The growth of the Internet poses a threat to the need for sales people. In this article, John Graham offers six guidelines that sales professionals can use to survive, and thrive, in a Web-based business environment.
Salespeople have every reason to be frightened. More companies view the Internet as a way to get closer to customers and eliminate the cost of maintaining a sales force.
For example, one radio commercial for an insurance Web site features a gleeful customer who's thrilled to save money but even happier at not having to deal with a salesperson.
Although anyone in sales should be concerned about the future, many salespeople are doing their best to avoid taking the threat seriously. Here's what they're saying:
- 'I won't get hurt. I'm in an industry that needs salespeople.'
- 'I'll survive even if they cut back on the sales force.'
- 'I'll hang on as long as I can. I only have a couple of years to go.'
- 'Customers want to talk to a human being. Selling is about relationships.'
The facts suggest that many sales positions are in jeopardy. Besides convenience, the Internet gives consumers access to a bigger inventory of products. Visit a camera store or a car dealership, and you'll find that the selection is limited by what the manager wants to sell. On the Web, customers have control over choice.
When it comes to buying a home, how many can you visit in one afternoon? Are you shown only the homes that the real estate agent wants you to see? The Web gives you the power to tour many properties while sitting comfortably in front of your computer. When we see where technology is headed, what's the future for real estate sales agents, for example?
It's not surprising that online merchants generate greater customer loyalty. According to Forrester Research, in five out of six product categories, consumers are more likely to repurchase from online merchants than from traditional retailers.
The Internet market for business-to-business sales may be bigger than for consumer sales. This may seem like a bleak picture for a sales career. For those who deny the impact of the Internet, the future is indeed frightening. However, salespeople who become valuable to their companies and customers will do well. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with the impact of the Internet on your sales career:
AVOID A COMMODITY MENTALITY
A commodity mentality is the belief that what you sell is no better or worse than anyone else's product and there's no inherent value in doing business with you. With this mentality, the only way to differentiate yourself is by is offering the lowest price.
Sanitone has successfully differentiated its clothing care products in the dry-cleaning and shirt-laundering business. The company is so successful that it limits the number of customers it will serve in an area and charges more than competitors. The company proves its claim that Sanitone-processed shirts are cleaner and brighter. What others sell as a commodity, Sanitone has transformed into a brand.
GET ON THE CUSTOMER'S SIDE OF THE TABLE - AND STAY THERE
The worst mistake is to let customers believe they're being sold. An executive I know visited a jewelry store nearby to buy gifts for his wife. 'I've shopped there for years, but this time I had the feeling I was getting a sales pitch,' he said. What had changed? Not the jewelry store. His Internet experience made him aware that as the customer, he was now is now in charge of the sale. He resented anything that sounded like a sales pitch.
To succeed, salespeople must be on the customer's side 100% even when it means recommending a competitor's product or service to meet a specific need. Anything less destroys a salesperson's credibility.
BE KNOWN FOR WHAT YOU KNOW
Customers will stay if you bring a level of expertise that they aren't getting elsewhere. Another person I know spent time on the Web researching LCD projectors. After making his selection, he called a dealer he had bought products from over the years. The salesperson asked him a series of questions, such as, 'What size room will it be used in? What material will you be projecting? How far will the projector be from the screen?' After getting all the answers, the salesperson recommended another projector from the same manufacturer. The salesperson's knowledge tilted the balance.
Customers, particularly business-to-business buyers, want support from knowledgeable people. The goal is to be perceived as a buyer's resource.
MAKE SURE YOUR WEB SITE IS CUSTOMER-FRIENDLY
Survey your customers to find out how your Web site can best serve their needs. Ask them the key questions, such as 'What will make it convenient, efficient, and easy for them to do business with you?' In the name of speed and accuracy, electronic ordering systems are now the standard.
RECOGNIZE WHY MOST SALES ARE LOST
There are all kinds of explanations for a lost sale. Most are just excuses: 'They didn't have the money.' 'The guy's brother-in-law sells insurance.' 'She was just a tire kicker with no intention of buying.' Most sales are lost because the salesperson gives up too soon. Whether it's 30 days or two years after the latest contact, the customer makes a buying decision with someone else. And every salesperson wonders why it happened that way.
Buyers today don't make quick decisions unless they're responding to a crisis. They buy when they're ready, and most of them are getting ready by doing their research on the Web. Dropping prospects too quickly is what costs the most sales. To keep in touch with prospects, successful salespeople live with their notebook computers and contact management programs.
BE VERY PARTICULAR ABOUT WHO YOU WORK FOR
The problems that salespeople face today are not all of their own making. If your sales manager or employer doesn't grasp what's happening in the marketplace or doesn't appreciate the role of technology, move on. You may have to look for a company that respects customer cultivation and knowledge-based selling and values salespeople who are committed to their customers.
In an e-commerce economy, you'll excel in the marketplace if you recognize that today's customers are smarter. They're more interested in getting information they can use than in listening to a sales pitch.