ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses key issues related to subjective measurement of salesperson performance and the forms that might be used to administer such an evaluation, and explains how a sales manager can make the performance review process more productive and valuable for the salesperson. The Leadership box presents a classic theory of motivation, attribution theory that is quite relevant to this managerial dilemma. Customer relationship management (CRM) software systems integrate customer contacts by salespeople into their information collection, analysis, and reporting capabilities. Quantitative measures of performance focus on the outputs and inputs of what salespeople do, whereas qualitative measures reflect behavioral or process aspects of what they do and how well they do it. This difference in what is being measured creates some marked differences in the way objective and subjective measurements are taken and how they are used. Sales organizations need to work toward developing a performance management system.
