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The Use of Communication to Motivate College Sales Teams

University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Sarah E. Ruccio

Broadcast Music, Inc., Nashville, TN

This study explored how sales managers and sales people construct and perform motivational communication. Sullivan's (1988) Motivational Language Theory (MLT) was used as a starting point. This theory is critiqued and reinterpreted within a framework emphasizing multiple communication goals and multiple levels of communication competence. Participants included 24 sales managers and sales representatives from University Directories, a major publishing company of campus telephone directories. A thematic analysis was conducted on interview notes and transcripts, from which three major and four minor themes emerged. The experiences of three sales teams are explored to contextualize the themes, to illustrate deficiencies in MLT, and to highlight the potential of the alternative theoretical framework for explaining motivational communication. Findings demonstrate that motivational communication acts often address multiple communication goals and are open to multiple interpretations. Motiva tional communication considered competent by employees typically addresses multiple goals (instrumental, identity, and relational) by strategies of integra tion or separation and fits employees' beliefs about what constitutes competent communication. Managers therefore must pay attention to the multiple implica tions and interpretations of their motivational attempts and must adapt their communication strategically to employees' beliefs and values.

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