Utilizing Adaptive Selling to Drive Sales Success in SMEs: An SDL Approach
Keywords:
adaptive selling, relationship quality, customer retention, sales performanceAbstract
This research aims to fill gaps in the marketing management literature by developing a conceptual model to enhance the performance of individual salespeople through adaptive sales strategies. The study examines the implementation of adaptive selling from the perspective of individual SMES salespeople in the food and beverage sector in Jakarta, an area that has not been widely studied compared to corporate salespeople at the B2B level. SMES salespeople operate in a retail context, directly engaging with end consumers who have diverse preferences. This study employs an accidental sampling technique with 204 respondents consisting of SMES salespeople in the F&B sector, of which 198 were retained after data cleaning to meet the required sample size for analysis. Furthermore, the research emphasizes the role of relationship quality as a mediator between adaptive selling and sales performance, addressing a critical gap in existing literature. However, the study acknowledges limitations due to its narrow focus on SMES salespeople in the F&B sector, which may affect the generalizability of the findings to other industries. Future research is encouraged to explore the application of the same concept in different sectors or regions to further validate its effectiveness
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