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A study of the characteristics of marginally performing salespeople complements research concerning the differences between high and low sales performers. Topics addressed include classification of marginally performing employees in formal terms, and how managers can assess patterns in performance over time.

This article, first, synthesizes three theoretical approaches to salesforce control systems and, second, examines the effect of the control mechanisms on key consequence variables. More specifically, the manuscript develops a comprehensive model of salesforce control by integrating key constructs from three alternative theories: organization theory, agency theory, and transaction cost analysis. The constructs are (1) outcome observability from organizational theory, (2) behavior observability from agency theory, (3) transaction-specific assets (TSA) from transaction cost analysis, and (4) task programmability or environmental/task uncertainty, a key construct in all three theories. In addition, the study examines the effects of controls on certain consequence variables: salesperson-customer relationships and salespersons' motivation and organizational commitment. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

This study utilizes historical data to explore the effects of sales management succession, the characteristics of the successor, and type of succession on post-succession performance of an industrial sales organisation while controlling for pre-succession performance and economic conditions. Three theoretical positions were contrasted: (1) that a change in a sales manager will lead to a decline in a performance, (2) that such a change will lead to an increase in sales performance, and (3) that the change will have no impact on performance. The results demonstrated a positive effect due to succession, thus supporting the commonsense notion that a sales management change leads to improved performance. There was also some support for the proposition that experience and ability may mediate the succession effect. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The author reports on a study from the National Center for Problem Gambling that claims that of the 8 million people who have gambling problems, a sizable percentage are likely to be salespeople. The personality of salespeople and the characteristics of a career in sales make it easier for people to have time to devote to gambling. People in sales are attracted to gambling because they normally are interested in making more money, confident and risk-takers. Unfortunately, gambling can influence a salesperson's job performance as well as personal life, so sales managers are advised to be cognizant of those who are having troubles., Lorge, Sarah (1999), 'You Bet Your Life,' Sales and Marketing Management, 151 (December), [...]