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The purpose of this paper is to provide a detail review of the social selling literature and to offer future research needs. Social selling has gained the attention of sales researchers. Rather than merely a new tool, social selling redefines the traditional sales process. However, the literature is spread across topics of social media and sales, social customer relationship management, salesforce automation and social selling, and does not provide an agreed-upon definition or tested construct for implementation.

The paper presents a comprehensive literature review of social selling and all related terminology.

The authors propose a social selling framework that includes personal branding, information exchange, networking and social listening to define and outline the construct while suggesting the antecedents and outcomes to guide future research. Findings from a literature review include outlining key theories used in social selling research.

This review offers a conceptual framework of social selling, including both antecedents and outcomes, to inform future research and guide academics and practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for team selling to sports firms that can be used to more effectively select members for sales and CRM teams and improve the performance of teams in attracting and retaining premium seating customers.

The paper provides a two‐stage framework based on the personal selling process and the activities that support CRM programs. Recommendations are guided by the sport marketing and team selling literature streams and by best practices in sport marketing.

The paper recommends the formation of two teams (personal selling and CRM) during the customer relationship cycle and provides guidelines for team member selection based on the critical activities that occur during the personal selling and CRM processes. Key success factors are provided, including the establishment of a customer‐focused organization and effective communication practices among team members and between selling teams.

Although the use of selling teams is gaining popularity in several industries, the broader sales literature lacks research that can support the development and effective management of selling teams. Within the sport marketing literature, there is no research on selling teams. The main academic contribution of the paper is the cross‐disciplinary merging of existing team selling research in the sales literature with current research and industry information on marketing and sales by sport organizations (luxury suite sales). For the practitioner, the framework provides guidance on effective team member selection and best practices for the effective management of selling teams.

Based on insights from the buying process, the purpose of this study is to align selling firms to the buyer’s efficiency needs that are grounded on the different types of purchases.

Using thematic analysis, this study conducted 35 in-depth interviews with business-to-business buyers and salespeople on the changing buyers’ sourcing needs.

In line with buyer enablement, buyers prefer personal selling when they perceive the sales offer as highly risky for the buying organization, whereas they have a strong preference for a direct marketing approach by the selling firm when they are purchasing low-risk purchases.

This paper is a qualitative study. Future research should collect secondary company data to validate the results.

This paper addresses the buyer’s sourcing needs and presents how direct marketing channels and personal selling should be balanced to increase the return on salesforce resources.

This is one of the first studies to examine how sales organizations can create value by facilitating the buying process. Depending on the buyer’s categorization of the sales offer, this study highlights how a choice between direct marketing or personal selling improves the buyer’s perception of the sales organization.

Although arguments – both pro and con – can be constructed regarding trade shows, evidence suggests that enhancements to these events may be necessary. Reports an exploratory study, in which exhibitors at an industrial regional trade show were queried concerning potential improvements to trade shows and the perceived impact of these changes on the elements of the personal selling process. Results demonstrate that attendee quality, attendee quantity and measuring trade show results should be increased. Although the net effect of these changes, in concert with nine others examined, would be to impact positively all aspects of the personal selling process, the exhibitor′s ability to establish goodwill with customers would significantly improve relative to all other personal selling dimensions. Additionally, significant improvements to communicating, intelligence gathering and prospecting would be achieved relative to selling and servicing.

Discusses the changing role of the branch bank manager in relation to the bank services marketing, and describes results of research carried out into the bank manager's role, and its re‐evaluation. Says that there is a need for a more positive approach to the challenges of marketing at the branch level. Recognises that personal communications between managers and customers is of major importance. Posits that the bank manger has basically a similar role to a salesman (one‐to‐one situations) although still some way apart. Maintains that in order to accomplish all the tasks discussed there are three basic requirements to be fulfilled: time, ability, and motivation. Attempts to establish a view of the role of the bank manager in personal communication processes. Concludes that the manager must possess the resources in order to perform effectively in the marketing role, although, sometimes, financial ability is lacking and the absence of total motivation towards marketing has already been discussed.

This study aims to examine salespeople’s perspectives on the value of corporate heritage to relationship selling and the issue of trust in personal selling situations in the context of emerging markets.

An interpretive approach was adopted, and 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior salespeople in heritage institutions operating in Jordan.

This study reveals that corporate heritage is a valuable organizational resource for relationship selling. Reflecting the values of “trust” and “affinity,” corporate heritage confers trust to salespeople and their products in personal selling situations. Sales managers are advised to use corporate heritage to strengthen sales activities and empower salespeople.

While previous research has explained the significance of corporate heritage to relationship marketing, the significance of corporate heritage to relationship selling and the issue of trust in personal selling situations remain unexplored. Jordan represents a context that has been largely neglected despite being typical of the corporate heritage phenomenon.

Highlights two major directions in the character of the personal selling function — the first is the increasing professional nature of industrial selling, the second is growing managerial orientation within selling. Notes the selling process is evolving and broadening in ways which can make the salesperson valued to the buyer beyond product or service value offered. Says that salespeople receive much broader scopes of authority. Examines cause and effect of changes in selling characteristics, reviewing evidence specific to these new directions. Propagates some of the feelings that are negatively hung on salespeople such as being selfish, deceitful, lazy and often downright dishonest. Goes on to explain why these are wrong and gives positive connotations to try and put things right. Key is understanding the process of buying‐selling because there must be a solid conceptual foundation to support the diagnostic process. Summarizes that hiring, training, compensation and other sales management practices must be adjusted — but the evidence base seems to promote a promising future.

The purpose of this paper is to assess hygiene practices during fish selling in retail stores.

The data were collected by observations during inspections carried out in 100 randomly selected food retail stores, both independent and chain, selling fresh fish, fish products and other seafood. Stores were located in and around the area of Warsaw, Poland. The inspection check list consisted of 43 questions based on rigorist requirements of Commission Regulation (EC) 852, 853 and Codex Alimentarius. The question form was divided into three hygiene sectors: hygiene conditions of seafood departments; hygiene of fish selling process; personal hygiene of employees. Inspections were unannounced, and were conducted by discreet visual observations of employees work routine and selling procedures.

The level of hygiene compliances with inspection criteria was unexpectedly low. The highest percentage of compliance appeared in the hygiene of fish selling processes (in 44 percent of the stores compliance with evaluated criteria was found), less one compliance levels appeared in personal hygiene (18 percent) and hygiene of seafood department’s hygiene conditions (23 percent). Neither the size of the store, nor its location and type (independent and local or global chain) affected the compliance rate.

The main research limitation is that assessment was done only by observation method. This is one of audit/inspection methods according to ISO 19011/2011, guidelines for auditing management systems. However, this kind of inspection cannot assess microbiological cleanliness or other like ATP or symptoms of diseases expect of only visible signs. The used inspection check list needs more testing and more analyses should be done for its reliability and validity.

Adequate hygiene practices are critical in preventing cross-contamination. However, none of the inspected stores ensured full implementation of all hygiene requirements during the sale of fish. The results indicated that a greater effort should be made to increase hygiene level both in small and large size retail stores. The designed inspection questionnaire proved to be a successful format for detailed evaluation of hygiene practices during the sale of fish. However, more work and analyses should be done for its reliability and validity.

The findings bring some information for the consumers that in many retail stores the hygiene level during the fish sales might be insufficient.

The paper presents additional and detailed data on hygiene practices during fish selling, which are rarely pointed out by other authors. The applied evaluation method showed a low level of compliance with the rigorous hygienic criteria, adopted in this study, that may raise some food safety concerns.

This article identifies the selling techniques that are critical success factors (CSFs) for salespeople who sell banking products and services in Ecuador. The study examines the selling techniques that differentiate top and bottom sales performers in the Ecuadorian banking industry. Both self‐reported and supervisor ratings are used to measure salesperson performance. The results suggest that differences in performance between top and bottom performing salespeople relate to the use of five selling techniques: examining records at the prospecting stage of the selling process; approaching prospects using statements about the salesperson, the bank, or the names of persons who referred the prospect; using customer friendly language during the sales presentation; being knowledgeable of the benefits of the banks’ products and being able to clarify the products’ benefits; and ensuring post‐purchase satisfaction of existing customers.

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of how the “seven steps of selling” are used within the modern international business environment and the degree to which international sales executives are able to identify and adapt to differences in global markets.

A phenomenological type of approach was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with international sales executives (based either in the USA or UK) that operated across multiple different regions of the world.

This study provides a holistic assessment of the international business-to-business sales process. This study outlines four key aspects of the sales process that differ from traditional domestic industrial selling. Then, the study suggests examining the international sales process as a stage-based approach, versus exclusively focusing on the sales process as a seven-step process. Third, the study focuses on differences between regions of the world.

From an academic standpoint, this study highlights a number of avenues to pursue. In addition, this study underscores the limited volume of research focused on international sales force management, especially the differences within the sales process. Limitations focus on issues pertaining to the sales executives examined within the study.

Firms looking to enter or expand their international market presence will be able to use the results of this study focusing on the international sales process. Firms can apply the results of this study to build both initial and continuous training programs.

This study identifies aspects that occur during each stage of the international sales process to provide a detailed account of the activities that international salespeople are engaged in. Further, this study suggests that the stages of the sales process differ between transactional exchanges and strategic relationships. However, this study offers more insight on the development of strategic long-term relationships, as the majority of the sales executives focused on the strategic relationship development during the interviews. As a last step within this study, seven country-specific issues are described.