So what place is left for the salesperson in all this?
That of an expert , an advisor , a support person. Today's salesperson is no longer "only" the salesperson who insists, who bothers you because the end of the month is approaching and he has objectives to how to build phone number list meet. He is above all the one who helps his buyers to buy by delivering value at each stage of the sales cycle.
The position is not necessarily easier than before and digital certainly impacts its activity. Not necessarily negatively, however.
1. Consumers are more informed than before
With the widespread use of fiber, consumers /Internet users/mobile users can consult information at home, but also in your store via their smartphone thanks to their 4G/5G (technical specifications, opinions, prices, etc.).
Without training your employees on your products, and those of your competitors, your sales force risks being quickly overwhelmed .
Digital is not necessarily your enemy: a few years ago, information was not as accessible, and your salesperson would spend 3 hours explaining to the customer why his product was top notch, mega groove and the “best of the best”, and you would lose the sale because the store opposite was selling the same thing for a few euros less (tens or hundreds of euros depending on your sector).
Today, when the prospect arrives at your place , all the marketing content at his disposal (by your marketing department which sent you the prospect, or one of its competitors) has allowed him to find out more before coming to see you, to mature his thinking.
60% of the purchasing journey is already done. Most of the technical, logistical, usage and even after-sales service information has already been consulted in text, audio, video or via an AI prompt....
So there is still a large third to go through before “closing” the sale. Listen to the prospect, identify in which stage he is:
he discovers his problem (discovery phase)
he discovers your offers (discovery phase)
he already compares your proposal with those of the competitor or other options (evaluation phase)
he is waiting for a quote or a purchase order (decision phase), your best commercial offer.