Navigating the Unexpected: How Sales Teams Can Thrive During System Shocks
Navigating the Unexpected: How Sales Teams Can Thrive During System Shocks
Sales has always been a dynamic profession, shaped by shifting markets, evolving technology, and changing customer demands. But what happens when the usual fluctuations give way to something more profound—a sudden, seismic shift that disrupts not just your routine, but the entire business ecosystem? These events, known as "sales system shocks," are more than just a bad quarter. They are unforeseen, external events that force a radical rethink of how business is done. Think natural disasters, economic meltdowns, or global pandemics—events that can upend established sales practices in an instant.
According to the research “A Theory of Sales System Shocks,” published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) and authored by Nathaniel N. Hartmann, Nawar N. Chaker, Bruno Lussier, Denis Larocque, and Johannes Habel, defines a sales system as a swift change to the business ecosystem that requires a substantial number of buyers and sellers to revise their established exchange practices. These revisions can range from small adjustments to wholesale transformations, depending on the shock’s substantiality and scope. For example, while localized natural disasters may only affect specific regions or industries, global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic disrupt entire ecosystems, forcing shifts in purchasing patterns, communication channels, and customer needs.
The Impact of Shocks on Sales Teams
About the Research
A theory of sales system shocks
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS), 2023; Volume 52, Issue 3
Authors:
Nathaniel N. Hartmann
Nawar N. Chaker
Bruno Lussier
Denis Larocque
Johannes Habel
The research illustrates how sales system shocks affect salespeople in significant ways, particularly in terms of psychological and financial well-being. The study, which analyzed 28 sales professionals’ lived experiences, highlighted several impacts:
Psychological Effects: Increased job insecurity, stress, and burnout were common themes. As one participant described, “It was very stressful until we saw the light.” These mental strains are often compounded by the challenges of adapting to new realities with little precedent to guide decisions.
Financial Consequences: Sales often plummet as customers cancel orders or reduce purchases. For instance, one participant noted, “We lost some deals, we lost a lot of money,” while another reported that their company faced bankruptcy due to the fallout from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Adapting to Shocks: Cognitive and Behavioral Responses
The research identifies two primary responses that influence how salespeople navigate these disruptions:
Accepting the Change: This cognitive response involves mental preparation to cope with new realities. Key components include:
Framing: Reassessing the situation positively. One participant emphasized the need to shift to "glass-half-full thinking" to remain optimistic.
Projecting: Looking ahead to post-shock recovery, which provides motivation. As one participant remarked, “It’s temporary—things will stabilize again.”
Persisting: Maintaining sales efforts despite difficulties. Salespeople described “bucking up and getting ready for the ride” as crucial for survival.
Adapting to the Change: This behavioral response involves altering how value is created and delivered. Examples from the study include:
Creating Value: During a hurricane-induced shock, one participant explored how their product could still help customers under new constraints, turning a crisis into an opportunity.
Delivering Value: The shift from face-to-face to virtual selling during COVID-19 required salespeople to acquire new technical skills, such as optimizing lighting and presentation for video calls.
Practical Steps for Sales Organizations
To prepare for and navigate sales system shocks effectively, organizations should integrate the following key strategies, as identified in the research:
Proactive Planning: Anticipate sudden external events that could disrupt traditional practices—such as natural disasters, economic recessions, or public health emergencies. By identifying potential vulnerabilities in advance, organizations can minimize reaction time when shocks occur.
Scenario-Based Strategies: Design and communicate clear strategies for various shock scenarios. This ensures that all team members know how to respond effectively, whether the disruption requires minor adjustments or a complete overhaul of sales practices.
Cultivating Adaptability and Resilience: Equip sales teams with the skills to adapt to new market realities and bounce back from disruptions. This includes training staff in framing challenges positively, projecting future opportunities, and persisting in their efforts during tough times.
Strengthening Customer Relationships: Invest in building strong relationships with clients and stakeholders, as these act as stabilizing forces during crises. Functional and emotional support from these relationships can help salespeople adjust and innovate more effectively.
Providing Emotional Support: Offer resources and foster an environment that supports the emotional well-being of sales teams. Managers can play a pivotal role by encouraging open communication, providing coaching, and promoting a healthy work-life balance.
Regularly Adapting Sales Methods: Continuously assess and adjust sales methods to align with evolving customer needs and market conditions. Whether it’s shifting to virtual sales platforms or reimagining value propositions, staying agile is critical to maintaining relevance during and after a disruption.
Embracing the Inevitable
Sales system shocks are an inevitable part of the business landscape. By understanding their nature and impact—and proactively preparing for them—sales organizations can not only navigate these turbulent times but also emerge stronger and more resilient. As Hartmann et al. note, the key lies in cultivating adaptability, fostering relationships, and embedding these principles into organizational culture.
From the Authors
What specific relevant marketing challenge(s) your article addresses?
Salespeople and managers in organizations with a sales force often struggle to respond to changes that arise during a sales system shock caused by triggering events, such as natural disasters, security catastrophes, or pandemics. This research addresses that struggle and offers guiding insights through a framework designed to help salespeople and managers accept and adapt to such changes. The framework emphasizes the importance of emotional support—psychological aid that includes empathy and encouragement—and functional support, which provides information and expertise regarding changes to selling approaches. These forms of support are essential for navigating sales system shocks and the resulting changes.
How and to what extent may a company or industry benefit from the research?
Industrial and retail salespeople facing a sales system shock, such as an unanticipated regulatory change, can respond more effectively by (1) accepting the associated changes and (2) adapting to those changes if they receive support from their colleagues (e.g., peers, managers, and customers) that offers empathy, encouragement, current information in a timely manner, and know-how about how to sell more effectively in the current environment. Managers and colleagues can, for example, help salespeople understand that the situation is temporary, that temporary setbacks are to be expected, and encourage them to make the best of the situation. In addition, managers can provide salespeople with relevant information about product availability, decision rules on allocating scarce offerings, and best practices for navigating the environmental changes learned from their own experiences or by other salespeople. Similarly, sales colleagues can share information about how to change value propositions and customer targeting best.
What competitive, cooperative, customer, employee, or market conditions may the success of the recommendations depend on?
The framework is based on in-depth interviews regarding personal experiences with various system-level shocks, where a system-level shock involves a quick change to the business ecosystem that affects some or many sellers and buyers. This change includes shifts in the extent and magnitude of practices typically involved in selling and buying. Our research suggests that the importance of emotional and functional support, as well as accepting the change and adapting to it, increases as both the scope of sellers and buyers are impacted, as well as the extent and magnitude of change to exchange practices.
How can the recommendations from your findings specifically be implemented?
Our findings underscore the importance of building a work environment that promotes emotional support and functional support. They also emphasize the importance of hiring salespeople who are willing to provide emotional and functional support to colleagues in times of need, as well as those who can accept change and are willing to adapt to it. Relatedly, the findings point to the importance of promoting salespeople to management roles or hiring managers willing to provide emotional and functional support to salespeople.
