Rethinking the Nature of Selling

The following insights are based on “Converging on a New Theoretical Foundation for Selling” by Nathaniel N. Hartmann, Heiko Wieland, and Stephen L. Vargo, published in the Journal of Marketing (2018). Their work explores how selling is evolving in complex markets and reframes it as a systemic, institutional, and relational process.

 

Selling has traditionally been seen as a straightforward transaction: firms produced goods with embedded value, and salespeople transferred that value to buyers. This perspective emphasized short-term gains and often positioned the salesperson as someone who manipulated outcomes in favor of the seller. Over time, however, markets have become more complex, shaped by globalization, technology, competition, and increasingly informed customers. These shifts reveal the limitations of narrow, one-to-one views of selling and point toward a more systemic understanding.

 

Beginning in the 1970s, relationship selling emerged, focusing on trust, collaboration, and long-term benefits for both parties. Later approaches such as consultative and enterprise selling expanded this idea further. Consultative selling emphasized diagnosing customer needs, tailoring solutions, and involving multiple stakeholders. Enterprise selling went even deeper, integrating entire organizations into the process and highlighting cross-functional collaboration. These developments show that selling is not linear but unfolds across networks of actors over time.

 

Hartmann, Wieland, and Vargo argue that institutions—rules, norms, shared beliefs, and cultural expectations—are central to understanding this evolution. Institutions provide stability and coordination, guiding how actors interact and exchange value. Selling, therefore, involves what they call “institutional work”: the creation, maintenance, or disruption of these arrangements. Contracts, relational norms, and cultural meanings all shape how selling takes place.

 

To capture this complexity, the authors propose a service ecosystems perspective. In this view, service is defined as the application of resources for the benefit of another, and value is always cocreated through service-for-service exchanges. Selling is thus about aligning institutional arrangements to enable efficient exchanges, not simply transferring pre-packaged value. This perspective expands the scope of selling beyond the salesperson–buyer dyad to include micro-level outcomes (such as sales performance), meso-level structures (markets and industries), and macro-level institutions (societal norms).

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A central concept in their framework is the idea of crossing points—the places where service can be exchanged for service. Crossing points can be “thin,” meaning they allow for simple, efficient exchanges supported by established institutions, or “thick,” requiring complex negotiations and deeper alignment. Selling actors aim to thin crossing points by aligning institutional arrangements and optimizing relationships. For example, Salesforce’s early push for cloud-based CRM required reshaping perceptions of data security and legitimacy across multiple groups, from IT professionals to journalists. This illustrates how selling involves systemic alignment rather than just persuading individual buyers.

 

Narratives play a crucial role in this process. Stories—whether spoken, written, or symbolic—help actors make sense of new solutions and legitimize practices. Selling actors generate and distribute narratives that influence broader discourses, which then combine into “narrative infrastructures” that align multiple stakeholders. Salesforce’s deliberate cultivation of journalist relationships to frame cloud computing positively is a clear example of how narratives can accelerate institutional acceptance.

 

Based on this perspective, Hartmann, Wieland, and Vargo redefine selling as the interaction between actors aimed at creating and maintaining thin crossing points through ongoing alignment of institutional arrangements and the optimization of relationships. This definition emphasizes that selling is systemic, relational, and institutional, involving a wide range of actors beyond traditional salespeople. It excludes one-way communication such as advertising and routine fulfillment activities that do not contribute to sense-making or institutional alignment. Instead, selling is about dynamic negotiations, adaptations, and compromises that enable efficient service exchange.

 

Importantly, selling is not confined to professional sales staff. Buyers, users, consultants, and other stakeholders also engage in selling activities by influencing institutional arrangements. Procurement specialists, industry experts, and even customers themselves can maintain or disrupt institutions that shape value creation. This actor-to-actor orientation moves beyond rigid roles of seller and buyer, recognizing that all participants help shape value cocreation practices.

 

For consulting insights, the key takeaway is that selling today must be understood as a systemic process embedded in broader social and institutional contexts. Success depends on aligning institutional arrangements, thinning crossing points, and shaping narratives that legitimize solutions. Salespeople remain important, but they are part of a larger ecosystem of actors who collectively cocreate value. Market changes do not diminish the relevance of selling; instead, they highlight its dynamic, relational, and institutional nature.

 

Key Takeaways

• Selling is no longer a simple transaction but a systemic process involving multiple actors.

• Institutions (rules, norms, shared meanings) shape how selling unfolds and must be aligned for efficient exchanges.

• Crossing points determine where and how service-for-service exchange occurs; thinning them is a central selling activity.

• Narratives are powerful tools for sense-making and legitimacy, helping align diverse stakeholders.

• Salespeople remain important but are part of a larger ecosystem that includes buyers, consultants, experts, and even customers.

• Market complexity does not reduce the importance of selling; it underscores its relational and institutional nature.

 

What It Will Mean for Your Business

• Move beyond traditional sales tactics and adopt a systemic approach to selling.

• Recognize that selling is not limited to sales teams, but involves multiple actors within and outside your organization.

• Align institutional arrangements to facilitate efficient exchanges and collaboration.

• Build trust among stakeholders to support smoother interactions with clients and partners.

• Shape compelling narratives to legitimize new solutions and foster stakeholder alignment.

• Focus on thinning crossing points to enable seamless exchanges and relationships.

• Strengthen relationships and enhance your position in complex, dynamic markets by embracing a broader perspective.