COMMENTS
Dave,
I agree with you, but also have some sympathy for Seth's point of view.
The sales profession is no different from any other. How Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers etc. go about their jobs now is quite different from 20 years ago. Technology, Globalisation and the economy forces the cream continuously to the top in any profession. Sales and the role of selling is changing, our customers are normally more informed prior to first contact, smart web marketing and telemarketing has resulted in better qualified opportunities. The sales person has had to change from being their company's representative at the customer to also being their customer's representative at their company. They need to bring value that advises and consults for the customer rather than merely informs and quotes.
The sales representative is now more important than ever, they just go about their job quite differently.
I am working with a client, who read Seths book, and adopted the -- "we do not need a field sales force, we need a website and a call centre" Strategy. They have done OK. However we have just added back in a professional sales force well trained on top of the above structure... the results are stunning, in 12 months one particular area has doubled in revenue. The website and call centre channell is still working well and over achieveing, but they are passing interesting and complex leads to the sales force who are "consulting" and adding even more value to the product set. Average ticket price is rising, customer satisfaction is rising, Employee satisfaction is rising and profitability is rising. That sounds like a win win win win to me.
The foot in the door pushy pain in the neck salesman is dead -- no loss. but the professional well trained, motivated and accountable sales professional is alive and well.
Conor
Hi Conor,
Thanks for such a great example of both sides of the argument.