The Impact of Stigma: Negative Stereotypes of Salespeople

38 Journal of Selling & Major Account ManagementThe Impact of Stigma: Negative Stereotypes of SalespeopleBy Vinita Sangtani and John Andy WoodThis study investigates the managerial implications of customers’ negative stereotyping (stigmatization)of the sales position. The importance of this research develops out of findings that an individual’sawareness (stigma-consciousness) of the negative views of salient reference groups can have deleteriousconsequences. Evidence from this field study of 190 automobile salespeople indicates they are aware ofbeing stigmatized and that this awareness decreases their effort and performance. Managerially, the studyfinds that individualized managerial support can mitigate the negative impact of stigmatization of thesales role.Recent polls suggest that the public continuesto hold a dim view of the sales profession andto rate commissioned salespeople as dishonestand unethical (Gallup 2006). The public viewsthese commissioned salespeople asfast-talking, pushy, and insincere (Butler1996). The occupation of automobile sales, inparticular, has the dubious distinction of beingrated as the least honest, ethical, ortrustworthy (Jones et al. 1996). It is likely thatthe negative societal view of the sales role hasreached levels at which one could construe astigma being attached to it.A stigma is “an association with a particularattribute that identifies it as different anddeviant, flawed or undesirable” (Kasperson etal. 2001). For salespeople, it is not the productor service being sold but the sales role that isstigmatized. In addition, evidence indicatesthat automobile salespeople are aware of theirprofession being the target of stigmatization,i.e., labeling and stereotyping, along with theassociated loss of status (Link and Phelan2001). This low evaluation of the sales rolepresents an interesting dilemma forsalespeople according to differentialassociation theory (Leonard et al. 1999) andclassic sales motivation theory (Walker et al.Northern Illinois University1977). This dilemma occurs because incommission-based sales positions extrinsicmotivation through compensation isinextricably linked to interaction with thecustomer holding the negative view about thesales role.Using data from commission-compensatedsalespeople from the highly stigmatizedautomobile sales profession, this studyempirically examines the impact ofsalespersons’ awareness of the stigmaassociated with their work roles on effort andperformance. We propose that this impact isparticularly evident in jobs where the firm’scompensation plan for salespeople is basedsolely on commissions. While a company’scompensation plan is a key determinant of asalesperson’s effort (Brown et al. 2005), acommission-based plan exacerbates an alreadylow opinion that customers have ofsalespeople. Sales managers, who choose notto change the compensation plan, needguidance on whether good management canmitigate this negative influence. Accordingly,this study concludes by examining themediating effects of individualizedmanagement support on the effects of stigmaawareness upon sales effort.

Academic Article Fall 2007 39BACKGROUNDBased upon expectancy theory whichunderlies the Churchill/Ford/Walkerframework (Johnston and Marshall 2003), afirm’s compensation structure, regardless oftype, influences, through instrumentality(a probability estimate made by thesalesperson that performance leads to reward)of the salesperson, the motivation to expendeffort. These estimates will have higherprobabilities when “salespeople arecompensated solely or partly bycommissions” (Walker et al. 1977 p. 165).Beyond an unspecific group of personal ororganizational variables, the other directantecedent of instrumentality is a salesperson’srole perception. More specifically, these roleperceptions are seen as the accuracy withwhich the salesperson understands thelinkages between performance and rewards,such as, understanding that compensation isdirectly tied to transactions. Role accuracyalso influences expectancies (probabilityestimates about effort leading to performance)such as, courteous behavior increases thechances of a successful sale.Many perceptions of salespeople about theirsales role come from ‘role partners’ (Johnstonand Marshall 2003). These partnerscommunicate their expectations about thesales role. Evidence indicates one such rolepartner is the sales manager who can have apositive mediating influence between asalesperson's effort and performance (Boles etal. 1997; Brashear et al. 2003) throughmanaging role expectations. However, thesefindings about managerial support are limitedby a paucity of investigations into theinfluence of sales management on effort andperformance in commission-basedcompensation systems.This limitation is likely a development of thestream of research based upon the Andersonand Oliver (1987) framework. The AOframework provides several alternativetheories to explain salary or behavior-basedcompensation systems as more motivating ofsalespeople. Some support has been found toindicate that salary-based compensationcoupled with behavior-based control leads toincreases in sales effort and ultimately theperformance of salespeople (Cravens et al.1993; Oliver and Anderson 1994).Subsequently, most recent sales researchfocuses on behavior-based control systems(Baldauf et al. 2005). Little additional researchseemed necessary as salespeople fullycompensated by commission are conceptually,agents, and under agency theory, areextrinsically motivated by monetary reward(Ghosh and John 2000).We suggest, as do Cravens et al. (1993), thatthe outcomes of the choice of compensationstructure are more complex, especially whenconsidered along with role perceptions ofsalespeople. This being said, after choosingcommission-based compensation along withits specific structure, sales management’soptions to motivate are seemingly limited.This is because, even though Oliver andAnderson (1994) explicitly viewedcompensation directly tied to sales or profitsas only a part of an outcome-based controlsystem, they note the importance ofcommissions in practice: “under such asystem, the invisible hand of the marketplaceVol. 7, No. 4

40 Journal of Selling & Major Account Managementpressures salespeople to perform and guidestheir actions” (Anderson and Oliver 1987p. 76). Thus in the AO framework,salespeople primarily compensated bycommissions are, at a conceptual level,controlled by the marketplace and not by theirmanagers.However, we suggest, even though the choiceof commission-based compensation guidessalespersons to exert effort at tasks they viewas necessary to achieve the sale, the role ofmanagement is not eliminated. Under theChurchill/Ford/Walker framework,management can indirectly influencemotivation by influencing role accuracyperceptions. Managers, as role partners, canand do influence instrumentality andexpectancy estimates that lead to effort toachieve the monetary reward. However,before establishing the influence of managers,it is important to first establish thatsalespeople do perceive that their efforts willdirectly lead to increased performance. Wetest this in the first hypothesis.H 1 : A salesperson’s perceived effort ispositively related to the salesperson’sself-reported performance.Stigma and EffortOne management challenge that developsunder outcome-based compensation systemsis to maintain sale’s focus on completing thetransaction while keeping a customerorientation. The literature has seen extensiveexamination of the effect of salespersonorientation on completing the sales task(Periatt et al. 2004). In the expectancyframework, salespersons will expend effort onthose tasks that they believe increase theprobability of a successful sales transaction.Customer-oriented salespeople see that theirefforts in taking care of the customer will leadto completion of the transaction (Saxe andWeitz 1982). Other salespeople may favorexpending effort on other actions, such asdeception, that they believe will enhance theprobability of a successful transaction andthus earn their commission. These lattersalespeople engage in behaviors thataccomplish the goal regardless of customerinterests.It is likely that part of the stigma associatedwith commission-based salespeople stemsfrom the actions of a group thatunscrupulously engages in any behavior thatcompletes the transaction. However, undercertain conditions, even salespersons withan initial customer focus may find that thecommission-based compensation systemnegatively influences their effort andperformance. This can occur because, asnoted in differential association theory, thecustomer becomes a member of a criticalreference group or a role partner (Leonardet al. 1999). The customer’s opinions andwords will influence the salesperson's socialidentity, role perceptions, and motivation.Evidence suggests that when a salientreference group, such as the customer to thesalesperson, holds significant negative viewsof the salesperson, this condition willnegatively influence the salesperson’s workmotivation and effort (Leonard et al. 1999)This occurs when salespeople perceive theirinteractions with customers to be affectedby the stereotyping (Pinel 2004).Northern Illinois University

Academic Article Fall 2007 41Many commission-compensated salespeoplemay feel they are left with only two choices.They may perceive that they are stigmatizedand discount the likelihood of a successful saleoutcome as a consequence of the stigmaassociated with their sales position. Thischoice leads to lower effort. The secondchoice is to discount or ignore the opinions ofthe customer and focus on completing thetransaction. This strategy may lead toincreases in negative opinions as customersperceive the salesperson is unconcerned withtheir needs. As we suggest next, eventuallythis leads to negative stereotyping of thiscategory of salespeople or the stigmatizationof commission-based sales.Our understanding of stigmas, as a conditionthat influences interpersonal interactions,comes from the social sciences in general andmarketing in particular (Adkins and Ozanne2005; Link and Phelan 2001). While aconsensus definition of stigmatization iselusive, we propose that stigmatization is thecategorization of the sales role into astereotyped group and refers to patterns ofsocial rejection. Most stigma frameworks(Adkins and Ozanne 2005; Link and Phelan2001) embrace a social explanation forrejection. Signs of stigmatization includeexistence of an outward indicator of class,negative connotations attached to thestereotyped category, and wide disseminationof the stigma through popular media.An additional component of stigmatization isthat the target of this stereotyping must beaware of the negative categorization for it tohave an impact on self-image (Oyserman andSwim 2001). It is likely that automobilesalespeople are aware of the negative societalconnotations associated with their profession.Some evidence of this awareness is providedby salespeople’s widespread use ofeuphemisms for their profession such as‘account manager’ or ‘problem solver’ in orderto cast the profession in a more positive light(Blitzer 1994).A salesperson may or may not react to thestigma depending upon their choices outlinedabove. They may ignore customers and theiropinions, in which case the stigmatizationdoes not matter. Alternatively, thesalesperson may maintain a customerorientation. Then, the salesperson’sperception of stigmatization is likely to be asignificant influence on the effort expendedsince the negative categorization comes fromthe role referent customer. Stigmaconsciousness theories suggest that awarenessof stigmatization prevents the target of thestigma from “push(ing) themselves to excel inthat domain” (Pinel et al. 2005 p. 486). In asimilar vein, Bussey and Bandura (1999)maintain that targets of the stigma may lowertheir effort. This effect leads to our secondhypothesis:H 2 : A salesperson’s stigma-consciousness isinversely related to the salesperson’sself-reported effort.Manager SupportAs boundary spanners, salespeople must try tosatisfy both, customers and the company,which can cause role conflict for thesalesperson (Bagozzi 1980; Johlke and Duhan2001; Singh 1993). In addition, having to faceconstant rejection in selling, salespeople haveVol. 7, No. 4

42 Journal of Selling & Major Account ManagementFigure 1: Mediating Role of Effort and Manager SupportH2: negative H1: positiveStigma-consciousness Effort PerformanceManagers Supportto be self-motivated in order to be successful(Rich 1999). Self-guidance is particularlyimportant for commission-compensatedsalespeople. Under outcome-basedcompensation control and according to theagency theory perspective, this internalassurance is not likely to be bolstered by thesales manager.However, the sales manager plays a criticalrole in the salesperson’s performance inbuilding skills through coaching and training.In this role the sales manager is anothercritical referent source that influences thesalesperson’s perceptions about work(Leonard et al. 1999). Managers can alsoexert influence by providing individualizedsupport by way of personalized attention andby being empathetic to the feelings of thesalesperson. Personal support by managers,according to Dubinsky (1999), refers topersonal attention given to salespersons inindividual interactions and showing concernfor their well-being as well as theirprofessional development. This supportprovided by the sales manager can contributeto the salesperson’s successful performance ofthe expected work roles (Johlke and Duhan2001).In this model, because of the inclusion ofstigma, we suggest that managerial supportindirectly influences the salesperson’sperceptions of performance and more directlyinfluences the perceived effort exerted by thesalesperson. As our discussion in the previoustwo hypotheses indicates, research shows thatthe relationship between managerial supportand effort is reciprocal, i.e., managerialsupport can increase effort and vice versa(c.f. Luk and Shaffer 2005; Johlke and Duhan2001). Thus, we expect managerialsupport to mediate the internal assessmentprocesses of the salesperson. Managerialsupport, even in an outcome-based controlsystem, can mediate and decrease theinfluence of stigmatization on effort.Accordingly, we hypothesize:H 3 : Sales manager support will mediate thenegative influence of stigma-consciousness onself-reported effort.Northern Illinois University

44 Journal of Selling & Major Account Management40.00%Table 1Distribution of Sample Demographics30.00%20.00%10.00%0.00%1 2 3 4 5CategoriesAgeYears in SalesIncomeYears in Auto SalesYears in Auto Sales with this DealerCategory RangeAge25 years andunder26 -35 36 - 45 46 - 55 56 years andgreaterIncome$20,000 andunder$20,001-$40,000$40,001-$60,000$60,000-$80,000$80,001 andgreaterYears in Sales1 year and underGreater than 1to 5 yearsGreater than 5to10 yearsGreater than10 to15 yrs.Greater than15 yearsYears in AutoSales1 year and underGreater than 1to 5 yearsGreater than 5to10 yearsGreater than10 to15 yrs.Greater than15 yearsYears in AutoSales with thisDealer1 year and underGreater than 1to 5 yearsGreater than 5to10 yearsGreater than10 to15 yrs.Greater than15 yearsconsciousness affects interactions of targetgroup members, in this case automobilesalespersons, with those not belonging to thetarget group. The five items in Appendix 1were used for the analysis.Manager Support (0.92): Individualizedmanager support reflected the sales manager’srespect and “concern about their (thesalespersons’) personal feelings andneeds,” (Rich 1999 p.55). This direct supportfor the individual is measured by five items.Effort (0.87): Measures of the salesperson’seffort can incorporate self-evaluation orexternal supervisory indicators. As stigma islikely to affect self-reported effort orperformance, those types of indicators areused. The five items used by Dixon et al.Northern Illinois University

Academic Article Fall 2007 45(2001) to measure salespeople’s effortattribution measured the effort of salespeoplein this study.Performance (0.93): Sujan et al’s (1994)seven item performance scale reflectssalespeople’s evaluation of their attainment ofcompany objectives. It captures subjectivecomparisons of their performance withthat of colleagues’. Adaptations were madeto capture the automobile sales contextwith the final scale having the eight itemslisted in appendix 1.RESULTSAs anticipated, salespersons’ perceptions oftheir effort are positively related to theirself-reported performance. Regressingperformance on effort indicates supportfor hypothesis one as the beta coefficientof .178 is statistically significant at p

Academic Article Fall 2007 47compensation system. However, given theoutcome-based versus process-based controlsystem, it is likely that unscrupulousindividuals looking for low control may selfselect the commission-based compensationsystem. This self selection leads to a higherproportion of ‘sales oriented’ and/oropportunistic individuals in outcome-basedcompensation systems.Management is faced with the dilemma ofavoiding outcome-based compensation oraccepting the possibility that customers willhave some negative views about the sales role.This study suggests other options tomanagement for avoiding unethical behaviorsand resultant stigmatization beyond usingoutcome-based compensation. As we outlinenext, an integrated series of sales managementpractices could alleviate some of the moredeleterious consequences of stigmatization ofthe sales profession.Our first recommendation is that managersshould not ignore or discount the possibilitythat a stigma is associated with their firm’s salespositions. When using commission-based salescompensation, it is important to determine ifyour sales people feel customers hold negativeviews about the sales position. Care should betaken to ensure that the salespeople areexpressing their opinion about the position andnot customer opinions about them asindividuals. It is quite possible that thesalesperson could reason that the customerdoesn’t hold a positive opinion of the sales rolebut thinks quite highly of them. The questionsincluded in the stigma scale, in the appendix tothis paper, are a good guide to the questions amanager should ask of sales people.Sales managers can confirm the influence ofstigma consciousness by querying theirsalespeople about the sales process. Managersshould seek to identify any role inaccuraciesthat may be the result of stigmatization.Managers should look for inaccurate estimatesof the amount and types of effort necessary toachieve a successful transaction. Managersshould also look for inaccuracies in estimatesof the reward achieved for a successful sale. Asalesperson that overestimates the effortrequired to complete a sale or incorrectlyestimated the reward earned by a sale that hasalso expressed stigma-consciousness indicatesa problem.The second step for the manager is todetermine if, in the aggregate, there areenough salespeople aware of customerstigmatization. Managers are cautioned toremember that not all salespeople will expressawareness of the stigma even if it exists.Salespeople have coping mechanisms to dealwith the stigma and thus may not exhibit aconsciousness of the stigma. A cautionarynote about one coping mechanism is in order.A focused qualitative study found that someautomobile salespeople cope by reversing theroles and stigmatizing the customers as theinferior group with negative characteristics(Felcher 1995). This particular copingmechanism may require extensive retraining toavoid it devolving into deceitful andopportunistic behaviors.For the sales manager, the most importantgroup is the salespeople that express anawareness of the stigma. The results of thisstudy indicate that managers can mediate theeffects of stigmatization on effort. The key isVol. 7, No. 4

48 Journal of Selling & Major Account Managementin recognizing that stigma applies to the salesrole and not the individual. Again looking atthe appendix at the end of the paper (see theitems measuring manager support), one seesthe emphasis is upon supporting theindividual and not the sales task. Managersneed to acknowledge the stigma but point outthat it is not personally directed. Managementdoes not need to expend efforts on buildingup the sales role. Rather, managers shouldfocus on the individual. Management effortto spend time with each salespersonindividually (the management literature oftencites three times a week) as opposed to timespent in group meetings will have benefits.Coupling this management time withindividualized training in coping techniqueswill lead to extensive improvements in effort.Measuring the success of managementsupport is also relatively simple. The effect ofmanagement intervention should becomeevident through more accurate roleperceptions. Salespeople’s estimates of theprobability of success based on effort shouldbecome more closely aligned with the firm’sexperience. Similarly, accuracy in roleperceptions will be indicated by how close thesalesperson’s estimate of the specific rewardfrom a successful sale is to the company’sactual calculation of compensation. Thus,managers can query the salespeople bothbefore about their role accuracy as adiagnostic of potential problems and aftersome management intervention forindications of successful mediation.Another possible implication of stigmatizationis its consequence on effort. Low motivationto exert sales effort will have a negative impactNorthern Illinois Universityon performance. Pinel et al (2005) suggestthat the decrease in effort by highlystigma-conscious people might occur due to“psychological disengagement,” a process ofdistancing the self from the domain in whichthe stigmatization is experienced. Thisdisengagement may be a partial explanationfor the high voluntary turnover of automobilesalespeople. A cycle of low estimates aboutobtaining the commission followed by lowsuccess rates creates the self-fulfillingexpectancy leading ultimately to low income.Management engagement might break thiscycle and decrease turnover.As a final recommendation, management canhelp salespeople disconfirm the customer’sexpected stereotype. First impressions canconfirm or disconfirm expectations and thesebegin with the introduction of the customerand salesperson (Wood 2006). Educatingsalespeople on the appropriate display ofinitial nonverbal signals can have a hugeimpact on the balance of the customer/salesperson interaction. Handshakes, eyecontact, and genuine smiles begin therelationship on a positive note and are morethan a formality. Managers should be aware ofthe impact of these displays and role play withtheir salespeople to practice non-verbals. Thistraining is an example of the individualizedattention mentioned above.LIMITATIONS AND FUTURERESEARCHThis research just scratches the surface of aneglected area in the sales literature, namelythe effect of society's negative stereotyping ofthe sales profession. Because this researchuses automobile salespeople in a deliberate

Academic Article Fall 2007 49attempt to maximize stigmatization and tomaintain a commission-based compensationcontext, caution should prevail when drawingany broad conclusions. However, thisresearch is an extension of an establishedframework of motivated salespeopleexpending more effort which leads toincreases in performance. The papercontributes to our understanding ofmotivation by finding stigmatization impedesthis effort. Of course, other factors such assalespeople’s personal characteristics,experience with selling, and/or the type ofselling situation also influence themotivation-effort-performance model and thedeliberate exclusion of positive influences is alimitation of this study. This limitation couldbe alleviated by additional research. Inaddition, while it appears likely that regardlessof compensation structure the presence ofstigma may negatively influence sales effortand performance, investigation of thisconclusion needs to continue. Extensions ofthis line of research are imperative, as it is notlikely that the negative opinions of salespeoplewill disappear any time soon.Another fruitful line of investigation would beto see if salespeople were conscious of thestigma prior to starting the job. Futurelongitudinal studies would investigate if thelevels of stigma consciousness had changedsince starting employment. Research mightreveal additional factors that mediate theinfluence of the stigmatization. However,since the salespeople in our sample had beenat their current dealership for an average ofover five years, their tenure would likely havebiased their previous recollections of stigma;consequently, we did not measure their stigmaconsciousness prior to entering theprofession.Despite these various shortcomings it is clearthat managers can mediate the effect ofstigma. This managerial influence upon fullycommissioned salespeople is another underexplored area in the literature. Theimplication that sales positions that primarilyrely upon monetary rewards for motivationcan also motivate sales effort by 'soft' factorssuggest a hybrid system of control where theinfluences of monetary rewards are monitoredby managers. Research into such hybridsystems is likely to be fruitful. Finally, thisresearch needs to extend into differentcontexts, such as, services or business tobusiness sales.REFRENCESAdkins, Natalie Ross and Julie L. Ozanne(2005), "The Low Literate Consumer,"Journal of Consumer Research, 32 (2), 93-105.Anderson, Erin and Richard L. Oliver (1987),"Perspectives on Behavior-BasedVersus Outcome-Based SalesforceControl Systems," Journal ofMarketing, 51 (October), 76-88.Bagozzi, Richard P. (1980), "Salespeople andTheir Managers: An Exploratory Studyof Some Similarities and Differences,"Sloan Management Review, 21 (2), 15-26.Baldauf, Artur, David W. Cravens, andNigel F.Piercy(2005),"Sales ManagementControl Research-Synthesis and anAgenda for Future Research," Journal ofPersonal Selling & Sales Management, 25(1), 7-26.Vol. 7, No. 4

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Academic Article Fall 2007 51Leonard, Nancy H., Laura L. Beauvais, andRichard Scholl (1999), "WorkMotivation: The Incorporation ofSelf-Concept-Based Processes," HumanRelations, 52 (8), 969-98.Link, Bruce G. and Jo C. Phelan (2001),"Conceptualizing Stigma," AmericanSociological Review, 27, 363-85.Luk, Dora M. and Margaret A. Shaffer (2005),"Work and Family Domain Stressorsand Support: Within and Cross-DomainInfluences on Work-Family Conflict,"Journal of Occupational and OrganizationalPsychology, 78 (4), 489-508.Oliver, Richard L. and Erin Anderson (1994),"An Empirical Test of the Consequencesof Behavior and Outcome Based SalesControl Systems," Journal of Marketing, 58(4), 53-67.Oyserman, Daphna and Janet K. Swim (2001),"Stigma: An Insider's View," Journal ofSocial Issues, 57 (1), 1-14.Periatt, Jeffery A., Stephen A. LeMay, and SubraChakrabarty (2004), "The SellingOrientation-Customer Orientation(SOCO) Scale: Cross Validation of theRevised Version," Journal of PersonalSelling & Sales Management, 24 (1), 49-54.Pinel, Elizabeth C. (1999), "StigmaConsciousness: The PsychologicalLegacy of Social Stereotypes," Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology, 76 (1), 114-28.Pinel, Elizabeth C., Leah R. Warner, andPoh-Pheng Chua (2005), "Getting Thereis Only Half the Battle: StigmaConsciousness and MaintainingDiversity in Higher Education," Journal ofSocial Issues, 61 (3), 481-506.Pinel, Elizabeth C. (2004), "You're Just SayingThat Because I'm a Woman: StigmaConsciousness and Attributions toDiscrimination," Self and Identity, 3 (1), 39-51.Rich, Gregory A. (1999), "SalespersonOptimism: Can Sales Managers EnhanceIt and So What if They Do?," Journal ofMarketing Theory and Practice (Winter), 53-63.Saxe, Robert and Barton A. Weitz (1982), "TheSOCO Scale: A Measure of CustomerOrientation of Salespeople," Journal ofMarketing Research, 19 (August), 343-51.Singh, Jagdip (1993), "Boundary Role Ambiguity:Facts, Determinants, and Impacts,"Journal of Marketing, 57 (2), 11-31.Sujan, Harish, Barton A. Weitz, and NirmalyaKumar (1994), "Learning Orientation,Working Smart, and Effective Selling,"Journal of Marketing, 58 (3), 39-52.Walker, Orville C., Jr., Gilbert A. Churchill Jr.,and Neil M. Ford (1977), "Motivationand Performance in Industrial Selling:Present Knowledge and NeededResearch," Journal of Marketing Research,14 (May), 156-68.Wildermuth, Susan M. (2004), "The Effects ofStigmatizing Discourse on the Quality ofOn-Line Relationships," CyberPsychology& Behavior, 7 (1), 73-84.Wood, John Andy (2006), "NLP Revisited:Nonverbal Communications and Signalsof Trustworthiness," Journal of PersonalSelling & Sales Management, 26 (2), 197-204.Vinita Sangtani(Ph.D. Georgia State University)Assistant Professor of MarketingDepartment of Management & MarketingNicholls State UniversityVinita.Sangtani@nicholls.eduJohn Andy Wood(Ph.D. Georgia State University)Assistant Professor of MarketingCollege of Business and EconomicWest Virginia Universityjawood@mail.wvu.eduVol. 7, No. 4

52 Journal of Selling & Major Account ManagementAPPENDIX 1MeasuresPerformance (Sujan, Weitz and Kumar 1994):1. At contributing to my dealerships acquisition of market share2. At selling high profit margin products3. At generating a high volume of sales dollars4. At quickly generating sales of new additions to my dealerships inventory5. At correctly identifying prospects6. At converting prospects to customers7. At exceeding sales targets8. At assisting the sales manager at achieving his or her goalsManager Support (Rich 1999):1. Demonstrates he/she genuinely cares about me2. Shows respect for my individual needs3. Shows respect for my individual feelings4. Usually trusts me to do the right thing5. Treats me like a real person, not a subordinateStigma Pinel (1999), Wildermuth (2004), Pinel (2004), and Pinel et al. (2005):1. Stereotypes about automobile salespersons have not affected me personally2. I never worry that my behaviors will be viewed as stereotypically that of an automobile salesperson3. Most of my friends do not judge me on the basis of being an automobile salesperson4. It never crossed my mind that my profession is any less than other professions5. When others speak disapprovingly of automobile salespersons, I criticize myself about being one.Effort (Dixon, Spiro, Jamil 2001):1. I worked hard and it paid off2. I tried very hard to make this sale3. I put in a lot of effort in this sale4. I put in the time needed to make the sale5. I gave the effort needed to make the saleNorthern Illinois University