Conditions for Sales Force Frustration

Speaker name & affiliation

Bjoern Ivens & Alexander Leisching

Seminar title

Conditions for Sales Force Frustration

Abstract

Frustration in the sales force has been identified as one of the primary inhibitors of sales performance. Drawing on role theory and social identity theory, the seminar shows how dimensions of role stress and of social conflict combine into workplace constellations that result in sales force frustration. The seminar reports results of an empirical study based on a sample of 120 salespeople. The results from this study show that there exist multiple configurations of factors leading to frustration in the sales force. Knowledge of these causal patterns helps sales managers detect workplace frustrators and develop strategies to diminish these conditions.