TY - JOUR
T1 - Personal selling of high-technology products
T2 - the solutions-selling imperative
AU - Sharma, Arun
AU - Iyer, Gopalkrishnan R.
AU - Evanschitzky, Heiner
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Traditional focus on the study of high-technology firms and products has practically ignored the importance and potential contributions of the sales force, especially in business-to-business marketing. This article suggests that traditional sales force strategies associated with high-technology products have been supply driven (i.e., driven by the strategies of the marketing firm). We suggest that in order to enhance the success of high-technology products and services, firms need to be more demand driven in their sales structures (i.e., driven by the strategies of the buying firm). We suggest that it is imperative that high-technology firms adopt “solution selling” to enhance high-technology adoption as well as enhance competitiveness. We describe this change in focus and draw out its various managerial and academic implications.
AB - Traditional focus on the study of high-technology firms and products has practically ignored the importance and potential contributions of the sales force, especially in business-to-business marketing. This article suggests that traditional sales force strategies associated with high-technology products have been supply driven (i.e., driven by the strategies of the marketing firm). We suggest that in order to enhance the success of high-technology products and services, firms need to be more demand driven in their sales structures (i.e., driven by the strategies of the buying firm). We suggest that it is imperative that high-technology firms adopt “solution selling” to enhance high-technology adoption as well as enhance competitiveness. We describe this change in focus and draw out its various managerial and academic implications.
KW - high-technology
KW - personal selling
KW - solution selling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67649220061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15332660802409639
U2 - 10.1080/15332660802409639
DO - 10.1080/15332660802409639
M3 - Article
SN - 1533-2667
VL - 7
SP - 287
EP - 308
JO - Journal of Relationship Marketing
JF - Journal of Relationship Marketing
IS - 3
ER -