Was COVID-19 the end of B2B Sales as We Know it? Understanding the New Skills and Competencies of the B2B Salesperson After a Disruption Event Such as COVID-19

• Published in: International Journal of Professional Business Review Vol. 8; no. 7; pp. e02532 - 19
• Main Authors: Bullemore-Campbell, Jorge, Tautiva, Julián Diaz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: São Paulo AOS-ESTRATÉGIA & INOVAÇÃO; JPB-Review 01.01.2023
• Subjects: COVID; COVID-19; Hybrid Sales; Personal Selling; PLS; Sales Management; Self-efficacy; SEM
• ISSN: 2525-3654; 2525-3654
• DOI: 10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i7.2532

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine despite Covid-19 pandemic, several companies managed to grow their sales. This leads us to our research questions: what selling competencies make best salespeople post Covid-19 disruption? And, which of the sales competencies make to be most important toward their job performance?   Theoretical framework: The B2B selling abilities post Covid-19 as the subject of this study has been little research by the academy and without a dominant theoretical framework, but rather a partial vision. This article contributes to integrating the scarce academic literature, which, as we demonstrate, is mainly empirical, with a theoretical domain.   Design/methodology/approach: The use of established generic scales capturing each of the constructs of interest by surveying Key Account Managers in a B2B industry setting. Descriptive statistics, psychometric properties, pairwise correlations, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) where deployed.   Findings:  The results suggests that there is a positive direct effect of salesperson bricolage, adaptive selling, resiliency, salesperson' self-efficacy, and psychological flexibility with salesperson post-disruption performance. Lastly, a negative indirect effect is found between learning orientation, salesperson creativity, and salesperson grit.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The study has focused on the proposal of what are the new sales competencies that B2B key account managers must develop to achieve a better sales performance, so managers must train and coach their B2B Key Account Managers (KAM) considering the new abilities needed (salesperson bricolage, adaptive selling, resiliency, salesperson' self-efficacy, and psychological flexibility) for sales success.   Originality/value:  The value of this study is a novel effort to understand what skills are needed to succeed in the post Covid-19 B2B selling environment.