Short-term versus long-term time perspectives among B2B salespeople: switching or adapting influence tactics to enhance performance

Purpose This study aims to validate if B2B salespeople’s time perspective (long-term vs short-term) affects their influence tactics and adaptive selling approach, and how those influence tactics impact performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors build on adaptive selling literature, and they test them using a survey study among 208 B2B salespeople. The authors used SmartPLS-SEM to analyze the data. Findings The findings reveal that B2B salespeople’s time perspectives significantly shape their use of influence tactics and adaptive selling behaviors. Salespeople with a short-term time perspective are more inclined to use ingratiation, using this approach to appear likable in pursuit of immediate sales. By contrast, those with a long-term time perspective favor customer information communication, sharing relevant information to build long-lasting relationships. While both groups engage in adaptive selling, there is little evidence that salespeople switch between fundamentally different influence tactics (e.g. from ingratiation to information communication). This suggests that while salespeople do adapt their tactics to customer needs, their adaptations are constrained by their underlying time orientation, highlighting a nuanced distinction between adapting a tactic and switching tactics entirely. Originality/value The authors contribute to the current literature on adaptive selling by demonstrating that salespeople, while adapting their strategy, do not switch between influence tactics and stick to the tactic that will better serve their interest (i.e. long-term or short-term).