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The life of a salesperson is not necessarily centered around financial considerations. Other factors come into play such as the intense competitive rivalry that salespeople have with others in their team, the careful building up of client relationships that develops over the long-term, and the satisfaction that comes when salespeople win the deals they so fiercely fight to win. Quite often, the art of salesmanship often turns on the ability of salespeople to stay in control of the one-upmanship game in which they are involved. Moreover, as this selling game often takes up a good amount of emotional exertion, consistent success in the sales arena tends to be linked to the ability of salespeople to rein in their emotions as they go about their daily sales routines. An inside look at the activities of a Xerox Corp. sales team is provided to illustrate the role non-financial considerations play in the selling game.

Many CEOs and division managers hesitate to change their sales strategies for fear of alienating their sales forces. This fear to confront salespeople often stems from top management's realization that the company is totally dependent on the sales force in communicating with customers, and that the real buyer-seller relationship exists between salespeople and their clients. Senior managers are afraid that, if the sales force does not agree to any planned change, it could hinder effective implementation or even sabotage the project. Furthermore, companies could lose customers if highly successful salespeople leave and take their clients with them. Although there are many instances in which the sales force succeeds in keeping a tight control over top management, there are some CEOs and other senior managers who oppose the disproportionate power enjoyed by the sales department and adopt measures to regain it. Two cases illustrating how this can be done are presented.