Average Colombian salespersons

Average salesperson in Colombia

A salesperson has a very important role because based on how they work the company could be beneficiated or not, that’s why the managers have to make a good relation with the salesperson and evaluate the different characteristics they have in order to have good strategies on how to improve the business.
There are four variables in which a salesperson could be evaluated in order to obtain the information needed and to see what are the things they need to improve and what are the aspects in which a salesperson in certain country has leverage. These variables vary from one country to another due to the differences in the cultural aspects.
Next I am going to analyze a Colombian salesperson, taking into account the variables which are a key element in this analysis. These variables are the following:

• Organizational commitment: in my point of view I think Colombian salespersons are not very committed in what they are doing, most of the times this happens because of the lack of interest many people have on their job and this is a problem we can see every day due to the fact that many people have to take any job they are offered even though it is not of his/hers expertise. Many people find this very discouraging and for that reason they are not motivated to do their best.
Another reason why I think they are not very committed is the lack of motivation that the enterprise offers their salespersons, most of the companies, shops, enterprises don’t pay attention to this aspect because they don’t consider it important, but the reality is that a person that is motivated with financial aid or opportunities for promotion, are most likely to put all their interest in the work that they are doing and this is reflected on the sales and the revenues.
Finally, another aspect that is very important to take into account is the way salespersons change of work. I think it is only logical if you are offered a better position with a higher salary that you accept and leave the other job without thinking it too much. This happens a lot in Colombia, but I think mostly on jobs that are not very well pay and in companies that are not very well known. In companies such as multinationals, people tend to take care of their job, because it is a recognized firm and they can have more opportunities by having it.

• Leadership behavior: In Colombia, there is a big problem that involves the lack of initiative of many salespersons (I say many because I don’t think is fair to make generalizations). They do not take the lead or make decisions without asking first the managers, which in my opinion is very bad because many sales could be lost due to the inefficiency and inadequate lead of the salespersons. The managers have a very high degree of fault in this matter because sometimes they feel like they are the only authority capable to make a well founded decision and that is why many salespersons are not allowed to be in charge.
In conclusion I think there is a very big inefficiency in the leadership behavior and this affects enormously the sales and revenues of a company.

• Role of stress: as I explained before many salespersons are not allowed to make decisions, which I think could affect and influence the role ambiguity of the salespersons because sometimes the job requires something that they cannot perform.
Regarding the role conflict, I think Colombian salespersons have to manage a lot of stress due to the fact that they have to respond to different people and be assigned a lot of different tasks.

• Cultural factors: Colombian salespersons have a high degree of power distance and low individualism. I think this happens because of the fact that the authority (manager) has always the power and the salespeople respect their decisions and them as a whole. As well I think that Colombians are not individualistic because our culture is very warm, close and related to people and that’s why we tend to be collectivistic.