What does the future hold for sales people?
In this blog I will explain how I think the future roles that sales people will play in the future.
The death of the salesman I hear, sales people are no longer needed the internet has taken over. Really? Personally I don't think so.
Has the internet disrupted the sales process? Yes and in a big way. Does the sales process take place online for the majority of the journey? In most cases yes it does. But that does not mean sales as a function is dead in my opinion.
Lets take a quick look at what a sales person is. I think you will find that a salesperson is in fact anyone trying to persuade, convince, barter one person to another to do, think, consider or buy something. So that actually makes us all in sales.
Children are great sales people. They know exactly how to get us to do something we had no intention of doing. Your doctor needs to convince you to take a certain tablet or test, so they are in sales. They credit control team need to ensure your clients pay their bills so again they are in sales.
But what about the titled role of sales in a business, what does the future hold for these people?
Well if in your industry like most, the traditional sales process has being decimated, it is no longer about telesales or cold calling, and knocking on doors. We know this just does not work any longer. Today people will research and look for the right company. The right company is the one that invokes the most trust and comes up with the right solution and at the right price. The right price may not be the cheapest.
Today's search savvy consumers are looking for answers to their questions are looking to form a relationship where they feel that this company, person or people are the best fit for me.
Sometimes we don't even know we had a problem that needed solving, and yet some very helpful person can identify an inefficiency and also help you solve it.
This is all relationship building. In person and online the future of the salesperson is being the go-to person in your industry. Be the person answering all the questions, be the person in the video on your homepage and you tube channel, be the face of your company that wants to offer the most help and be the best teacher.
Get on stage when you can, teach the world about your industry and where you think its all going. By being the go-to source and by being helpful and useful you will attract new business and new opportunities.
Social media and blogging is not just for marketers but for everyone and if you are in the business of winning new business you need to be learning all about people and what they are looking for.
Those sales people that build their own audiences and there own networks now by being honest and transparent and having an opinion are going to be the future of sales.
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Author- Speaker - Consultant. Passionate about all things digital.