Seth Godin did it again. He is the master at getting people to talk about him, promote him, listen to him and build his brand. This week he did it by posting to his Blog with the title, The Death of the Sales Call?

Now even Seth doesn't believe this. But he sure got people up in arms. I got more email about his Blog this week than I do about my own Blog!

Whether you believe Seth or see his mischievous post for what it is, one thing is as true today as it was 20 years ago. You can accomplish more by phone, email, video conference and overnight delivery than ever before, but if you're selling something complex, expensive, or in need of differentiation; if you're selling something that needs to be shown, demonstrated or built; if you're selling something that requires significant conversation, interchange, questioning and assessment; your prospect will demand to meet you before they sign a contract!

When prospects attempt to determine who they should buy from and what exactly they should buy, it usually requires more than a phone call and a proposal. They want to meet the people they will be doing business with. Certainly, there are some services and products that were meant to be sold over the internet. But that only works when prospects know exactly what they want, who they want it from and how much they want to pay. And how did they get to that point? Most likely, a sales call!

We may be able to eliminate some of the in-between calls from the sales process but as long as buyers want to meet the people they're giving money to, the sales call will live forever.