An updated taxonomy of salesperson influence tactics

Abstract

To advance research on salesperson influence tactics (the means through which salespeople persuade buyers), scholars need strong measures. We update the existing theoretically derived taxonomy of seller influence tactics (SITs), improving definitions and measurement of the original six SITs and adding a seventh influence tactic, personal appeals, to the taxonomy. The article begins by reviewing the broader persuasion and influence literature and then, more specifically, the interpersonal influence literature. The SITs taxonomy is placed in context of this literature and specific recommendations are made, including the suggested use of this taxonomy in sales research. A multistage process was used to update the measures, including a literature review, feedback of domain experts, several rounds of pretests, and a final study using 322 professional buyers to evaluate measurement characteristics and establish nomological validity for the updated SITs taxonomy. Through this work, we have broadened the appeal of the SITs framework by incorporating a new influence tactic, which will be of interest to sales researchers, and provided updated definitions of the constructs and improvements to the items used for each influence tactic. Strong arguments support the use of the SITs taxonomy versus alternative taxonomies, giving researchers confidence in their use.

Keywords:

• seller influence tactics
• sales tactics
• measurement
• measures
• SITs

Notes

Notes

1 While Yukl and colleagues provided a set of influence tactic scales (the IBQ taxonomy) with four items per tactic (Yukl, Seifert, and Chavez 2008), their taxonomy is relevant for internal organizational behavior not cross-organizational sales- or channels-related contexts. We recognize the contributions of their work and draw some of their items into our revised taxonomy.

2 We chose scholars who have published in Journal of Marketing or Journal of Marketing Research as these two publications are included in “top journal” status for most universities.