Three reasons why salespeople are still important in the internet age

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An increasing percentage of buyers' decisions and final transactions are made online. Do you sometimes ask yourself if there is still a reason for salespeople? There are plenty of arguments for a negative answer. Customers view pictures and descriptions online and  watch service demonstrations. Also customers can compare prices and delivery options. Nevertheless, salespeople are still important. Salesandmarketing.com showed why.

1) Value added

Salespeople provide an important added value by helping customers choose the right product. Salespeople are also very useful when it comes to the purchases of complex products. Companies which try to eliminate the salesforce and let customer to choose on their own, usually find out that not everybody can make the right decision. These customers are dissatisfied and turn to a competitor for a solution.

2) Defining  strategy

Cooperate with your customers on identifying strategy and the tools to implement it. Consultative selling can be your strong point. Merely pushing a product on customers has been over for a long time. Of course, technologies have an important role to play in a business relationship. But if you learn how to properly use them, you can sell more efficiently and effectively. Today  technologies will help you gain information about prospects, provide you with better chances and new opportunities. But what is most important, technologies simplifies the sales process so you have more time to focus on your customers.

3) Sharing experiences

By streamlining the underlying business processes, technologies provide salespeople with the space to share knowledge which they have gained during their career and also more space to introduce their products. So you can assure your customers that they have the right solution. Technologies have fundamentally changed the way sales are transacted, but in the end it is always primarily about building relationships. To build a relationship, customers need understanding. That is why salespeople still matter.

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Article source Sales & Marketing Management - a US website for salespeople and marketers
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