Gamification of the sales process at a telecommunications company to improve the motivation of the salesforce

Abstract

Improving the motivation of the salesforce is an important goal which can lead to increased sales revenues. This study aims to understand how game elements can be applied to achieve this goal, and it contributes to both the sales literature and the newly emerging gamification literature by developing a gamified solution for the shop-in-shop sales channel of a telecommunications company in Finland (the case company), being the first study to apply gamification in the context of sales. The solution was developed by applying design-based research methodology in a cyclical process involving four interviews with a sales manager and two field observations of the sales process at the case company. The designed solution exemplifies the use of game elements in the light of theoretical concepts from the self-determination theory and the flow theory. Validated through further interviews with two salespeople from the case company and two salespeople from a company in the electricity production and distribution industry, the proposed solution can in future research be implemented and tested in other sales contexts.