Are Sales People Necessary?

The sales professional has been challenged to adapt and evolve in this “New Normal”, the post-financial melt-down experience.  As markets evolve, so do the requirements a company has of its sales-marketing team. The “New Normal” era is requiring one of the greatest shifts in how companies develop, market, sell, and service their products to their customer base. Given the realities of the post-meltdown era, with customers still largely conservative in their growth plans and expectations, many of these teams are the focus of proposed RIFs, re-organizations, redefinition, etc. Why?

The Changing Environment

With the ever growing range of Amazon.com, you sometimes feel that all things everywhere will one day be presented and purchased on that web site. What this represents is a change…the methods of how products are being presented to markets, and how those products are being purchased, are evolving rapidly. Could the professional sales rep be an endangered species? How can you sell complex products without a professional sales rep? There is a case to be made either way. The Return on Sales Investment (ROSI) is rapidly becoming a very visible measure of executive effectiveness in most companies. ROSI measures the effectiveness of the Sales Operation…for every dollar invested into the sales team, how many dollars does it produce in sales (or gross margin,etc). This measure drives behavior that would usually demand fewer sales reps with higher quotas and more customers in larger territories. The problem with these actions is the RETURN…these actions could reduce returns due to lower prices, fewer qualified opportunities, diluted impact from reduced coverage per customer, etc. To counter this, company leaders should think outside of the box.

To improve their ROSI, they should invest in:

• Retaining qualified leadership talent
• Development of their teams’ execution of sales and account management processes
• The tools needed to focus energies and actions on influencing the decisions of their customers.  

Are Sales Teams Relevant Today

An old sales adage is that “People Buy From People”.  The success of Amazon.com may refute this to some degree…however, in the complex sale, we find the customer seeks out the “trusted advisor” to assist them in their decisions. This need for a trusted, informed companion in the decision journey is why sales representatives are relevant. When people are researching a product on-line, for a crucial decision, they desire an exchange of information with someone that understands their Hurt and can align a winning solution. Additionally, a high-performing sales rep can typically apply business intelligence and customer relationship systems to their advantage. The evolving, innovative sales teams will have relevancy, i.e. will be productive, in the world of commerce, both now and in the future.

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