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14.2 The new and emerging competitive role for sales
Understanding the evolution of the sales organisation, and the strategic capability it rep- resents, as well as the
forces shaping this capability, has become an important issue for strategic decision makers in marketing.
14.2.1 The evolution of the sales organisation to strategic importance
There is little doubt that the role of the sales organisation has gone through major changes in many
companies in recent years, and it is likely that this change process will continue and escalate. However, what
should not be underestimated is the extent to which such changes are increasingly radical and disruptive to
traditional business models and theories (Shapiro et al., 1998).
For example, in identifying priorities for sales, Thomas Leigh and Greg Marshall (2001) wrote that ‘The
sales function is undergoing an unparalleled metamorphosis, driven by the plethora of changing conditions’ (Leigh
and Marshall, 2001). They sug- gested that this metamorphosis was seeing the selling function shift its role from
selling products and services to one emphasising ‘increased customer productivity’, through enhanced revenues or
cost advantage. They support the transformation of the traditional sales function to a pan-company activity or
process, driven by market pressure “customers indicate that the seller’s organisation must embrace a customer–
driven culture that wholeheartedly supports the salesforce’ (Leigh and Marshall, 2001). Interestingly, they also
underline the parallel between the transformation of the sales organisation and other company-wide marketing
developments, such as: market orientation (Jaworski and Ajay, 1993), market-orientated organisational culture
(Homburg and Plesser, 2000), and marketing as a cross-functional process rather than a functional department
(Workman et al., 1998)
Another analysis suggested that:
the sales function is in the midst of a renaissance -a genuine rebirth and revival. Progressive tirms are
becoming more strategic in their approaches to the sales function… Enlightened firms view their customers as
assets, and are entrusting their salespeople to management of these assets. (Ingram et al., 2002)
These authors call for joint action by sales managers, educators, trainers, consultants and professional
organisations to improve the conceptualization and practice of sales management. Certainly, there appears
growing consensus that traditional approaches will fail, and that ‘the shaping of the selling function has become a
strategic corporate issue’, requiring clarity about the new sales
