Posted by: Bryan Hochstein

The National Conference in Sales Management (NCSM) honored winners of its “Best of the Best” competition at its “40 years of NCSM” Conference in Norfolk, VA (held March 25-27, 2026). The Best Research Presentation was awarded to Nicole Boylan, graduating from the University of Alabama (May 2026) and starting at Miami University, Ohio (fall of 2026). The Best Teaching Presentation was awarded to Barb Barney-McNamara, University of Illinois, Chicago. For details on NCSM, see .

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Author: Chris Berry

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Editorial

Artificial intelligence (AI) in sales organizations: the role of trust
—Deva Rangarajan, Jörg Westphal, Johannes Habel & Brian Rutherford []

Extended reality in B2B sales interactions
—Janina Riether, Robin-Christopher M. Ruhnau & Christian Homburg []

When sales managers stop pretending to be perfect: vulnerability as a catalyst for sales coachability
—Carlin A. Nguyen, Andrew B. Artis & Jeffrey E. Anderson []

Grounded theory application in sales research
—Jeff S. Johnson []

Leveraging coping flexibility to ease emotional exhaustion in salespeople
—Ali Anwar, Carissa L. Kim & Colleen E. McClure []

Editorial

Drivers of B2B sales force decline and growth
—Prabhakant Sinha, Arun Shastri, Sally Lorimer & Murali Mantrala []

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Author: James Coyle and Tim Greenlee

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Posted by: Christopher D. Hopkins

Call for Papers – Marketing Education Review Special Issue

Special Issue Title:

Advancing Excellence in Professional Selling and Sales Management Education

Submission Deadline: August 1^st, 2026

Guest Editors:

• Dr. Leff Bonney, Florida State University (lbonney@business.fsu.edu)
• Dr. Jessica Ogilvie, Marquette University (jessica.ogilvie@mu.edu)

Journal Editor:

• Dr. Christopher Hopkins, Auburn University (cdh0059@auburn.edu)

Special Issue Overview

Professional selling remains a critical engine of economic activity, a primary driver of firm revenue, and a foundational career path for a significant percentage of business graduates. The sales function is where strategy meets the market, and its effectiveness is paramount to organizational success. Consequently, the education and training of sales professionals—from undergraduate students taking their first sales course to seasoned executives honing their leadership skills—is a matter of vital importance to both academia and industry (Scribner, Delpechitre & Lastner, 2024).

Despite its enduring significance, sales education exists in a state of continuous evolution. It stands at the nexus of profound disruptions transforming higher education and the business world simultaneously (Alavi & Habel, 2021). Educators must navigate a complex environment characterized by shifting student expectations for flexibility and relevance, intense economic pressures on universities to demonstrate value, and rapidly evolving workforce demands from an industry grappling with technological change and new buyer behaviors (Cardinali et al., 2025).

A central and persistent challenge in this domain is bridging the gap between academic theory and professional practice (Metsola, 2025). Sales education must provide students with a rigorous theoretical foundation in areas like consumer behavior, persuasion, and strategic management, while also equipping them with the tangible, career-ready skills demanded by employers. This dual mandate requires a thoughtful and evidence-based approach to curriculum design, pedagogical innovation, and learner assessment. The scope of this challenge is broad, encompassing the full spectrum of learning contexts: traditional university degree programs and concentrations, corporate sales training and onboarding programs designed to shorten ramp-up times, and the development of sales acumen for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

This special issue of Marketing Education Review seeks to consolidate and advance our collective knowledge of how to best educate and train the sales professionals and leaders of today and tomorrow. We invite empirical, conceptual, and methodological contributions from across the entire landscape of professional selling and sales management education. The goal is to create a comprehensive special issue that addresses foundational questions, explores contemporary challenges, and provides actionable insights for educators, administrators, and training professionals dedicated to advancing excellence in the field.

Illustrative List of Topics

Submissions are welcome on a wide range of topics. The following non-exhaustive list is intended to illustrate the broad scope of the special issue:

1. Pedagogical Strategies and Curricular Innovation

• Effectiveness of Teaching Modalities: As student demands for flexibility grow, rigorous research is needed to compare the effectiveness of different delivery formats. We welcome comparative studies on learning outcomes in in-person, online, hybrid, and asynchronous sales courses.
• The Role of Experiential Learning: Sales is a performance-based discipline. What is the assessed impact of experiential learning tools such as in-class role-plays, live sales call exercises, complex case studies, and participation in national sales competitions on student confidence, skill acquisition, and career readiness?
• Curriculum Design and Content: We solicit research on the optimal design of sales curricula. This includes studies on the structure of a sales major, minor, or concentration; the sequencing of courses; and the integration of core concepts such as prospecting, needs discovery, negotiation, relationship management, and closing.

2. Learner Development, Assessment, and Career Outcomes

• Measuring Learning and Competency: How do we know our teaching is effective? This special issue encourages the development and validation of robust instruments and rubrics to assess the acquisition of specific sales skills and competencies, moving beyond simple course grades.
• The Link Between Education and Performance: There is a pressing need to demonstrate the return on investment for sales education, both for students and for the organizations that hire them. This imperative requires research that connects educational inputs to tangible outputs. University programs are increasingly highlighting career outcomes, such as post-graduation employment rate, as a key indicator of success. We therefore strongly encourage longitudinal studies that track the career trajectories, performance metrics (e.g., quota attainment, promotion speed), and long-term success of graduates from university sales programs.
• Student Engagement and Motivation: What factors drive student interest, persistence, and success in the sales discipline? We invite research exploring the influence of faculty mentorship, the role of student organizations (e.g., chapters of Pi Sigma Epsilon), and the impact of early exposure to successful sales role models.

3. Educating for Sales Management and Leadership

• Teaching Sales Management: Research on effective pedagogical approaches for teaching core sales management topics is critical. This includes curriculum design for subjects such as sales force compensation and incentives, contest design, territory alignment, sales forecasting, and performance management.
• Managing & Leveraging Technology Strategically: Modern sales leaders must be adept at selecting, implementing, and driving adoption of a complex sales technology stack, from CRM and analytics platforms to AI-powered coaching and sales enablement tools. We invite research on how to educate future managers on evaluating the ROI of these technologies, integrating them into the sales process to enhance productivity, and using technology to support, rather than replace, effective coaching and performance management.
• Developing Coaching Skills: Effective coaching is a key differentiator between average and elite sales managers. How can we effectively teach the art and science of sales coaching in a classroom setting? We solicit research on pedagogies for developing coaching frameworks, feedback techniques, and motivational strategies in future sales leaders.
• Strategic Alignment: Influential scholars argue that sales management must be tightly integrated with a firm’s overall business strategy to be effective. We welcome papers that explore how to teach this crucial connection, preparing students to think beyond tactical selling and understand the strategic role of the sales function.

4. The Academia-Industry Interface

• The Role of University Sales Centers: University sales centers have become pivotal in advancing the discipline. We seek studies that examine the impact and best practices of these centers in fostering industry partnerships, enriching the student experience, and generating relevant research. The work of the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA) provides a rich context for this research.
• Effective Industry Partnerships: What forms of industry collaboration are most impactful? We invite studies on the effectiveness of corporate advisory boards, guest speaker series, company-sponsored curriculum projects, and the use of industry professionals as mentors and coaches.
• The Legitimacy Project: We welcome conceptual or historical papers on the role of organizations like the Sales Education Foundation (SEF) and USCA in establishing sales as a legitimate, rigorous, and respected academic discipline and professional career, changing perceptions in both academia and the corporate world.

5. Ethical, Global, and Cultural Dimensions of Sales Education

• Teaching Sales Ethics: Beyond a single lecture, how can educators embed ethical decision-making into every facet of the sales curriculum? We seek papers on innovative pedagogies, case studies, and frameworks for cultivating a strong ethical compass in sales students.
• Global Sales Education: What adaptations are needed to prepare students for careers in international sales? This includes research on teaching cross-cultural negotiation, adapting sales models to non-Western frameworks, and managing global sales teams.
• Developing Cultural Intelligence & Competencies: As sales becomes increasingly global and customer bases more diverse, the ability to understand, adapt to, and leverage cultural differences is a critical skill. We invite research on pedagogical methods for developing and assessing cultural intelligence (CQ) in sales students. This could include studies on the effectiveness of immersive experiences, cross-cultural case studies, and frameworks for adapting communication and negotiation styles to different cultural contexts.
• Student Well-Being: Higher education is witnessing rising levels of student anxiety and burnout. What is the role of the sales educator in this context? We solicit research on fostering resilience, managing performance pressure, and supporting student mental health within the demanding context of sales education.

Submission Guidelines and Key Dates

Manuscripts should follow the Marketing Education Review formatting and submission requirements. Submissions must clearly articulate both theoretical and practical contributions, with particular emphasis on how the work addresses challenges or opportunities in professional selling and sales management education. Authors are encouraged to demonstrate the applicability, adaptability, and potential impact of their insights on instructional design, student engagement, curriculum development, or broader educational practice.

When submitting, authors must select the special issue option, “Advancing Excellence in Professional Selling and Sales Management Education,” and not the regular issue. Manuscripts should be between 4,000 and 7,000 words (15 to 30 pages), plus appropriate references, tables, and other supporting materials. Please consult the MER website for complete submission formatting requirements.

Important Dates:

Contact Information:

For inquiries regarding this call for papers, please contact the Special Issue Editors or the Editor-in-Chief.

• Dr. Leff Bonney, Florida State University (lbonney@business.fsu.edu)
• Dr. Jessica Ogilvie, Marquette University (jessica.ogilvie@mu.edu)
• Dr. Christopher D. Hopkins, EIC, Auburn University, (cdh0059@auburn.edu)

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Posted by: Joan Rogala

Pi Sigma Epsiolon
NEF National Educational Foundation
SEF

February 9, 2026

Official Announcement

2026 PSE NEF/SEF Joint Research Grant Recipients

The Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) National Educational Foundation, in partnership with the Sales Education Foundation (SEF), is proud to announce the two recipients of the Inaugural PSE/ SEF Joint Sales Research Grant Program — a landmark initiative created to advance innovation, elevate sales scholarship, and strengthen the bridge between academic research and professional practice.

After a highly competitive national review process conducted by an independent Selection Committee of distinguished scholars and industry leaders, the following proposals were selected for their exceptional innovation, real-world applicability, and high-impact dissemination potential:

Grant Recipient #1 – H. Grant Williams
Institution: Mitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama

Grant Recipient #2 – Renu Sharma, Doctoral Student of Marketing
Institution: Bauer College of Business, University of Houston

$5,000 Research Investment in the Future of Sales

Each recipient has been awarded a $5,000 research grant to support cutting-edge data collection, advanced research tools, participant recruitment, and other mission-critical research resources. These projects represent the next generation of thought leadership in professional selling and sales management.

This prestigious grant program reflects the shared commitment of PSE and SEF to fueling high-impact research that shapes classroom learning, strengthens industry practices, and drives the future of the sales profession.

National Visibility & Professional Recognition

In addition to funding support, recipients receive elite exposure and professional recognition opportunities, including:

• Publication Pathway Opportunities
  Awardees will demonstrate intent to publish in the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management (JPSSM) or other leading academic journals — placing their work before a global audience of scholars and practitioners.National Conference Spotlight Recipients will be invited to participate during the National Conference in Sales Management (NCSM) in Norfolk, Virginia, March 25-27, 2026. NCSM is the premier gathering of sales educators, researchers, and industry leaders.
• Foundation Recognition & Promotion
  Winning projects will be highlighted across PSE and Sales Education Foundation (SEF) communication channels, including websites, newsletters, and professional networks, amplifying reach and institutional visibility.
• Executive-Level Impact
  Final reports and executive summaries will be positioned to influence both academic discourse and real-world sales leadership practices.

Advancing Sales Education & Research Excellence

As the home of the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management (JPSSM) and a proud supporter of the National Conference in Sales Management, the PSE National Educational Foundation and the Sales Education Foundation (SEF) continue to champion excellence, innovation, and collaboration in sales education.

This inaugural grant cycle marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to empowering researchers whose work pushes boundaries, challenges convention, and delivers actionable insight to the profession.

Congratulations to Our 2026 Grant Recipients!

We extend our sincerest congratulations to both award recipients for earning this highly competitive honor. Your work represents the future of sales research – and we are excited to support your journey as you create knowledge that will inspire educators, practitioners, and students nationwide.

Stay tuned as we follow the progress of these groundbreaking projects and celebrate their impact.

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Posted by: Charles Wang

Journal of Applied Business & Behavioral Sciences Special Issue:

Emergent Technologies in Sales and Sales Management and the Impact on Buyer-Seller Relationships

Emerging technologies are transforming the field of personal selling and sales management. Tools and platforms, once considered optional, are now integral to everyday selling activities. These shifts are impacting how salespeople create value, how managers guide their teams, and how companies build and sustain relationships. As technology continues to move into the center of the selling process, the field stands at an important moment, one that calls for updated thinking, clear explanation, and research that keeps pace with practice.  Across B2B and B2C markets, firms are already experiencing the effects of this transformation. Recommendation systems, customer-scoring tools, digital communication platforms, and a wide range of automated systems shape how salespeople prepare for interactions and how customers experience them (Peltier et al., 2024; Goel, 2025). These tools are not simply making traditional tasks more efficient; they are changing the skills that matter, the expectations customers bring to each interaction, and the ways salespeople frame value. These developments require scholars to take a fresh look at long-standing questions about salesperson behavior, productivity, relationship development, and sales enablement.

Artificial intelligence is an emergent technology reshaping the structure of selling and sales management (Peltier, Dahl, and Schibrowsky, 2024). AI-driven systems, such as predictive analytics, natural language processing tools, and automated content generators, are increasingly supplementing human judgment and transforming how customer needs are identified and addressed. AI expands the salesperson’s capability to interpret large volumes of digital trace data, tailor interactions in real time, and anticipate customer concerns before they are voiced. At the same time, AI introduces new challenges: salespeople must develop the skills to interpret algorithmic outputs, navigate blended human–machine communication environments, and manage customer expectations shaped by machine-generated recommendations. These dynamics highlight the need for research that clarifies when AI enhances value creation, when it risks undermining trust or authenticity, and how organizations can foster balanced, responsible adoption.

Technology is also changing the social side of selling. As more interactions unfold in hybrid or digital environments, social and interactive platforms play an increasingly important role in forming impressions, shaping expectations, and influencing buyer–seller relationships (Peltier et al., 2024). Social media and interactive tools have become key spaces where customers express needs, signal concerns, and share brand-related experiences. These conversations influence how salespeople enter discussions, how they communicate and how trust develops over time. Research shows that these platforms shape brand meaning in B2B markets (Carew, Peltier & Dahl, 2025), highlighting the need for studies that explain how salespeople manage messages in environments shaped by both customer-generated and machine-generated content. These changes are amplified in global selling settings. As Chaker et al. (2024) emphasize, technology influences how sales teams coordinate across markets, manage different cultural expectations and adapt strategies to varied institutional environments. Digital tools help teams stay connected, but they also bring questions about alignment, consistency and cultural fit. Research is needed to understand how technology supports, or complicates, cross-border selling, global account management, and multinational coordination.

Emergent technologies are increasingly central to the growing shift from product-focused strategies to service-based and solution-led business models. Digital platforms, usage-tracking systems, and data-supported service tools allow companies to maintain ongoing contact with customers, anticipate needs, and create deeper relationships (Kowalkowski, 2025). Salespeople take on expanded roles that involve education, coordination, and continuous relationship building. Research that explains how technology supports these roles and how customers experience value in technology-supported service relationships will be valuable to this special issue.

With this growing dependence on technology comes a human challenge. Salespeople vary in how they react to new tools. Some see new systems as helpful, while others may feel pressure, uncertainty or fear that their value is diminishing. Rigopoulos (2025) notes that emotions related to technology adoption can shape performance, identity, and motivation. Understanding how salespeople adapt, how managers support these transitions, and how organizations maintain a healthy balance between technology and personal interaction is a pressing need. Technology introduces important methodological opportunities as well. Digital trace data, text from conversations, social interactions, and customer responses can all be studied in new ways. Peltier et al. (2024) highlight the potential for text analysis, sentiment measurement and multimethod approaches that combine human insight with digital evidence. These opportunities call for careful attention to design, measurement, and theory. Papers offering new methods or creative approaches to studying technology in sales will be especially welcome.

Given the pace and scope of these changes, this special issue encourages submissions that clarify how emergent technologies influence selling, sales management, and customer engagement. We welcome work that offers strong conceptual insight, rigorous empirical analysis, or meaningful methodological innovation. Our goal is to gather research that explains how selling is changing and provides direction for both scholars and practitioners.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Technology-supported selling interactions and customer engagement
2. New roles and responsibilities for salespeople
3. Communication and coordination across hybrid and digital environments
4. Social and interactive media in the sales process
5. Global selling supported by digital tools
6. Manager decision-making and team development under new technological conditions
7. Technology-supported service and solution selling
8. New methods and data sources for studying technology-rich selling
9. Ai-augmented customer journey mapping and real-time personalization
10. Human–ai collaboration in sales decision-making
11. Ethical, trust-related, and fairness challenges in the use of ai for customer scoring, lead qualification, and recommendation systems
12. Influencer ecosystems and their role in b2b and b2c sales processes
13. Social listening tools, sentiment analysis, and their effects on sales strategy

The aim of this special issue is to encourage research that captures ongoing change, offers clarity in areas where practice is moving quickly, and supports a more complete understanding of the future of selling. We look forward to receiving submissions that help advance the field and deepen insight into emergent technologies in sales and sales management.

CO-EDITORS

Dr. James (Jimmy) Peltier
Professor of Sales and Marketing, Emeritus
Coordinator, UW-Whitewater Sales Team,
College of Business and Economics
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Email: Peltierj@uww.edu
Google Scholar link:
Research Expertise: Sales, , ,

Dr. Lenita Davis
Professor
Executive Director of UWEC Professional Sales and Sales Management Program
College of Business
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Email: DAVISLEN@uwec.edu
Google Scholar link:
Research Expertise: Sales, Global Sales, Digital Commerce

Submission Procedures and Deadlines

Manuscripts should be submitted online via the Journal of Applied Business & Behavioral Sciences submission system at . Article Process Charge (APC) will be waived for high quality papers submitted to this special issue (please indicate “SI: Emerging Technology & Sales” in the cover letter to qualify for fee waiver). Please ensure that submissions adhere to the journal’s manuscript preparation and submission guidelines.

Submission Deadline: July 30, 2026

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Author: Ruby Lee

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Posted by: Maria Rouziou

Texas A&M University (USA) and the University of Democritus (Greece) are pleased to invite you to the Ninth Biennial Conference on Enhancing Sales Force Productivity, scheduled to take place in Thessaloniki, Greece, from May 25 to 27, 2026. Please note that the deadline for submissions is February 1, 2026.

We offer an optional networking event scheduled for May 28, 2026. The itinerary includes a visit to Vergina (Aigai), the birthplace of Alexander the Great, where attendees will receive a private tour of the archaeological site. Additionally, there will be a traditional lunch with local flavors in Amyntaio, followed by a visit to Alpha Estate for a tasting of Macedonian wines.

Registration opens January 13, 2026!

More info about the conference, venues, submission, and registration:

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Selling and sales management for successful servitization: a systematic review and research agenda |
—Christian Kowalkowski, Victoria Kramer, Sertan Eravci, Anna Salonen & Wolfgang Ulaga [] []

Charting the course in sales analytics: Industry insights, Academic progress, and research roadmaps
—Lucy M. Matthews, Dana E. Harrison & Joe F. Hair [] []

DEI in B2B selling: a systematic review and research agenda
—Roberto Mora Cortez, Bruno Lussier, Deva Rangarajan, Ashwin J. Baliga & Ann Højbjerg Clarke [] []

Customer demandingness and salesperson’s performance: a meta-analytic examination
—Fernando Jaramillo, Khondoker Hossain & Omar S. Itani [] []

A systematic review of salesperson social identities and identification at work
—Emily C. Tanner, Curtis S. Schroeder & Karen Flaherty [] []

There is more to sales than selling: a literature review of the roles of sales in new product development |
—Arend-jan Diephuis, Bas Hillebrand & Henry Robben [] []

Editorial

Personal selling and sales management abstracts
—Colleen E. McClure [] []

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