College of Business News

Seth Cockrell

In 2014, General Motors lost $4.1 billion and was tied to the deaths of over 100 people (Isidore, 2015). The cause of this calamity was a faulty ignition switch designed by GM and installed in several of their cars. The ignition switch had a detent plunger that was too short, allowing the key in the ignition to easily turn from the on to the off position. Sometimes, the ignition turned to the off position, turning the car off at inopportune moments… like during a car crash. In these cases, the car was turned off and the air bags were disengaged and did not deploy, contributing to the deaths of at least 124 people (Isidore, 2015). Costs tied to the recall ran up $4.1 billion in 2014 alone and left a void of trust between GM and consumers.

Recalls like GM’s constitute a company crisis. During these crises, companies engage in communications strategies and marketing tactics to repair their image and generate leads; and they recover. However, while several articles have been written with respect to the effectiveness of various communications strategies and marketing tactics companies can use, little attention has been given to the sales force… and it should.

The sales force plays a pivotal role in crisis management and in the replenishment of financial resources. They represent the company to the customer and are responsible for generating sales. They, alone, are not responsible – as marketing shares the responsibility of generating leads; but, it is up to salespeople to convert those leads into paying customers. Without these conversions, crisis-embroiled companies cannot recover their losses and replenish their financial resources.

Interestingly, there’s a dearth of research on the effects of crises on the sales force. A few colleagues and I have begun research to answer these questions, but the research is in its infancy.

A number of variables that can influence reactions to the crises have yet to be examined, but we are working to find answers. So far, our research indicates that companies’ better salespeople are the most prone to leave during these crises, while the rest are relatively unaffected. This is a concerning finding for companies because it indicates that companies are losing the better salespeople they have, at a time when they need them the most. As the research is in its infancy, these findings should be taken with a grain of salt. However, if more supporting evidence were found, it would mean that companies need to engage in special efforts to retain their top sales talent during these crises. It would also mean that crises are a great time for competitors to steal away high-quality sales talent. What companies can do to retain their sales talent is still unclear, but we hope to find answers soon.

Seth Cockrell, PhD., is an assistant professor in the marketing department at Missouri State University. He researches issues related to sales for management and corporate social responsibility.

This article appeared in the August 12, 2017 edition of the News-Leader and can be accessed online here