Based on the article: Sales managers… Don’t forget about trust (Spirer, 2012)
Managers can demand compliance, but they must earn commitment – which requires trust. (Spirer, 2012)
Executive Summary
This blog explains the importance of trust between salespeople and the sales manager, by determining what forms the basis of trust; analyzing which processes are invaluable in building trust; and by determining the benefits that are associated with salespeople who trust their managers.
The basis of trust is most commonly benevolence and honesty; which are measured to determine which processes help develop trust. The result is that shared values between a salesperson and their manager is the strongest form of developing trust. In addition, managerial respect is also considered important in developing trust. It is then determined that trust is important because it leads to high job satisfaction, organizational commitment, relationalism, honesty, and ethical behavior; which in turn increases the amount of customer-oriented selling in the sales team. In conclusion, it is necessary for managers to take the time to develop trust between themselves and their sales team.
Introduction
In a society where organizations are constantly aiming to increase their profitability, sales managers often have the difficult job of ensuring that their sales team is always meeting or exceeding the yearly sales targets imposed by upper-management. More than often, sales managers are overwhelmed with meeting sales targets, dealing with customer complaints, and communicating with the corporate office; that they tend to overlook the need to devote time to build trust with the sales team (Spirer,2012). Trust is a key element in creating the best sales team, which will be discussed in more detail throughout this blog post.
We will first define the basis of trust and discuss the processes that build it, as defined by several research journals. Then, we will go over the benefits of trust between salespeople and the sales manager; as well as the consequences of a lack of trust between the two. And finally, we will provide recommendations for managers on how to increase the level of trust between themselves and their sales team.
The Basis of Trust and Processes that Build Trust
Depending on the type of research conducted, trust can be measured by analyzing multiple different characteristics which are considered as the basis of trust. For the purpose of determining processes that build interpersonal trust, the key characteristics are: reliability; credibility (honesty- and competence-based); honesty (or integrity); and benevolence (Brashear et al., 2003). Reliability refers to a salesperson’s feeling that they can count on the sales manager to keep their word. Credibility is both honesty-based and competency-based: the first referring to the belief that the sales manager is being truthful; and the second referring to the belief that the sales manager knows how to do their job. Honesty or integrity means that the salesperson believes that their manager is open and truthful. And finally, benevolence is the belief that the sales manager will always act in the salesperson’s best interest (Brashear et al. 2003). These characteristics are used to help determine which processes build trust.
Based on Brashear et al.’s (2003) research, summarized in Appendix A, which solely uses benevolence and honesty as measurable elements to determine trust; three processes were determined to impact a salesperson’s trust in their manager.
The first and most significant is shared values, which is positively related to a salesperson’s trust. Salespeople and sales managers who identify with each other and share the same values, are more likely develop trust. Since a person’s values can be identified during a job interview, a sales manager could ensure that the prospective salesperson’s values are in-line with those of the manager and those of the organization, before hiring him or her. This would help develop a better sales team, founded on common values; thus encouraging the development of trust between salespeople and the sales manager.
The second process which builds trust is managerial respect. This refers to how salespeople are treated by group authorities (Brashear et al., 2003). The study proved that there is a positive relationship between perceptions of managerial respect and trust. Salespeople, who believe that sales managers and other employees of authority are being respectful to them, are likely to trust the latter. It is also important to point out that managerial respect is exhibited through the quality of communication between salespeople and management, not the quantity (Brashear et al., 2003).
The third process, which only slightly shows a correlation to trust, is managerial opportunism. This is proven to be inversely related to the development of trust since salespeople tend to be untrustworthy of sales managers who put themselves before others. However, this does not have a significant impact on the development of trust (Brashear et al., 2003).
In conclusion to this research, which determined key processes in developing trust between salespeople and management; sales managers should take away the importance of selecting the right salespeople to join the team, meaning selecting those who share the same values as the organization. This in turn encourages the development of trust and motivates them to work harder. In addition, having shared values makes it much easier for sales managers to pay attention to each of its salesperson’s goals and actions; therefore showing a certain level of respect towards them, which is another important process in developing trust (Brashear et al., 2003).
Benefits of Trust and Consequences of Lack of Trust between Salespeople and Sales Managers
Based on Brashear et al.’s (2003) research and as seen in Appendix A and B, the presence or absence of trust can have a positive or negative outcome on things like: job satisfaction, relationalism, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. The study’s findings have indicated that there is a positive correlation between a salesperson’s trust and job satisfaction, as well as relationalism. This means that the presence of trust between the salespeople and their manager increases their level of job satisfaction, as well as the level of importance placed on professional relationships and the time and effort spent developing these. In addition, this presence of trust indirectly increases organizational commitment; which in turn, reduces turnover intention.
Based on the results of Brashear et al.’s (2003) study, it is clear that trust between sales managers and their salespeople greatly benefits the sales team. A lack of trust would lead to unhappy salespeople, individuals who do not share benefits because they avoid working with others, uncommitted salespeople to the organization, and high turnover intention.
Another benefit to trust between salespeople and their manager is the implication it has on behaving ethically and practicing customer-oriented selling. According to Shwepker and Shultz’s (2013) study, the results show that by increasing the level of trust that the salespeople have in their sales manager; the less likely they are to behave unethically. And since customer-oriented selling only works when a salesperson shows concern for the needs and well-being of the customer, which is unlikely to be the case if the salesperson were accustomed to conducting unethical and dishonest sale practices; this in turn increases the amount of customer-oriented selling done by the sales team.
It is also logical to expect that this practice of developing trust between salespeople and sales managers would increase sales since it encourages salespeople to follow recommended business practices. The positive result of these practices would in turn result in an improved sales performance. This correlation between trust and sales performance is in fact proven in Dirks and Ferrin’s study (2002) which also supports all other previously mentioned benefits of trust between salespeople and sales managers. In addition, this study shows that trust has the greatest impact on job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
Based on the multiple studies that have proven the existence of a link between trust and behaviours, as well as attitudes in the workplace; we can conclude that it is important for managers to instill trust in their sales team in order to attain the benefits associated with trust, and to avoid suffering from the consequences of a lack in trust.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the presence of trust between salespeople and sales managers, and how this impacts a multitude of individual attitudes and behaviours in the workplace with co-workers, managers, and even customers. It is clear from the results that trust is an extremely important factor in ensuring that salespeople are satisfied with their jobs and are committed to their organization. It is also invaluable knowledge to discover that one of the key methods in developing this trust is to hire salespeople who have similar values to the organization and the sales manager. However, this can only be considered as an important stepping-stone in developing a trusting relationship, since it is not sufficient to do just one thing to develop trust. As described by Spirer; “Managers must make a conscious effort, devoting time and energy to developing trust” (Spirer, 2012). Studies demonstrated the importance of managerial respect, which needs to be demonstrated on a regular basis. This can be done in many ways, such as: ensuring the sales team isn’t overloaded with tasks that take them away from selling; by taking the time to explain to salespeople the reasons behind certain decisions; by assisting the salespeople when the help is needed; and by coaching them to be the best salesperson they can be (Spirer, 2012). And finally, it is important for the sales manager to be competent and understand the business, in order for the salespeople to instill their trust in him or her.
Appendix A: Illustration of Study’s Findings, incl. Positive and Negative Correlations (Brashear et al., 2003)
Appendix B: List of Positive or Negative Correlations Based on Study’s Findings (Brashear et al., 2003)
Appendix C: Summary of Benefits of Trust Vs. Consequences of Lack of Trust
| Benefits of Trust | Consequences of Lack of Trust |
| – Job satisfaction
– Relationalism – Commitment to organization – Encourages ethical behavior (positive correlation to customer-oriented selling) – Honesty |
– Unhappy at work
– Avoid sharing of benefits by not working with others – Uncommitted to organization – Increased turnover intention – Could result in unethical behaviour (leading to poor customer-oriented selling) |
Bibliography
Ahearne, M., Haumann, T., Kraus, F., & Wieseke, J. (2013). It’s a matter of congruence: How interpersonal identification between sales managers and salespersons shapes sales success. Academy of Marketing Science.Journal, 41(6), 625-648. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11747-013-0333-x
Brashear, T. G., Boles, J. S., Bellenger, D. N., & Brooks, C. M. (2003). An empirical test of trust-building processes and outcomes in sales manager–salesperson relationships. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31(2), 189-200.
Dirks, K. T., & Ferrin, D. L. (2002). Trust in leadership: meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. Journal of applied psychology, 87(4), 611.
Flaherty, K. E., & Pappas, J. M. (2000). The role of trust in salesperson—sales manager relationships. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management,20(4), 271-278.
Mullins, R., & Syam, N. (2014). Manager–salesperson congruence in customer orientation and job outcomes: The bright and dark sides of leadership in aligning values. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 34(3), 188-205.
Schwepker, Charles H. Jr, & Good, D. J. (2013). Improving salespeople’s trust in the organization, moral judgment and performance through transformational leadership. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 28(7), 535-546. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-06-2011-0077
Schwepker, Charles H. Jr, & Schultz, R. J. (2013). The impact of trust in manager on unethical intention and customer-oriented selling. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 28(4), 347-356. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08858621311313938
Spirer, J. (2012, July 18). Sales managers… Don’t forget about trust. Retrieved from Sales Training Connection: http://salestrainingconnection.com/2012/07/18/sales-managers-%E2%80%A6-don%E2%80%99t-forget-about-trust/
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