Comments for A Glimpse at Sales 2.0 - The Potential and Pitfalls at http://www.salesopedia.com , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.salesopedia.com Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:08:45 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.salesopedia.com/content/view/1242/10734/#comment-21 From other reading I've done, technology will continue to replace people in certain areas of the sales pipeline, but not completely. The divergence will come from the role and quality of the rep. The "sales rep" as we know it is dead. Very shortly--in say, 5 to 10 years--there will be "cashiers," and there will be "sales experts," but the "sales rep" moniker as it stands now will become almost meaningless. "Cashiers," will be people who used to sell, but now do nothing more than handle money. We don't want input from these people. We may ask them a few perfunctory questions, but mostly we just want them to shut up, get out of the way, and let us decide how to spend our money. "Experts" will still "sell," but not using the standard prospecting/closing model. Instead they will provide solutions to clients from a client-centered engagement. There is no "hard sell," it's a relationship-based process of meeting customer need. In the long run, technology will replace the "cashiers," but there will always be a need for "experts." -Steve InsideSales.com - Steve Watts Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:00:04 +0100