The Digital Onslaught: Is a Salesperson, Still a Sales Person?

Do you remember the ole’ days- Salespeople would practice their trade from a briefcase and with a pencil and paper. I do! Those are just memories of the past-

In today’s social and digital crazed world, sales people must be knowledgeable and technology empowered people. Not only must they know about the products or services you are selling, but you also must be aware of what is being said about those products or services on-line. Comments and feedback that consumers make are highly influential and can radically change how decisions are made. I myself; often partake and offer my opinion using online comments and discussion boards. I do this for the mere fact of not only sharing my own opinion, but also out of curiosity of what others have to say. Today; a salesperson MUST be on his/her toes with increased knowledge of the product or service they are selling. Just as important, they must be prepared to answer the tough questions asked by people from what they learn on-line. The salesperson must to be ready to agree or disagree with online comments and demonstrate superior product and service knowledge and expertise.

In today’s world, the collaboration between marketing departments and sales people are KEY and must be properly aligned.

There cannot be a disconnect between the intent of marketing initiatives and the actions of sales strategies. If you’re marketing strategy is promoting a product or service, your salespeople must be knowledgeable about not only the product or service, what’s being said about it and how that relates to the intent of the marketing campaign. You need to remember that positive encounter’s that can elicit positive feedback and comments from customers can then be funneled back into the marketing campaign regardless of its platform, further increasing its overall effectiveness.

While the 7-steps of this and the 5-steps of that are important, the foundation to your own success is your understanding of the importance of knowing everything about the product or services you are offering.

Yes, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER in all sales related activities.

In closing; potential customers require more today than in the past; they are vastly more knowledgeable, certainly Internet savvy and less tolerant of being placated. In today’s rapidly evolving digital world a savvy and knowledgeable salespeople working in conjunction with an aligned marketing strategy will be the best equipped to not only sell the product or service but to also obtain the benefits of repeat business and referrals.

Looking for a good book on the subject, suggested reading;

• The Visionary Leader: How to inspire success from the top down.
• Susan Bagyura (Author), Michael E. Gerber (Foreword), Fiona Dempsey (Illustrator)