a yes … mainly because they like
to travel, want to see new things, or want to get
away from where they grew up. Upon deeper
questioning, the student really hadn’t thought it
through seeing that they will have to make an
effort to make (new) friends, join a health club,
and get involved so that they have a life, not just
a job, in the new community…”
Vol. 7, No. 1
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
To address the problem, this research explores
the relationship between college students’
attitudes toward relocation and their stated
willingness to relocate. We explore this in the
business domain by predicting a marketing
major’s stated willingness to relocate based on
both demographic and attitude data. This
research is important to recruiters since gaining
an understanding of this relationship may aid in
identifying, interviewing, and selecting the right
recruits to meet firms’ long-term employment
needs. For business faculty and career services
professionals, such knowledge can enhance the
process of connecting students with recruiters
with specific job location needs. For all involved
in the placement, recruitment, and selection
process, this may be a needed step in the
matching of college graduates to satisfying and
long-term careers.
Background
A vast amount of research can be found in the
social science literature regarding issues,
problems and concerns expressed by HR
professionals regarding the willingness of their
current work force to relocate. However, there
is little empirical data regarding the willingness
of prospective workers to relocate, in particular
college students post graduation. Findings of
relocation studies conducted on employers’
existing work force (Frank 2000; Hendershott
1995; Reimer 2000; Stroh 1999; & Wong 1999)
reveal that responsibility for elderly parents,
number of previous moves, attitude toward the
destination, involvement in the community,
career motivation, and perceived stress
associated with a move are all attitudinal factors
impacting a worker’s willingness to relocate.
Demographic factor research in the relocation
literature exists but provides mixed findings.
Northern Illinois University
Studies on age suggest two competing
paradigms. The first theory is that older workers
are less willing to relocate because they are more
established in their career, family, and geographic
area than a younger worker (Gould & Penley
1985; Mobley 1982; Brett & Werbel 1980).
Alternatively, older workers are more willing to
relocate because of their investment of time
committed to their organizations (Meyer & Allen
1984). This suggests that age alone is not a
primary factor influencing a worker’s willingness
to relocate (Stroh 1999). Research on gender as
a factor suggests that females are usually less
willing to relocate because they associate
relocation with family conflict (Breen 1983).
However, females often move for their spouse's
relocation (Markham et al. 1983; Markham &
Pleck 1986) unless they are the primary provider
of financial support. Stroh (1999) points out
that measuring the difference between
willingness to relocate based on gender is
difficult because typically men are offered more
opportunities for relocation than women. This
implies that female (relocation) subjects are
fewer and the data is skewed based on gender.
Relative to family factors, Hall and Hall (1978)
found that a significant number of relocation
offers are turned down because of lack of
spousal support or concern for the children's
well being. The presence of children makes an
employee less likely willing to relocate (Hall &
Hall 1978), unless a substantial pay increase was
involved (Araji, 1983) or the children were older
(Turban et al. 1992).
The research here is
somewhat mixed as some studies have found a
strong positive link between marital status and
willingness to relocate (Araji 1983; Brett & Reilly
1988) while others have found that married
women are less likely want to relocate than
married men (Gaylord 1984). A study by Gould
Academic Article
and Penley (1985) suggests that when both a
husband and wife are employed, both parties
would be more willing to relocate for each other.
Gould and Penley (1985) cite that dual income
households have more money to finance a move.
Other studies found that when traditional gender
roles are assumed, families may be more willing
to relocate (Lamont & Wuthnow 1990; Bielby &
Bielby 1992). Traditional gender roles mean that
a wife is more willing to move to accommodate
her husband’s career. On the contrary, many
studies have found that employees with
employed spouses are less willing to relocate
(Brett & Reilly 1988; Bielby & Bielby 1992;
Lichter 1982; Martin & Roberts 1984). A move
has to be financially worthwhile to counter the
employed spouse’s income. In particular, a
woman will be less willing to relocate for her
husband’s career if she is very involved in a
career of her own.
Attitudes Toward Relocation
Workers’ attitudes may impact their stated
willingness to relocate for their jobs. Two
theories useful for understanding an individual’s
attitude toward a particular behavior are the
theory of reasoned action (Fishbein & Ajzen
1975) and theory of planned behavior (Ajzen
1991; Fishbein & Ajzen 1975). The first theory
suggests human behavior is predicated on an
individual’s attitude toward the behavior, that is, “an
individual’s positive or negative feelings about
performing the target behavior”. Attitudes
toward a behavior are predicated on an
individual’s belief system and the perceived
importance one places on the combined set of
these beliefs (Fishbein & Ajzen 1975). Such
beliefs may be formed based on childhood
experiences (e.g., children of parents who move
a lot) or adult career modeling (e.g., one’s family
moved frequently to advance a parent’s career)
Winter 2007
23
(Dette & Dalbert 2005). According to the
theory of planned behavior, subjective norms are
also considered in the formation of behavioral
intentions. Such norms are people’s beliefs
about how other people they care about (e.g.,
friends and family) will view the behavior in
question. This was reinforced by the research of
Kracke (1997) who found that parents play a
major role in the decision-making process of
their children. In the context of relocation, a
worker may form a negative attitude about
moving based on the belief that a family member
may require them to remain nearby (e.g., “I
anticipate my parents requiring my care within
the next five years”).
Likewise, friends and
spousal attitudes toward moving may serve to
capture normative influences (Brett & Reilly
1988). For example, a worker who has a positive
attitude about the relocating may indicate so by
the attitudinal statement, “most of my friends
will relocate for careers after graduation.”
One’s attitude toward the destination may shape his/
her willingness to relocate. A worker who has a
positive attitude about the destination and has
some familiarity with the area is likely more
willing to relocate than one who is unfamiliar
with the new territory (Carruthers & Pinders
1993). Likewise, studies have indicated that
negative attitudes toward relocation may be
formed when the relocation destination is
viewed as dissimilar to what the individual
considers “home” (Vardi 1977). According to
Riemer (2000), the concept of home is more
than just a physical location or house rather it is
a more all-inclusive concept. Home is an area
where people identify themselves relative to
childhood memories and feelings of belonging.
When someone moves, he/she is losing a part of
him/herself; a major part of him/her is
changing. To these people, relocation signifies a
Vol. 7, No. 1
24
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
new beginning (Riemer 2000). An example of an
attitudinal statement here is, “I want to relocate
to an area that is similar to what I consider
home.”
One’s sense of career development and advancement
may also serve to form attitudes toward
relocation. A worker may view relocation a
necessary part of being successful in the job or
advancement of one’s career. Such attitudes
form as early as high school (e.g., “I am
preparing for a career that may require me to
relocate”). Feeling the pressures to enter the
workforce, adolescents may choose careers
requiring them to move to colleges that are away
from their homes (Dette & Dalbert 2005).
According to the American Council on
Education (2004) of those who go to college,
18% moved more than 50 miles and 35% moved
101-500 miles from their permanent home. This
is evidence that one’s attitudes toward career
development and advancement play a role in
willingness to relocate.
Given this background, we can begin to
understand the factors that may be considered
when predicting one’s willingness to relocate.
Understanding such factors can be a powerful
recruitment and selection tool for employers.
Unfortunately, there are few, if any relocation
studies that focus on the business college student
or recent business graduate as its subject and
their attitudes toward relocation. Therefore, we
use this as a platform to advance the existing
literature by addressing the following questions:
What are some of the demographics that can be
used to profile a business college student who is
willing to relocate?
What attitudes towards relocation are likely to
predict that a business college student is willing
to relocate?
Northern Illinois University
Methodology
Sample and Data Collection
Junior/senior level, full-time, students were
solicited based on a convenience sample from
six major universities located in the eastern half
of the United States. Each of these universities
expressed an interest in better understanding the
issue of students’ willingness to relocate after
graduation. The majority of these students were
marketing majors and/or students with a strong
interest in professional sales as a career choice.
This group was of particular interest because
careers in marketing and sales are more often
associated with relocation than careers in other
business fields (Brett and Werbel 1980). The
population studied represented a mix of
commuter and residential students with the
majority of students (72%) being in their senior
year of college. Three hundred and thirteen
students were given an in-class survey, producing
238 usable responses, which resulted in a 76%
response rate.
Seventy-five surveys were
eliminated from the sample because of missing
or incomplete responses.
Survey Instrument
Prior to full deployment, a survey was developed
and pretested using a small sample of college
students at one pre-selected university. Changes
to the survey were made to address instruction
clarity and length issues. After a redraft, the
survey was distributed to students at six major
universities who agreed to participate in the
study. Directions were given orally to the
respondents during class time. The only specific
directions given were regarding the definitions of
relocation and home. Relocation was defined as
either initially accepting a job (at least 100 miles)
away from the perceived “home”, or accepting a
job near (within 100 miles) “home”, and then
Academic Article
being relocated. The student based on what he/
she considered to be home defined “home”.
Subjects were asked to keep their definition
consistent throughout the survey. No other
directions were given. Next, the administrator
orally explained the confidentiality of the survey.
To ensure confidentiality, the students inserted
their own surveys into an envelope so that the
administrator could not see any personal data.
Sample items from the survey questionnaire are
included in the paper’s appendix (shown on
page30 following this article). Subjects were
asked: “Would you be willing to relocate (move
more than 100 miles from what you consider to
be your home) in order to fulfill your work plans
upon graduation?”
The response to this
question was either “yes”, “no”, or “don’t
know”.
Next, the survey measured eight
demographic variables: home distance from
university, campus activity level, gender, age,
marital status, spousal employment, presence
(and number) of children, and grade point
average. Home distance from university is the
number of miles a student lived away from
“home” while pursuing an undergraduate degree.
Campus activity level is the degree of involvement
that a student has with campus organizations;
participants were given four self selected levels
to choose from (1 = uninvolved to 4 = very
active). This demographic variable was chosen
because moderate to higher levels of
involvement in campus organizations may
indicate a student’s ability and willingness to
adapt to and forge new relationships. Relocation
to a new environment would require the desire
and ability to make new friends, establish
relationships with colleagues, and exercise
leadership skills. Grade point average was chosen
because some recruiters use it as a selection tool
to find the “top” academic students. It may be
Winter 2007
25
reasonable to assume that students with higher
grade point averages might have more job offers
(Barr and McNeilly 2002). Having more job
offers gives the student more choices to decide
on whether he/she is going to relocate.
Conversely, students with lower grade point
averages might have fewer job offers and fewer
choices about relocation. Other demographic
variables included: gender = male or female, age =
years a person has lived, martial status = single/
divorced or married/engaged, spousal employment
= yes or no, and the presence of children is the
number and ages of children that a respondent
may have.
Students were then asked to respond (yes or no)
as to their agreement with twelve statements
reflective of their attitudes toward relocation for
a job upon graduation. These statements were
developed to capture their relocation attitudes
relative to their: friends/family, career, and
sense of home.
Analysis and Results
Sample descriptive statistics profiling the mean,
standard deviation, and correlation among the
demographic variables are illustrated in Table 1
(shown on page 26). In order to address the
objectives of the study, separate binary logistic
regression analyses were performed in order to
predict (student relocation) group membership
(Malhotra 2006) based on both demographic and
attitude statement variables. To do so, the
binary response (dependent) variable was
willingness to relocate (yes = 1 = 175 cases, no
= 0 = 63 cases).
Table 2 (shown on page 26) illustrates the results
of the demographic predictors. Here, two of the
eight predictors were significant. These were:
active in campus organizations (b = .382, p < 05) and
marital status = single/divorced (b = 1.995, p
Vol. 7, No. 1
26
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
Table 1
Means, Standard Deviation, and Correlation among Variables
Variable
Mean
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0.67
0.47
139.10
456.88
.064
1
3 Level Activity in Campus Orgs.
2.34
1.02
.119
-.019
1
4 Gender = male
0.46
0.50
.035
.149*
-.080
23.07
4.75
-.058
.121*
-.272**
6 Marital Status = single/divorced
0.81
0.39
.194**
-.011
.155*
.060
-.386**
1
7 Spouse Employed
0.86
0.35
.175**
-.019
.161**
.071
-.381**
.979**
8 Number of Children
0.13
0.51
-.006
-.067
-.251**
.013
.408**
-.444**
9 Grade Point Average
3.10
0.41
-.016
.100
.212**
-.007
1 Willingness to Relocate
2 Home Distance from University
5 Age
*
Std Dev
8
1
1
-.042
1
-.107
.092
1
-.426**
.104
1
-.020
Correlation is significant at the p < .05 level (2-tailed)
** Correlation is significant at the p < .01 level (2-tailed)
Table 2
Demographic Predictors of Students’ Willingness to Relocate Logistic
Regression Results a
Predictor Variables
Beta coef.
Std. error
P-value
Home Distance from University (miles)
.000
.000
.407
Active in Campus Organizations
.382
.169
.024*
Gender = Males
.344
.323
.287
Age (years)
-.009
.035
.795
Marital Status = Single/Divorced
1.995
1.026
.049*
Spouse/Fiance Empployed = Yes (if married)
.754
1.027
.463
Number of Children
.596
.338
.078
Grade Point Average
-.589
1.955
.905
a
Hosmer and Lemeshow Model Fit Test: chi-square = 5.494 (sig = .704)
Overall Percentage of cases correctly predicted = 76.9
N = 238 *p<=.05
Northern Illinois University
Academic Article
Table 3
Winter 2007
27
Attitude Predictors of Students’ Willingness to Relocate Logistic
Regression Results a
Attitude (agree with the following statements)
Beta coef. Std. error
P-value
“Its is more likely that I will have to relocate because I have a college degree.”
1.248
.456
.006**
“I anticipate my parents requiring my care within the next five years.”
-2.120
.662
.001**
“I want to relocate to an area that is similar to what I consider home.”
.512
.376
.172
“I am preparing for a career that is often associated with relocation.”
1.087
.415
.009**
“There are realistic alternatives to relacation.”
-.797
.504
.114
“I would no relocate for a career if the salary was too low.”
-.287
.469
.541
“I think that relocation is necessary for me to be successful in my career
1.493
.495
.003**
“I have given or would give dishonest answers about relocating in a job interview.”
-1.200
.600
.045*
“Most of my friends will be relocating for jobs during their lifetime.”
-.177
.432
.681
“My parents had to relocate for jobs during their lifetime.”
.481
.419
.251
“There are not many job opportunities in my career field near my home.”
.292
.421
.487
“Employees who turn down relocation offers are less likely to be promoted and are
considered less committed to the company.”
.692
.382
.070
a
Hosmer and Lemeshow Model Fit Test: chi-square = 2.866 (sig = .942)
Overall Percentage of cases correctly predicted = 81.1
N = 238 *p<=.05
88p<=.01
<= .05). Overall, this model predicted correctly
76.9% of the cases with a reasonable Hosmer
and Lemeshow Model Fit Indicator (chi-square
= 5.494, sig. = .704). The Hosmer and
Lemeshow Model Fit Test measures the
correspondence of the actual and predicted
values of the dependent variable. In this case,
better model fit is indicated by a non-significant
chi-square value depicted by smaller chi-square
and larger significance values (Hair et al. 1998).
Table 3 provides the attitudes expressed by
students as predictors of willingness to relocate.
Overall, this model predicted correctly 81.1% of
the cases with a good Hosmer and Lemeshow
Model Fit Indicator (chi-square = 2.866, sig.
= .942). The five significant attitude statements
predicting membership in this group were:
“It is more likely that I will have to relocate because I have
a college degree” (b = 1.248, p < .01)
“I anticipate my parents requiring my care within the
next five years” (b = -2.120, p < .01)
“I am preparing for a career that is often associated with
relocation” (b = 1.087, p < .01)
“I think that relocation is necessary for me to be
successful in my career” (b = 1.493, b < .01)
“I would give dishonest answers about relocating in a job
interview” ( b = -1.200, b < .05)
Discussion and Implications
Contrary to some of the existing relocation
literature (Breen 1983; Gould & Penley 1985;
Mobley 1982; Brett & Werbel 1980), several
demographic variables such as gender and age are
Vol. 7, No. 1
28
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
not significant predictors of willingness to
relocate. One explanation for this is that our
sample differs from that traditionally used in
relocation research (i.e., more mature workers).
Our sample of marketing students are likely
younger, with little variation in age, and have
relatively fewer family ties, household
belongings, and childcare responsibilities. At
this age, younger men and younger women likely
share such life stage attributes equally. Thus,
there is little reason to believe that age and
gender account for differences in willingness to
relocate among our student sample. It was also
interesting to note that home distance (miles)
from the university was not a significant
predictor of relocation willingness. One reason
for this finding may stem from our sample
consisting primarily of students with a strong
interest in professional sales as a career choice.
Based on the belief that these future salespeople
have in that they are preparing for a career that is
often associated with relocation, distance from
home is less of a significant issue. It is
explainable that differences in willingness to
relocate are predicted by level of activity in campus
organizations and marital status being single/
divorced.
Moderate to higher levels of
involvement in campus organizations is
indicative of a student’s ability and willingness to
adapt to and forge new relationships. Relocation
to a new environment would require the desire
and ability to make new friends, establish
relationships with colleagues, function in a team
setting, and exercise leadership skills. Also
consistent with the relocation literature (Araji
1983; Brett & Reilly 1988), being single or
divorced allows for flexibility and freedom from
many of the responsibilities that would normally
be a deterrent to relocation.
Some of the significant attitudes found to
predict a marketing student’s willingness to
relocate provide interesting insight into how the
student views relocation relative to the impact
on their family, the recruiting process, and
ultimately success in a career. Those indicating a
willingness to relocate feel that their parents will
not require their care within the next five years.
As a significant attitude, this indicates that the
impact on family is a major relocation
consideration. Relative to the recruiting process,
those willing to relocate indicated that they
would be truthful with a recruiter when asked
about their relocation propensity. This may be
indicative of the honesty and integrity values
instilled upon them from their parents and
friends. This may also be evidence of sound
ethical guidance and counsel emanating from the
business schools where they studied. Several of
the significant attitudes were related to the
students’ view of career success.
College
students believe that relocation is necessary to be
successful in their career and that by nature of
earning a college degree, they will likely have to
relocate. It is possible that these beliefs are
based on the feeling that in today’s global
competitive marketplace, firms will seek to hire
and promote workers that demonstrate
adaptability as well as capability. Replacing
workers is costly, so the individual willing to
relocate may be viewed as an extremely valuable
resource to acquire and retain.
Based on the results of this study, we can begin
to infer that a marketing student’s willingness to
relocate can be profiled. The profile that has
emerged from this exploratory study can be
summarized by suggesting that an undergraduate
marketing student will be willing to relocate if
he/she:
1. Is active in campus organizations
Northern Illinois University
Academic Article
2. Is single/divorced
3. Has parents who will not need care within 5
years
4. Believes that he/she will have to relocate
having received a college degree
5. Believes that he/she is preparing for a career
often associated with relocation
6. Believes that relocation is necessary for a
successful career
The implications of this study are important to
marketing students nearing graduation, corporate
recruiters/human resource managers, and
marketing faculty. For students approaching
graduation (as well as recent college graduates),
this study can be useful in understanding and
validating their own personal feelings towards
job relocation. Such introspection can confirm a
decision to accept a job offer that requires them
to move. For corporate recruiters and human
resource managers, these findings may be used
to supplement answers to questions about job
relocation from students. For example, most
recruiters place value on experience out of the
classroom such as teamwork and leadership
positions within university organizations (Barr
and McNeilly 2002; Taylor 2003). Whereas
studies have shown that students reporting less
free time perform better academically (Ackerman
and Gross 2003), recruiters may wish to probe
further to gather information about students’
level of campus activity. Although an applicant
might say he/she is willing to relocate, a lack of
involvement in activities outside of the
classroom might suggest that the student will
experience challenges acclimating to a new
physical environment. Research studies have
also suggested that marketing academics can
advise and help prepare students for careers in
Winter 2007
29
marketing (see Craig and Bridges 2005;
Chapman and Avila 1991; Goldhehn 1989;
Turley, Shannon, and Miller 1993). Faculty
involvement here should include helping
students set realistic relocation expectations for
their jobs. This may include advising them on
company needs (to relocate employees) and ways
to cope or adapt to new environments.
Conclusion
“Are you willing to relocate?” This important
question posed during a job interview may
trigger feelings of doubt, indecision, and
insecurity for both corporate recruiters and
graduating students during the employment
decision-making process. During our research,
such uncertainty was confirmed by corporate
recruiters, one who openly commented “…I
have found that recent college graduates say they
don’t mind relocating, practically anywhere, but
then down the road they usually want to return
to an office closer to home…” Our research
may serve recruiters here by helping them to
better understand the student demographic and
attitude factors of those students truly willing to
relocate. The findings of our study extend the
extant relocation research while providing a
practical tool for recruiters to supplement their
interviews and intuition. A limitation of our
study stems from our respondents’ concept of
home. We allowed each student to self-define
home (as long as s/he kept this definition
consistent throughout the survey). Based on this
definition there was the possibility that “home”
took on various meanings (e.g., parent’s home,
home-town, etc.) Subsequent research on this
topic might provide for a specific definition of
home for subjects to base their survey responses.
A second limitation and cautionary note for
managers is that some interview questions could
be illegal if they are designed to reveal an
Vol. 7, No. 1
30
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
applicant’s age, sex, race, religion, and national
origin. During the live interview, such illegal
questions should not be asked. However, if such
information is either apparent (e.g., gender and
age range) or volunteered (e.g., marital status),
the research here may provide additional insight
as to whether a student might be willing to
relocate for a job.
Further research on this topic might test for
differences between groups of college students
based on major area of study and academic
program level (i.e., undergraduate versus
graduate). Also, another possible influence on
willingness to relocate may stem from family
history of relocation (i.e., my family relocated
several times during my childhood). Further
study on this topic could include questions
relative to such family history. Seeing that the
basis for this study is classifying individuals as
“willing to relocate”, a logical extension to this
research is the development and testing of a
scale measuring propensity to relocate. Doing so
would enable us to measure the level of one’s
relocation willingness. Such continued research
to understand job candidate relocation
tendencies remains a much-needed aid to
employers in their struggle to attract and retain
human resources in an increasingly competitive
global marketplace.
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Richard E. Buehrer Ph.D. is the Director & Professor of
the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales in the
College of Business Administration at The University of Toledo.
He is the recipient of the University of Toledo Outstanding
Teacher Award, the College of Business Administration DeJute
Memorial Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Sigma Phi
Epsilon Outstanding University teaching Award. He received
his MBA and Ph.D from the University of Toledo. His
publications have appeared in the Journal of Personal Selling &
Sales Management, Journal of Business and Industrial
Management, Industrial Marketing Management, HR Advisor
and HR International.
Michael Mallin Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at The
University of Toledo’s Edward H. Schmidt School of
Professional Sales. He holds a Ph.D. in Marketing from Kent
State University, an MBA from The University of Dayton, and
a BS in Computer & Information Sciences from The Ohio State
University. Dr. Mallin teaches and researches in the area of sales
and sales management. His research interests include salesforce
leadership, motivation, and performance issues. Prior to joining
the University of Toledo, Dr. Mallin’s industry experience
includes positions as Sales Director for The SBC Corporation,
Sales & Marketing Manager, and Account Executive for
AT&T Corp.
Deirdre E. Jones is the Interim Assistant Director of the
Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales in the College
of Business at The University of Toledo. She holds a BBA in
Marketing and an MBA in Information Systems from the
University of Toledo. Prior to joining UT, Ms. Jones was an
Account Executive at WTA Consulting.
Academic Article
Winter 2007
33
Appendix
Sample Questionnaire Items
Would you be willing to relocate (move more than 100 miles from what you consider to be your “home”) for a job
after graduation?
___ yes
___ no
___ don't know
Please check “yes” or “no” for each statement.
yes no
___ ___ It is more likely that I will have to relocate because I have a college degree.
___ ___ I anticipate my parents requiring my care within the next five years.
___ ___ I want to relocate to an area that is similar to what I consider “home”. (size, etc.)
___ ___ I am preparing for a career that is often associated with relocation.
___ ___ There are realistic alternatives to relocation.
___ ___ I would not relocate for a career if the salary were too low.
___ ___ I think that relocation is necessary for me to be successful in my career.
___ ___ I have given or would give dishonest answers about relocating in a job interview.
___ ___ Most of my friends will be relocating for careers after graduation.
___ ___ My parents had to relocate for jobs during their lifetime.
___ ___ There are not many job opportunities in my career field near my "home."
___ ___ Employees who turn down relocation offers are less likely to be promoted and are considered less
committed to the company.
How far away did you live from this university before you started your undergraduate program? ___ miles
I have been _________ in campus organizations during my undergraduate years.
___ very active
___ relatively inactive
___ fairly active
___ uninvolved
Please indicate your sex.
___ male
___ female
Please indicate your age in years. ___ years
Marital status.
___ married
___ divorced
___ single
___ single but engaged
If married or engaged, is your spouse/fiancé employed?
___ yes
___ no
___ not applicable
Do you have children?
___ yes
___ no
If yes, how many children do you have and what are their ages?
___ number of children
______ ages of children
To date, what is your cumulative grade point average?
___ GPA (example 3.2, 2.7, 1.3, etc.)
Vol. 7, No. 1
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
Questions Do Make the Sale
by Bill Brooks
Anyone who has ever sold anything to anybody,
studied sales or persuasion, managed salespeople
or has even passingly read an occasional book on
sales knows the simple truth that questions really
do drive the sale. Why is that? Here are just
three to get us started.
minimum, master the ability to:
1. Questions allow the salesperson to control
the pace, direction, tone and structure of the
sales interaction.
2. Questions allow the prospect to verbalize
problems to be solved, issues to be resolved,
needs to be met and wants to be satisfied.
3. Questions allow the salesperson to present a
solution that is 100% on target for the
prospect’s needs or wants.
•
Ask the right questions.
•
Ask those questions at the right time.
•
Ask the questions of the right people.
•
Be quiet and actively listen.
We will examine the right questions in this
article. We will also address the timing issue.
However, the subject of making sure salespeople
are in front of the right person is quite another
topic. And concentrated listening warrants its
own article of this length or longer. However,
suffice it to say that those right people will have
all, or most, of the following characteristics:
•
They will have a need for the salesperson’s
product or service and know it.
•
They have a true sense of urgency – they
legitimately want or need the product or
service within a relatively short time frame.
•
They have both the authority and ability to
pay for it.
•
They trust the salesperson as well as the
organization they represent.
“I continue to have trouble asking the right
questions.”
•
They are willing and ready to listen to the
salesperson.
“I still tend to interrupt the prospect.”
Now, let’s look at the right time for the questions.
They will fall inside of 8 specific frames or phases
of the sales process. Here they are:
Here, however, is the real problem. Why is it
that salespeople are taught all about questions,
and how to ask them, understand their
importance and still have trouble with their
implementation and use in the field? In our
consulting and training work we consistently
find that the biggest single problem salespeople
continue to have even after extensive training (612 months) always centers around questioning.
Here is the feedback we get in case after case:
“I need more help or training in asking
questions.”
What does all of this mean? What is it that
salespeople actually need to do? They must, as a
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•
Positioning of the salesperson in the mind of
prospect and to the marketplace in general
Application Article
Winter 2007
35
•
Prospecting for business opportunities
•
How am I actually perceived?
•
Pre-Call Planning
•
•
Probing for opportunities
How would I like my organization to be
perceived? How is it actually perceived?
•
Presenting with power
•
What should I/we do to be viewed the way
we need or want to be perceived?
•
Proving claims
•
How is my product/service perceived?
•
Pinpointing objections
•
How should it be perceived?
•
Posturing the transaction
•
With whom do I need to be properly
positioned inside this organization?
•
Who are my toughest competitors in this
market? In this sale?
Salesperson positioning is an often overlooked
skill that many sales managers and salespeople
discredit, yet is essential in successful selling. It
is not unusual for salespeople to believe that
positioning is strictly a function of the brand,
organization or “marketing department.”
However, in the highly competitive world of
today’s selling, the difference between marketing
and sales has become increasingly blurred and
more intertwined than ever before. And the role
of positioning just as critical for the individual
salesperson as it is for any department or the
entire enterprise. For our purposes here we will
define positioning as the relative perception you
(or your product/service, enterprise, sales team
or salesperson) possess in the mind of your
prospect or customer in comparison to all other
options they have for your type of offering.
•
How are they positioned vis-à-vis, me/us?
•
How well am I positioned with related,
strategic markets?
Now, let’s look at questions that are relevant for
each of the “P’s” that go into making the sale.
Positioning
Failure to determine the answers to these eight
questions can put any salesperson and their
organization at great peril. Why is that? Among
the many potential problems are these:
•
Not being positioned in the light that the
prospect/buyer feels to be the most
desirable for a supplier (least risk, low price,
known quantity, quality provider, etc.).
•
Not positioning yourself properly against
your competition.
•
Positioning yourself with the wrong internal
constituency.
Here are the key questions a salesperson should
ask both of themselves and of others during this
early phase of the sales process:
•
Failing to position your product/service/
solution in the most valuable way with the
right market.
Positioning Questions
Clearly, all of these scenarios are not good.
However, proper positioning is, among other
things, a great way to create more “pull” than
“push.” And that difference is critical in the
•
How do I personally want to be perceived
by this prospect or account?
Vol. 7, No. 1
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
•
When is the worst time to contact them?
•
How will I track my data?
•
How many contacts will it take?
•
Am I calling on the right person? At the
right level? At the right time?
•
What is my unique selling proposition?
•
Is this truly a qualified prospect?
•
How do I define a qualified prospect?
•
How will I stay in touch?
•
Do I have an automated system?
Here are some of the most salient questions a
salesperson needs to ask himself or herself in
order to have a successful and profitable
prospecting system in place.
•
Is it usable?
•
When should I give up?
•
Have I identified an internal advocate?
Prospecting Questions
•
How well do I understand the formal and
informal structure and influence dynamics of
the organization?
•
What should I say to leave an effective
voicemail?
•
Do I have a strong prospect nurturing
system in place?
•
How often should I contact them? Through
what format do they prefer to be contacted?
next plan of the sale. It simply makes the
salesperson’s life a lot easier.
Prospecting
Prospecting is, for many sales organizations, the
most essential part of any sale. It is also not
unusual to find salespeople prospecting
infrequently, intermittently, sporadically,
improperly or not at all. For many sales
organizations the science of prospecting does,
however, reach an art form. And those few
organizations who do prospect well have the
luxury of applying tighter qualification standards
to leads, saving time, maximizing resources and
consistently having fresh, new prospects.
•
What is the best way for me to get in front
of the right prospect(s)?
•
Where do they work? Socialize? Gather?
Attend meetings? Network?
•
Who knows them best?
•
What must I do to get a referral?
•
Where are the best available lists?
•
How will I use the lists I obtain?
Pre-Call Planning
•
To what would those prospects be most
responsive?
•
To what would they be least responsive?
•
What is the best vehicle for getting in front
of them?
•
When is the best time to contact them?
Along with Positioning, Pre-Call Planning is a
vastly overlooked phase of any sales effort.
Failure to pre-call plan is not unlike launching a
military campaign with little or no strategy or
entering a football game with no game plan.
Neither one of these scenarios is very good –
particularly if you’re one of the assault troops or
players.
It is, therefore, not good for a
salesperson, either. Now, let’s take a look at
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Application Article
essential questions for proper Pre-Call Planning.
Pre-Call Planning Questions
•
What materials will I need?
•
How will I organize them?
•
What time do I need to leave in order to
arrive at the prospect’s site ahead of time?
•
How should I dress?
•
Do I have directions?
•
Have I double-checked prospect’s website?
Reviewed other, on line data?
•
Have I planned my questions?
•
Am I mentally prepared?
•
Has my internal advocate briefed me?
•
Have I completed my checklist relative to
the tools I need/promised?
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provides. But…every salesperson knows that,
don’t they? Here’s the problem. Again, after
observing thousands of salespeople over the past
25-30 years, very few do it.
What are the most common mistakes that
salespeople make when they Probe? Here are 10
that we have observed time and time again:
1. Failing to have sufficient information about
the prospect and/or their organization
before the sales call. Therefore, it becomes
impossible to ask meaningful questions.
2. Asking questions and then not really
listening to the answers.
3. Asking one or two questions and then
prematurely making an off target, inaccurate
recommendation to the prospect.
4. Interrupting the prospect in the midst of
their response.
5. Failing to ask questions related to problems,
needs, wants or situations that are most
relevant to the prospect.
•
How well do I know the prospect’s process?
•
How much competition do I have?
•
From whom have they been buying? Why?
6. Failing to ask permission to keep a written
record of the prospect’s answers.
•
Do I have some idea of budget range? Time
frame? Budget cycle?
7. Failing to record or write down appropriate
answers for further application.
•
Why are they agreeing to see me?
8. Failing to ask appropriate follow-up
questions (“Tell me more” or “Could you
explain what you mean by that.”)
Probing for Opportunities
Let there be no doubt, it is Probing during the
face-to-face portion of the sale that demands the
most time, attention, concentration and care.
Here is where salespeople must learn to seek
permission to ask questions, must have earned
the right to do so and have secured the trust of
the prospect so their answers will be open,
honest and direct. Salespeople must also be
totally focused on the answers that the prospect
9. Not following up closed-ended questions
(questions for which the answer is “yes” or
“no”) with clarification questions (“Why do
you say that?).
10. Asking enough of the right questions and, in
spite of good knowledge, launch into a sales
presentation that in no way reflects the
solution the prospect is seeking.
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
Now, let’s look at some of the most critical
questions to be asked when Probing:
•
What impact have these had on your
business/profits/morale, etc.?
Sample Primary Probing Questions (ones that a
salesperson must first ask of themselves):
•
What, if anything, are you looking for from
an organization that you haven’t found?
•
Do I know the problems they’re trying to
solve?
•
What do you like most about your current
supplier?
•
Do I know which questions to ask in order
to facilitate the prospect’s discussion of
these problems?
•
What kind of budget range, if any, are you
working within?
•
Do I know the needs I fill? Problems I
solve? Issues I resolve? Benefits I provide?
•
What kind of a time frame do you have in
mind?
•
Do I know how to ask questions that will get
them telling me what they need, want or
have to have solved?
•
What have you seen that’s particularly
appealed to you?
•
What process do you use to make this type
of decision?
•
Who else, other than you, of course, is
involved in this decision?
•
What is it in your current situation that you
absolutely do not want to see changed?
•
If you could change anything about your
current situation, what would it be?
•
Do I know how to ask objection testing
questions to determine if I can avoid
objections or anticipate them?
What is the single thing that’s most
important to you about this decision?
•
If we were able to solve your problem what
would this mean to your organization?
•
Do I have a set of proven, tested questions
to ask?
•
What would it mean to you personally?
•
Do I have those questions written down for
easy reference?
•
Do I know the benefits the features of my
product or service provide?
•
Do I know how to ask questions that will get
them telling me if they legitimately need
those benefits before I list them in my sales
presentation?
•
•
Do I know the most common objections I
hear?
Sample Secondary Probing Questions (questions a
salesperson should ask of the prospect):
•
What are some of the major challenges
within your business in the past 6 months?
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Presenting With Power
Isn’t it interesting that the presentation phase of
the sale also requires questions? Isn’t that the
phase of the sale where the salesperson earns his
or her pay? Don’t they sell their product or
service with great persuasion? Create value?
Present their story? Tell instead of ask?
Application Article
Winter 2007
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Here’s the hook. They need to know exactly
what story, which benefits, which features,
which components and in which context to
make the most effective presentation. How is
that configured? Again, by answering the right
questions.
•
How does this look?
•
Are we on target?
•
Does this look like it will work for you?
•
What do you think?
Among the many questions that a salesperson
needs to ask of themselves before they ever even
think about making a presentation are these:
•
Does this make sense?
•
Does this look like it will solve your
problem?
•
Do I really understand what the prospect
wants to accomplish with my product or
service before I can present it intelligently?
•
In what format do they want to see it?
Based on the response, the salesperson will then
know exactly how to proceed. Bottom line,
there are only four possible responses to any of
these questions. Here they are:
•
How soon do they want to see it?
•
“Yes.”
•
Who are the people who must see it?
•
“No.”
•
How simple or
presentation be?
•
“I’m not sure.”
•
“I need to discuss it with ‘X’.”
complex
should
the
•
What benefits should I stress?
•
How will I create great value for what it is
that I sell in the mind of the prospect?
•
What must I do to minimize potential
objectives?
•
How and when should I present price?
Create value? Minimize perception of cost?
Only after these questions are asked and
answered is it time to make any formal
presentation.
Key to this presentation is to make sure that the
prospect provides feedback relative to how “on
or off target” the presentation is. The only way
to do this is with feedback or course correction
questions. Here are samples of those types of
questions:
•
Does this look like what you’re trying to accomplish?
If the response is positive, the salesperson should
proceed with confidence, knowing that, at least to
that point the presentation is on target. If the
response is “no” to any of these questions, the
salesperson needs to ask a form of this question,
“Why do you say that?” Once the prospect tells the
salesperson why he or she feels that way, the
salesperson needs to ask, “Is there anything you’ve
seen that isn’t on target?” Once any or all issues are
exposed, the salesperson needs to ask, “What is it
about what you’ve seen that causes you concern?”
Now, the salesperson can address each issue and
continue to ask feedback or course correction
questions as a newly formulated solution is presented.
In the case of an “I’m not sure” response, the
salesperson needs to ask a form of this question,
“What is it that you’re unsure about?” Once that
source has been clarified, the salesperson can go
ahead and present the modified solution based
on the prospect’s answer. If the answer is “I
Vol. 7, No. 1
40
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
need to discuss it with X”, what does the
salesperson ask at this point? Some form of the
following question is totally appropriate. “I
understand. Would it help if I helped you
present it?” or “Would you mind if I helped you
prepare the presentation?”, “When do you plan
to discuss it with them?” or “What part of it will
require the most explanation?”
What this all means is that even making a
presentation is all about questions. It’s not just
about the answers. The quality, depth, breadth
and consistency of questions will determine the
quality, depth, breadth and consistency that the
prospect and his or her product or service will
perceive that the salesperson has.
Proving Claims
It is a fundamental sales truth that prospects
expect salespeople to make claims for their
product or service. It is also a truth that they
will more likely believe what someone else claims
to be true about that product or service. What
does that mean to a salesperson? Simply this.
Again, it’s all about the questions. Here are 5
that can tell a salesperson exactly how to
corroborate their claims.
•
Would you like to talk with several of our
happy customers?
•
Would you like to see a list of happy clients?
•
Can I show you our book of testimonial
letters from happy users?
•
Would you like to review third party
research?
•
Would you like to see some powerful articles
written about us in trade journals?
•
It is also true that people believe what they
experience, not just what they are told. Some
Northern Illinois University
questions here?
•
Would you like to try our product with no
obligation?
•
Would you be interested in trying our 30 day
no questions asked return policy?
•
Would you like to go into the field, talk to
some users and see our equipment in action?
Pinpointing and Overcoming Objections/
Posturing the Transaction
Contemporary selling requires far more than the
old school memorization of “canned” ways to
deal with objections. In the final analysis,
objections can really be surfaced all the way
through the face-to-face process. Just a quick
review of the various questions outlined in this
article will clearly reveal that reality. For
example:
•
What is your budget range?
•
How does this look?
•
How are we doing so far?
However, the best way to surface any last minute
objections is to ask some form of this question,
“Based on what you’ve seen so far is there
anything that would keep you from going ahead
with this?” Perhaps this question is your
preference, “Would you like to get started?” Or,
how about this one, “Would you like me to place
an order?” The flavor of this question will be
driven by the salesperson’s appetite for
assertiveness.
The answer to these questions will, of course,
take us to posturing the transaction. In reality,
the raising of objections and the finalization of
transactions are, in fact, totally intertwined.
However, the salesperson really does need to ask
himself or herself several questions prior to even
Application Article
isolating the objection in anticipation of
finalizing the transaction with these questions:
•
How receptive is this prospect, at this time,
to reaching agreement?
•
How much value have I created?
•
How successfully have I asked feedback and
course correction questions?
•
How confident do I feel that this prospect is
ready to buy?
•
What process should I use to handle all the
details correctly?
Winter 2007
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Bill Brooks has been a sales consultant, speaker and trainer
for over 25 years. He is founder and CEO of The Brooks
Group, a sales and sales management consulting firm based in
Greensboro, NC. The author of 18 books, he is a former college
football coach, dean and faculty member. Bill is a Certified
Management Consultant and member of The Speakers’ Hall of
Fame. An honors graduate of Gettysburg College, he holds a
masters degree from Syracuse University. Bill is also a military
veteran with 23 months of duty in Southeast Asia. He is the
author of literally hundreds of articles on sales and sales
management. Three of Bill’s books have been national bestsellers.
He is the former CEO of a firm with more than 3,500
salespeople and has worked with over 2,000 firms from 450
industries during his career in consulting and training. He can be
reached at: The Brooks Group, 3810 North Elm Street,
Greensboro, NC 27455, by phone at 800-633-7762, or via
email at bill@thebrooksgroup.com
However, you’re not done yet! Salespeople need
to ask themselves these questions after they
finalize any transaction.
•
What should I do to guarantee that this new
customer will not change his/her mind?
•
What details do I need to handle with regard
to paperwork, delivery and commitments?
•
What have I promised during the sales
presentation that I must deliver? When must
I do so?
•
With whom, inside of my organization, must
I coordinate with to ensure that my new
customer is handled correctly?
•
What do I need to do to thank this new
customer for their purchase?
There you have it. Question after question. In
fact, this short article contains no less than 100
different questions that need to be asked at
various stages of the sale. Yes, it is true. It’s
really all about the questions because the right
questions give you the right answers, don’t they?
What do you think?
Vol. 7, No. 1
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
Intent- A Crucial Component of Success in Selling
by Jerry Acuff and Wally Wood
In selling, intent is everything. By intent, I mean
purpose. Your intent is the state of your mind at
the time of an action—having your mind
focused on a specific objective. The related idea
of intention is your plan to do something or the
course of action you plan to follow. If intent is
your state of mind at the time you carry out the
action, what is your intent when you interact
with a customer or prospect? That question’s
answer has a far-reaching impact on sales
success and may be as important as any other
facet of selling.
Solana Beach consultant and author Brian Tracy
says, “The first thing you should feed your mind
is purpose. Customers respond to the energy and
enthusiasm that are created by a sense of
purpose.”
If your intent (or purpose) is merely to sell
something, you are me-focused. If your intent is
to teach or to learn what customers want and
help them get it, you are other-focused. When
your selling is other-focused, your actions are
driven by the need to understand the situation
before you can prescribe or recommend a
solution (your product or service). When you are
other-focused, you more carefully prepare for
your interactions with customers and you
routinely ask questions about them, their
business, their situation, their desired outcomes,
their internal challenges to a potential change,
etc. before you start suggesting why and how
your product or service might be a fit for their
situation.
The right intent opens minds; the wrong intent
closes them. And very few buyers buy when
their mind is closed. We need to be exceptional
at opening minds and your intent will do that
more effectively than anything else. If you
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approach a situation with the wrong intent, it is
usually immediately apparent. People are so
accustomed to salespeople being “me-focused,”
their radar is always up. They are poised to shut
down at the first sign of a hard sell or the
awareness that they are in the presence of a
“typical” sales person. When customers sense
your intent is right and that your purpose is
focused on them and not on you, they listen, ask
questions, and appreciate your approach to them
and their situation. They are far more apt to
engage in a conversation with you and have a
meaningful dialogue, which leads almost directly
to more sales.
Great salesperson act (consciously or
unconsciously) in accord with the Eight Laws
of Sales Intent every day. The laws of sales
intent are nothing more than a comprehensive
set of beliefs. One of the most powerful
concepts to comprehend and never forget is that
beliefs drive behavior and if you possess these
beliefs and they drive your daily actions you will
be most certainly be on the road to sales
greatness. Here they are:
1. Have empathy and see things from the
customer’s point of view.
2. Focus on them and not on me.
3. Find people who truly want what I am
offering.
4. Be seen as different, unique, and the
consummate professional.
5. Master the knowledge needed to be seen as
an expert in my business.
6. Prepare for every call, not because it is
important to me but because it is important
to my customers.
Application Article
7. Use words and find language that will
resonate with and be compelling to my
customers.
8. Have an internal locus of control because I
understand I am responsible for the
outcomes of my actions.
Let’s consider the implications of each.
I intend to have empathy
I began to understand the need to be otherfocused when I was a district sales manager. I
learned quickly that success means having the
ability to identify with and understand another
person’s feelings or difficulties. Salespeople who
have empathy try to put themselves in the
customer’s moccasins. They want and need to
understand the customer’s problems, challenges,
and stresses from the inside if possible. Research
on interpersonal relationships indicates that
empathy is one of the most important
requirements for building positive, constructive
relationships, both personal and business.
One way to see the world from the customer’s
perspective is to spend time with them observing
how their operation works. As a manager, I
required each of my sales representatives to
“work” in a customer’s office at least a half a day
each quarter. We would ask customers (usually
ones we didn’t know so well) if we could spend
time as a volunteer. We told them it was a
requirement for the reps’ learning and
development (which it was) and that the reps
would be happy to do whatever was asked. Our
objective was to see what life was like on the
other side of the desk. Our sales people
answered the phone, did filing, cleaned out
closets, and, in one office, spent a half a day
installing toilet paper holders.
The results were amazing. My sales people saw
that the 10-15 minutes they spent in that office
on a typical call was just a snapshot in time. It
may have been the most important part of their
day but it was far less important to the
customers. Reps learned that everyone has a
Winter 2007
43
difficult job and everybody is important. In
almost every case we improved our relationship
with that office. What our people learned about
their customers and their point of view was
invaluable. I am convinced that this policy that
lead to us understanding the customers point of
view played an important role in our being one
of the top districts in the country every year for
eight consecutive years.
I intend to focus on them not me
Before great salespeople pick up a phone or walk
into an office, their intention is always to focus
on their customers’ best interests.
Salespeople (or their marketing departments)
often tend to pre-determine that prospects may
be good candidates for their products; even cold
calls are not random. Too often, however, when
reps assume that prospects need what they are
selling, they do not probe effectively for real
problems or concerns. They just offer up what
they have got without ever trying to learn if there
is a fit. They “present” more than they converse,
and this is far from focusing on “them.”
If you tell customers what they need without
trying to understand their situation, it’s the
throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks sales
process. Sometimes salespeople are so caught up
in their own wants and needs they are oblivious
to the customer’s.
I intend to find people who truly want what I
am offering
This seems blindingly obvious. Why waste your
time (or theirs) on people who don’t want what
you sell? Organizations and salespeople work
hard to identify the most likely prospective
customers. New software and online services
help smaller companies find sales leads. Online
social networking services like LinkedIn.com,
Jigsaw.com, and Spoke.com can help identify
contacts through mutual acquaintances.
While these tools can be useful, the problem
remains: You do not know if people truly want
what you’re selling until you talk with them.
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Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
They may not want what you are selling,
although from the outside they seem to be likely
prospects. They may want what you’re selling,
but not strongly enough to make a decision now
or to take the time to listen to your proposal.
They may want it, but it’s the end of the budget
period or the CEO has just instituted a costcutting program or their credit cards are maxed
out. They may also need it and not realize it,
which is where you can help.
I intend to be seen as the consummate
professional
In a perfect world, customers see great
salespeople as unique resources, so the question
is: How unique—and valuable—do you want to
be in the minds of your customers?
It is easy to be like everybody in selling. Just do
what most other sales people do. Your intent
will be clear and you will sell to the relatively
small percentage of likely prospects who can be
persuaded easily.
If you want to be seen as different, however, you
have to actually be different. You have to believe
that the less you care about the sale, the more
you sell. Your intent is (usually) not to make an
immediate sale, but to learn about their situation
and see if there is a fit between their situation
and your product or service. Your intent is also
to begin the process of creating a winning
relationship with this company, prospect, or
client. Your objective is not a sales call but a
sales conversation, and ultimately the sale if you
deserve it. Only after you learn what your
prospects are trying to accomplish, should the
sales process turn to your hypothesis or to the
premise you think might make sense for this
situation.
customers fully agree or not with any given
point, they still view the salesperson as
consultative, credible, and trusted. When you
master your entire job's essential knowledge, you
are most capable in front of customers because
the knowledge builds the confidence you need to
be great at selling.
Many companies (and salespeople) define
“knowledge” only as information about their
own products and applications or services, but in
reality it includes much more. In addition to
basic product and service knowledge, you also
need comprehensive command of your
competition or competing premise/hypothesis,
your customers and their issues and challenges,
and yourself and how your communication style
and personality are likely to affect other people.
Good information is the cost of entry. You must
know how your product's features and benefits
apply in all situations and to the prospect's
needs. You should also know the challenges the
customer faces, which allows you to think of
your offering on a big- picture scale. When you
are able to think “big picture” versus “narrow
situation” you will also be able to communicate
on many levels of the business.
I intend to prepare for every call
Before every call, ask yourself: Why am I calling
on this customer? You want a planned
conversation to sell more to customers who
want what you have—because it’s important to
them.
I intend to master the knowledge to be seen
as different
Begin your preparation for this interaction by
silently stating your purpose. Say to yourself, “I
am going in there to diagnose, not prescribe. I
am going to have a conversation. I'm not going
in there to make a sale although that may
happen. I am going to find out what this
customer wants and to engender thinking.”
My experience has shown that those salespeople
who take the time to master the knowledge
necessary to be seen as an expert in their field
are seen as exceptional. Therefore, whether
Make notes and write the down questions that
will help you uncover the information you need
to determine if there is a fit between the
customer’s wants and your product. If there is a
Northern Illinois University
Application Article
fit then your solution is as important as, or more
important to them than it is to you.
If you truly have a reasonable value premise, you
can probably find a place for your product with
many more potential customers by simply
changing your intent. These ideas do not work if
you have a lousy product because there will be a
profound disconnect between who you are, what
you say, and the product you sell. You must have
a product with a logical value proposition or
some true uniqueness. If it does, you can find
people who want it—if you focus on them and
not on you.
I intend to find language that will resonate
Your ability to facilitate the conversation,
advance your ideas, or sell a product or service is
directly related to how well you stimulate
thinking in the other person. To do so, your
intent should be to use words and language that
resonate with your prospects and customers.
More often than not the words we choose
inadvertently create a high pressure
environment. Getting prospects to buy is far
easier when we find words that create low
pressure environments.
Sometimes salespeople will have great meetings
and leave wondering why the message didn’t
resonate. Remember, prospects very often come
with a negative bias toward salespeople. One
reason they don’t buy is because the
salesperson’s language does not resonate. The
words the salesperson uses sounds like
traditional sales speak and that kind of language
says that they are trying to sell them something
they don’t need…or don’t need right now…or
don’t need enough to buy at the price.
In your preparation, you want to think about
using words and stories that get your clients to
think differently about you and your product.
Try using soft words rather than hard words. Say
things like “you might want to think about…”
rather than “you should.”
Winter 2007
45
Or say, “ Does this makes sense to you?” rather
than “Isn’t this exactly what you are looking
for?’’ These are examples of words that create
low pressure environments.
Customers need us to find words that resonate,
that create a low pressure environment and bring
our ideas to life. Customers do not usually
respond to superlatives yet sales people love to
use them. Customers respond to language that
sounds unbiased, authentic and clearly
demonstrates an understanding of their point of
view. The more we sound like we are trying to
sell them the more likely they are to close their
mind. If we do not bring our ideas to life with
words that resonate, customers may never be
able to verify our hypothesis, no matter how
solid it is.
I intend to have an internal locus of control
People with an internal locus of control see
themselves as responsible for what happens as a
result of their actions; they tend to believe that
they, not the fates or company politics or other
people, control their destiny. People with an
external locus of control see their environment
or situation as more important in what happens
to them than what they do or don’t do.
Research by Gerrard Macintosh concluded that
“people with higher self esteem, an internal locus
of control and greater empathy would be more
likely to have a more relational time perspective,
and therefore, be more likely to set goals and
engage in behaviors that will foster long-term
relationships.”
By “relational time perspective” Macintosh
means that some salespeople set short-term
goals (which influences behavior) while others
set long-term goals. People who have a longer
time perspective see near-term goals as “building
blocks” for longer-term goals. This is significant
because salespeople with a short-term
orientation tend to be more aggressive in
persuasion and negotiation and be more inclined
to try to close a sale on the first call. Salespeople
with a longer time perspective tend to consider
Vol. 7, No. 1
46
Journal of Selling & Major Account Management
the past and future, says Macintosh, “and use a
more cooperative integrative/problem-solving
approach to selling.” And the good news is that
research has found a more relational selling
behavior increases both relationship quality and
customer commitment to the firm.
Having an internal locus of control makes
certain that we take our own personal
development seriously, our commitment to
customers seriously and our commitment to
excellence seriously. If our intent is to have an
internal locus of control we know “if it’s to be
it’s up to me.”
No one can or should tell you what to believe. If
it is true that our beliefs drive our behavior then
having a keen awareness of what we believe
about selling is crucial to our ultimate success.
That is why intent is everything. Our intent
when we interact with customers will more often
than not determine whether we are exceptional
or mediocre. The really important question for
you is what do you believe? What is your intent
or purpose when you interact with customers?
These eight laws of sales intent may help you
think about and help you develop your own
philosophy or belief system (intent) about your
selling efforts. Few things will be as important to
you and your customers as your own clarity
about your sales intent.
Jerry Acuff is a principal and founder of Delta Point in
Scottsdale, Arizona. Prior to founding Delta Point Jerry founded
JBI Associates, a healthcare consulting firm in Morristown, New
Jersey. Jerry was also Vice President and General Manager of
Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals prior to its merger with Marion
Merrell Dow. In his twenty-year career at Hoechst, Jerry was
Salesman of the Year twice and District Manager of the Year five
times.
Jerry has been featured in Sales and Marketing Management
Magazine, Investors Business Daily, Managed Care Pharmacy
Practice and Hospital Pharmacist Report. He has been an
Executive in Residence at Northern Illinois University and The
Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is a
graduate of The Virginia Military Institute.
Northern Illinois University
For over 15 years, he has spoken and consulted extensively on the
issues of sales excellence, change leadership, and building
customer-focused organizations. Jerry is the author of The
Relationship Edge In Business, a book that focuses on leveraging
interpersonal skills to build meaningful customer relationships.
Wally Wood is a professional business writer who has
contributed his editorial skills to books on marketing, advertising,
direct marketing, executive compensation, and sales compensation-15 books in the last 16 years. He worked with Jerry Acuff on
both "The Relationship Edge," and "Stop Acting Like a Seller
and Start Thinking Like a Buyer." He was the editor of "Mart
Magazine," a trade publication edited for appliance/TV
retailers, and the founding editor of "Magazine Age," a trade
publication edited for the advertising industry. He has a BA
degree from Columbia University's School of General Studies,
and a MA from the City College of New York.
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