Understanding Sales Performance: Social Anxiety, Personal Resources, and Social Resources

Sales people's performance can suffer due to social anxiety. It can cause dread and anxiety in customer-seller interactions, impairing sales performance. The adverse impact of social anxiety on performance can be alleviated by a salesperson's mindful acceptance and perceived support from their sales manager. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of social anxiety on the performance of salespeople and the potential for MA (Personal Resource) and SMS (Social Resource) to enhance their performance. This is an empirical research in which data was collected from 350 sales representatives of prominent insurance companies in Pakistan using a self-administered questionnaire. In order to evaluate the hypotheses and identify the circumstances or combinations of conditions that are least sufficient and/or essential for an outcome, the study implemented PLS-SEM and FSQCA. This paper concludes that sales performance is adversely affected by SA, while sales performance is enhanced by MA and SMS. There are numerous pathways to high performance, and PLS-SEM validates linear effects. Mindfulness and support play a protective and synergistic role. fsQCA demonstrates this. Conversely, low performance is the result of inadequate support or anxiety, in conjunction with inadequate mindfulness. The cross-sectional design of this investigation constrains causal inference and should be expanded through longitudinal or experimental research. The generalizability of findings can be evaluated through replication across cultures and industries. Additional personal and organizational resources, as well as moderating factors such as competition and customer relationships, may be investigated in future research.