The effects of perceived customer dependence on salesperson influence strategies

A national random sample of industrial salespeople was surveyed to examine the relationships among perceived customer dependence, cooperative motivational orientation, influence strategies, and sales performance. Results indicated that perceived customer dependence was positively related to sales performance. Perceived customer dependence also predicted influence strategies for closed influencers, noninfluencers, and combination influencers. Direct influencers and business-focused influencers did not use perceived customer dependence in choosing their influence strategies. Further, for combination influencers, salespersons' cooperative motivational orientation moderated the effect of perceived customer dependence on influence strategies. Based on these results, the managerial implications for selling organizations are discussed.