A comparative analysis of sales training in Europe: Implications for international sales negotiations

When negotiation parties belong to different cultures, training can either increase or decrease negotiation differences in order to decrease or increase, respectively, the likelihood of achieving successful sales encounters and long‐term relationships. This study analyses sales training implementation practices of 128 northern European (the UK, The Netherlands and Finland) and 160 southern European (Spain and Portugal) small and medium‐sized companies. The authors argue that these two groups of countries have different cultural characteristics, and hence, different sales training practices are expected. As a result, differences have been found in terms of the quantity and the cost of the training as well as the subsidisation of the training. Moreover, differences in terms of sales training methods seem to be greater than in training content. Additionally, the subsidisation of the training, as well as certain training methods, have different effects on salespeople performance in northern and southern European countries. The implications of the findings for international sales negotiations are discussed, and additional research is suggested.