Dear Chuck,
Thank you for your question. Perhaps one of the best reference for
information regarding your question is the study done by Dudley and
Goodson in 1994. Although markets may change over the course of time,
cultural motivations change more slowly, and the results and
conclusions found in this study are likely to remain largely valid.
This research study was discussed in the journal American Salesman,
Feb 1994 v39 n2, on page 25. Here is the abstract of that article:
"A survey of salespeople from six countries shows that motivations for
engaging in a sales career vary widely. Most salespeople, however, did
cite financial reward as one fairly important consideration. In the
US, some 37% of respondents named money as the single most important
factor behind their choice of career. In contrast, the number who
named financial reward to be their most motivator was sharply lower in
other countries. In Canada, it was 20%, while in South Africa it was
27%. In New Zealand and Australia, the figures are even lower at 17%
and 15.6%, respectively. These numbers suggest that, in addition to
the observable variations among individual salespeople, cross-cultural
factors might also be at work."
Here is a link to the book published by Dudley and Goodson, which
includes the results of their research (in the Appendix):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0935907068/qid=1112741667/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-9089673-4298302?v=glance&s=books
Here is a more recent (1999) edition:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0935907076/qid=1112741776/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-9089673-4298302?v=glance&s=books
__________
The publishing company behind this book, Behavioral Sciences Research
Press (in Dallas, TX), founded by the authors in 1979, has further
resources on their research into the motivations of salespeople from
various cultures. Here is a link to a bibliography of their published
papers:
http://www.bsrpinc.com/research/papers.htm
and a link to their research studies:
http://www.bsrpinc.com/research/studies.htm
Here is some background information (including credentials) on the authors:
http://www.bsrpinc.com/news/about_authors.htm
__________
Here is a link to a news article summarizing some of their findings
from their motivational research:
http://www.bsrpinc.com/news/why_salespeople_sell.htm
The study involved asking nearly 41,000 people in nine nations what
they hoped to gain from a career in sales.
"Motivations assessed included opportunities to use talents, make
money, work creatively, obtain status, interact with people, be
self-managed, progress into management, freedom from routine, and
opportunities to be of service to others. The nations studied include
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, U.K. and
U.S.A. The study used the Sales Preference Questionnaire (SPQ®), to
obtain data."
Also from this article:
"?Their motivations form a colorful and vastly more complex tapestry
than superficial stereotypes allow,' says Dudley. 'Sales motivation in
the U.S.,' adds Tanner, 'is more money-motivated than in other
nations, but there are other more complex motivations at work.'
Thirty-three percent of U.S. salespeople and 36% of the salespeople in
the U.K. say they work primarily to earn substantial incomes. This
compares to only 9% in Norway and 11% in New Zealand, where
'lifestyle' considerations such as opportunities to use their
abilities and freedom from routine are considered more important. In
fact, 'successful U.S. salespeople often shun advancement into
management,' Dudley adds, ?because they can usually make much more
money in sales.' That further distinguishes U.S. salespeople from
those of other nations, where sales is frequently viewed as a
temporary step on the way to management. Over 12% of Australian
salespeople actually seek a career in management."
A full copy of the research article, by John Tanner and George Dudley,
from Baylor School of Business, can be found here:
http://business.baylor.edu/web/DEPT/COMM&MKT/SMA2003paper.pdf
John Tanner can be reached by e-mail at this address:
jeff_tanner@baylor.edu
The data in this particular study was collected between 2000-2002
covering multiple sales settings. Table 1 (found at the end of the
paper) details the results for each of nine motivational factors in
multiple countries. Here is an excerpt from this table for the US:
USA
Frequency Percent
0=blank 5 0%
1=use special abilities 4069 20.1%
2=earn a lot of money 6703 33.0%
3=be creative & original 794 3.9%
4=obtain high social status 451 2.2%
5=work with people 904 4.5%
6=be more self-managed 1059 5.2%
7=go into management 1234 6.1%
8=do new & exciting things 2277 11.2%
9=be of service to others 2798 13.8%
____________________________________
I hope this information was useful. Please feel free to request clarification.
Best,
-welte-ga |
