Replacing a salesperson is expensive. Estimates vary, but recruiting, hiring, and training a new sales employee can cost a company anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the industry. Beyond the direct financial hit, turnover disrupts client relationships, team morale, and revenue pipelines. So what actually keeps salespeople from heading for the door? New research suggests that two specific psychological needs, feeling autonomous and feeling connected to a manager, play a significant role in whether a salesperson wants to stay or go.
A study published in the Atlantic Marketing Journal examined how the basic psychological needs outlined in Self-Determination Theory relate to a concept known as Person-Supervisor fit, and how that fit, in turn, relates to salespeople’s intention to quit. The central finding: when salespeople feel a sense of autonomy and relatedness with their sales manager, they are more likely to perceive that their values and goals align with their manager’s. That perceived alignment is then linked to a lower intention to leave the job.
The question behind the research
Ilgım Dara Benoit, along with colleagues Jeffrey R. Foreman and Bonnie S. Guy, all from Appalachian State University, wanted to understand what drives salespeople to feel like they “fit” with their direct supervisor. Person-Supervisor fit, or PS fit, refers to the degree to which an employee perceives that their personal values and goals match those of their manager. Previous research has established that this kind of fit is linked to positive outcomes like job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and lower turnover. But what had not been studied was what specific psychological factors might serve as precursors to that sense of fit, especially in a sales context.
To explore this gap, the researchers turned to Self-Determination Theory, or SDT, a well-known psychological framework developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in the 1980s. SDT proposes that humans have three basic psychological needs that must be met for healthy engagement with their environment: autonomy (the need to feel in control and not externally pressured), relatedness (the need to feel connected to and cared for by others), and competence (the need to feel capable and effective). These three needs have been studied across many fields, from education to healthcare, but had not been tested as potential drivers of PS fit in a sales setting.
Why salespeople in particular?
Salespeople occupy an unusual position within organizations. They are often described as “boundary spanners,” meaning they operate at the edge of the company, frequently working alone and spending much of their time interacting with customers rather than colleagues. Their sales manager is often their primary, and sometimes only, direct point of contact with the company itself. This makes the salesperson-manager relationship uniquely important. If a salesperson does not feel aligned with their manager, they may feel disconnected from the entire organization.
The research team reasoned that because salespeople depend so heavily on their managers for guidance, motivation, and connection to the broader organization, understanding what helps salespeople feel like their values and goals align with their manager’s could be key to reducing turnover.
How the study was conducted
The team surveyed 95 salespeople from the southeastern United States. The respondents had an average age of about 28, and roughly 72% were male. Each participant completed a questionnaire that included established scales for measuring each of the key concepts in the study.
PS fit was measured using a seven-item scale that asked respondents to rate their agreement with statements such as “I believe in the same values held and promoted by my manager” and “My manager has the same values that I do with regard to honesty.” The three SDT needs were each measured with three-item scales. For example, autonomy was captured by items like “I feel free to be who I am” and “I have a say in what happens, and I can voice my opinion.” Relatedness was assessed with items like “I feel loved and cared about” and “I feel a lot of closeness and intimacy.” Competence included items like “I feel like a competent person” and “I feel very capable and effective.” Turnover intention was measured with a six-item scale featuring statements such as “I often think about quitting my present job” and “I am constantly searching for a better job.”
To test their predictions, the researchers used a statistical tool called PROCESS Model 4, which allows researchers to examine whether one variable is linked to another, and whether a third variable sits in between as part of a chain. They ran 5,000 bootstrap replications, a technique that repeatedly resamples from the data to produce more reliable estimates, particularly for testing indirect relationships.
What the analysis revealed
The results supported most of the team’s predictions. Autonomy was positively associated with PS fit, meaning salespeople who felt free to be themselves and have a voice with their manager were more likely to feel their values and goals matched their manager’s. Relatedness was also positively associated with PS fit, meaning salespeople who felt close to and cared for by their manager were more likely to perceive that alignment.
PS fit, in turn, was negatively associated with turnover intention. Salespeople who reported a stronger sense of shared values and goals with their manager were less likely to report wanting to quit. The analysis also showed that the chain from autonomy to PS fit to lower turnover intention held up statistically, as did the chain from relatedness to PS fit to lower turnover intention.
Competence, however, told a different story. Salespeople’s feelings of being capable and effective did not have a statistically significant relationship with PS fit. In other words, feeling competent around one’s manager did not appear to be connected to feeling like one’s values aligned with that manager. Interestingly, though, a separate regression analysis showed that competence was directly and negatively linked to turnover intention. This means that while feeling competent may not help salespeople feel aligned with their boss, it may still play a role in their decision to stay for other reasons.
Why competence didn’t fit the pattern
The researchers offered several possible explanations for why competence did not relate to PS fit the way autonomy and relatedness did. One possibility is that competence is a more personal, inward-facing experience. It reflects how effective and skilled a person feels, which may depend more on their own abilities and less on the specific relationship with their manager. Autonomy and relatedness, by contrast, are inherently tied to the dynamics between two people. Autonomy is about whether the manager gives the salesperson room to make decisions, and relatedness is about the emotional closeness between them.
Another explanation the authors proposed is that in a well-fitted salesperson-manager relationship, the manager might continually raise expectations. This could create a subtle negative effect on a salesperson’s sense of competence, even while the relationship itself remains strong in terms of shared values and emotional closeness.
What this means for sales managers
For businesses concerned about retaining sales talent, the findings point to two practical areas of focus: building close, caring relationships with salespeople, and giving them room to make decisions and voice their opinions.
On the relatedness front, the researchers suggest that sales managers can strengthen the connection by showing consistent respect, being polite, acknowledging salespeople’s contributions, and avoiding discourteous behavior. They also recommend transparency, including being truthful, not withholding information, and following through on both formal and informal agreements.
On the autonomy front, the researchers point to delegating authority and involving salespeople in the decision-making process. When salespeople feel they have some control over the choices that affect their day-to-day work, rather than simply following orders, they are more likely to feel that their goals align with those of their manager. This sense of alignment, the data suggests, is linked to a lower desire to leave.
Even though competence did not connect to PS fit in this study, its direct association with lower turnover intention suggests that managers should not ignore it. Supporting salespeople in developing their skills, tracking their performance thoughtfully, and exchanging accurate information about how they are doing can help build a sense of capability that may independently discourage thoughts of quitting.
Important caveats
The study has limitations worth noting. With a sample of 95 salespeople, all from the southeastern United States, the findings may not generalize to all sales contexts, industries, or regions. The study also used a cross-sectional design, meaning all data was collected at a single point in time. This means the researchers can identify associations between variables, but they cannot confirm that one variable causes another. For example, while autonomy is linked to PS fit in this data, it is also possible that salespeople who already feel aligned with their manager are given more autonomy as a result.
The survey also only captured salespeople’s perspectives, not managers’. While the researchers argue that it is the salesperson’s own perception that drives their behavior and intentions, getting the manager’s viewpoint could provide a fuller picture. The authors acknowledge this and suggest that future research could survey both sides of the relationship.
Still, for companies grappling with the costs and disruption of sales force turnover, the study adds a specific, actionable dimension to the conversation. Rather than focusing solely on compensation or broad organizational culture, managers may benefit from paying attention to the more personal, day-to-day dynamics of autonomy and connection that shape how salespeople experience their relationship with their boss.
