Will the Internet cause the death of the outside salesperson?
Pick up any trade journal or sales and marketing publication
these days and chances are you'll run into some comments addressing
that question. I rarely teach a seminar without that question popping
up somewhere in the course of the day. Almost every sales manager,
executive and sales person I know has pondered it recently.
So what's the answer? Like most others, I have to admit that
I don't know. It is certainly possible that some aspects of today's
outside sales jobs will be replaced by point-and-click. But the
answer to the big question remains unclear and a ways into the future.
I am sure of one thing, however. The Internet, specifically,
and computers in general can be powerful tools in the hands of a
capable salesperson, and those salespeople who take the initiative
to become automation-enabled will find themselves growing in
importance to their customers and in value to their companies.
Rather then wait fearfully for an answer to appear, the wisest
course for the professional salesperson is to proactively make
computerization work for him or her.
We all understand that computer technology, particularly
the on-line segment, is moving so rapidly that parts of this article
my be obsolete by the time it is printed. Keeping that perspective
in mind, here are some ways that an Internet-enabled, computer-
savvy outside salesperson can use this technology to excel.
How salespeople can use the Internet
1. Qualify new prospects. Just because you have the
name of new prospect doesn't mean that it's worth your time to
call on that prospect. Why not use the Internet to qualify your
prospects before you spend time trying to see them? Let's say
you've developed a list of 25 new prospects in your territory,
one of which is XYZ tool and die shop. Do a search for that
XYZ tool and die through the search engines and see what
develops.
You may discover a website with a wealth of information
about the prospect. It wouldn't be unusual to find out the names
and titles of the key people, the key product lines or customers
they serve, the mission or vision statement of the company, etc.
You may also find the company mentioned in a number of other
ways. For example, you may find them mentioned in a press
release by an association to which they belong. They may be a
new member, or have been mentioned in an article in a trade
journal, or listed as a customer by another vendor. The
possibilities are endless. Every piece of information can be
useful to you in determining whether or not to call on them,
and, if so, how to approach them. And all that information may
be available over the Internet.
2. Email. This is clearly one of the greatest advantages
to the Internet. Think of how many hours per week you spend on
the phone with all the people in your own company. Now add the
hours spent on the phone with customers, or more accurately,
trying to reach customers. Suppose you could dramatically reduce
that time by using email to communicate with your support people
and your manager. And now, suppose that you could virtually
eliminate voice mail frustrations by communicating via email to
your customers. You could transform dozens of hours each week
that are currently spent in frustrating and tedious tasks into productive
sales time.
You could even go beyond using email for personal
communications. It can also be a sales tool. Collect the email
addresses of those customers who agree to this, and then use mass
email as a sales tool. Here's an example. Let's say you have 100
customers, and it takes two months to see all of them. You have
a hot new product to tell all of them about. Why not mass email
the information overnight, and then visit first those who first
expressed interest in it? You could dramatically reduce the time
it takes to turn that new product into sales dollars.
3. Contact management. Contact management software
has been around so long, the benefits so clearly established, and is
so commonly used that I hesitate to even mention it. However, it's
my personal experience that even today at least 50% of the sales
forces with which I have contact are not automated. There is no
longer any excuse for this. You need to be using a laptop with a
contact manager program to collect and record information
customers, to record contacts and conversations, to create
schedules and to do lists, to file quotes and record sales
information. One of the characteristics of the turn-of-the-
century marketplace is the rapid increase in the amount of
information a salesperson must handle. Using a computer to
assist in the organization and processing of information is no
longer optional. If you're not using a laptop daily in this manner,
shame on you. You are behind.
The initial cost is no longer an obstacle, as several Internet-
based programs have been introduced recently which allow you to
use contact-management software via the Internet on a monthly-
rental basis.
4. Presentations. The computer-enabled salesperson uses
a laptop with presentation or video programs to present a new
product or service to the customer. Using these tools means that you
can prepare a colorful, animated, talking presentation, and view it
together with your customer. That allows you to make sure you get
all the important details into the presentation, and present the product
as positively as possible. Taking time to create a presentation in a
stress free environment of your home or office ensures a far higher
quality in
the presentation than if you attempt to adlib as you go in front of the
customer.
Store your supplemental paper-based literature on the computer,
and print sell sheets with a portable printer on an as-needed basis.
Watch all the clutter in the back seat of your car disappear.
You can take this concept to a deeper level. Your company's
marketing department, for example, can create the product
presentations and make them available for all the salespeople via
CD ROMs, downloads over the web, or internal networks.
Manufacturers can do the same for their distributors. Instead
of relying completely on a salesperson visiting and training your
distributor salesforce on new products and promotions, why not
create those product presentations and make them available to
automation-enabled distributor salespeople over the Internet?
5. Become the customer's search engine. There's no
doubt that the amount of information available on the web in
growing exponentially. It takes time to search through it all to
find answers to the questions you, and your customers, have.
Yet all of your customers are suffering today with more to do
and less time to do it than ever before. Time is the most
precious commodity of the Information age.
The person who can find information on the Internet for
someone else, and thereby save him or her time, is of great value.
I routinely pay people to search the web for information that I
want. I don't have the time to do it myself, and it's a service that
is of value to me. You can serve that function for your customers,
becoming the trusted source of applied information.
Learn to use the Internet to research product applications,
competitive products, the competition, technical details, and
whatever other questions tempt you or intrigue your customer.
One way to prevent your customers from using the Internet to
replace you is to preempt the process. Build your Internet skills
to the point where your customers come to rely on you as a trusted
source of important information, and you'll become irreplaceable
to them.
6. Share your success. We've only just scratched the
surface of the ways in which an automation-enabled outside
salesperson can use computerization to become more effective.
There are probably thousands of specific things you can do more
effectively via computerization. You may have some powerful
and unique applications yourself.
Here's an invitation to share your techniques with other
salespeople. If you have a technique you'd like to share, visit
Kahles Korner, a bulletin board for salespeople, and submit your
idea.
Use your browser to open this page: www.davekahle.com, and
click on the button For "Salespersons Members Board." When
prompted for a username, type "slspeople," then use "sales" as a
password. Post your idea, or review the ideas of others. To entice
you, we'll send a free copy of my new book, The Six-Hat
Salesperson, to three salespeople every month in the year
2000 who submit the best ideas that month.
You can no longer afford to be computer or Internet
ignorant if you expect to prosper as a salesperson in the 21st
Century. The time to make proactive moves to become
automation-enabled is now.
AGREEMENT TO PUBLISH
Agreement to publish an article: "Thinking About Sales: Using the Internet
& automation as tools for salespeople"
We agree to publish the article by Dave Kahle noted above. In exchange, we
agree to:
1. Provide two copies of the publication in which it appears.
2. Include the following statement before or at the end of the article, or as
a sidebar associated with it.
About the Author
Dave Kahle is a consultant and trainer who helps his clients increase their
sales and improve their sales productivity. For more information, or to contact the author, contact
The DaCo Corporation,
15 Ionia SW, Suite 220, Grand Rapids, MI 49503; phone 1-800-331-1287;
fax 1-616-451-9412; Info@davekahle.com www.davekahle.com