Interesting article from Slate Magazine entitled Death of a Salesman. Of Lots of Them, Actually. The article talks about how sales used to be by far the largest job-growth category, slowing in the 1990s, and starting to flatten by 2007. What has caused this shift? The Internet. For many types of purchases, buying occurs online.
Selling Power posted a rebuttal, Selling Power – Slate Magazine Predicts the Demise of Salespeople, which quoted prominent sales leaders and argued that the selling profession is, in fact becoming stronger, as evidenced by the growing number of University Sales Programs.
Our Take: The Internet has had a revolutionary impact on buying and for at least ten years now, there has been a steep decline in sales roles that involve simply “filling orders” or providing information with little value add. While it is still true that people buy from people, a smiling face is not enough for many buyers, and the days of the relationship sales person are pretty much over. On the other hand, B2B sales often require a consultative or solution sales approach with more science than art, particularly larger ticket sales, so the demand for skilled sales people remains very strong. As companies continue to be more sophisticated about how they use the web to interact with customers, including the web and social media, we will see a continued evolution of the sales role, but the notion of a product selling itself is still a pipe dream for most companies.
See the articles:
Slate – Death of a Salesman. Of Lots of Them, Actually.
Selling Power – Slate Magazine Predicts the Demise of Salespeople Part I
Selling Power – Slate Magazine Predicts the Demise of Salespeople Part II
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