This article is about leveraging technology to replace the mundane and time consuming tasks that waste the time of live salespeople.
Some critics question the moral and ethical value of asking machines to act like humans. Conversely, I believe in the unlimited potential of human beings. "Sales Training 101" teaches salespeople what to say and how to say it each time they present their company's products or services. Personally speaking, I question the moral, ethical, and financial effects of devaluing people to the point where humans are asked to act like machines. People are amazing, and they should spend their time performing tasks that are worthy of their time, intellect, and ability.
There's one thing worse than making a mistake.duplicating it. There's also one thing better than a perfect performance.duplicating it.
When salespeople make a poor presentation, they blow expensive leads. Worse yet, they lose sales revenue that shouldn't have been lost. Potential clients often leave such an interaction WITH a negative impression and WITHOUT your product or service.
What's the difference in the sales revenue generated by your top producer and by your worst salesperson? Given the choice, is there any reason you wouldn't want your top producer making every presentation?
Using traditional logic, that's impossible because a salesperson can't be everywhere at once. However, that's the problem.traditional logic.
I don't want to sound greedy, but from a business owner's perspective, consider this further. Even top producers have off days when they aren't at their best. Nobody's perfect. They're only human. However, that's the problem. They're only human. Just imagine what would happen to sales revenue if it were possible for your top producers to make THEIR best presentation EVERY time.
Like it or not, welcome to the future. Web sites, search engines, and high-speed Internet connections quickly give prospects access to the information they want. It's easier than ever before.
Potential clients have a lower tolerance for new salespeople who don't know what they're doing yet, who call when the potential clients don't want to talk, and who are tough to reach when they do want to talk. Additionally, potential clients have been conditioned to expect immediate response from vendors, and the very idea of waiting an hour, a day, or a week to get an appointment with a knowledgeable salesperson is totally unacceptable.
Technology that costs employers less than what they typically pay in salary to a SINGLE salesperson in a week or two now exists to create a "virtual salesperson" on the Web, DVD, or CD-ROM. The "virtual salesperson" can PERFECTLY present a company's products, services, features, and benefits, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, to what could end up being an almost unlimited number of prospects.
Potential clients immediately get the information they want when they work with a company using a "virtual salesperson," and they get access to live salespeople more easily when they want to. When traditional salespeople aren't out of the office doing work that can now be done by a "virtual salesperson," they are more accessible and responsive.
Rather than being concerned with their ability to perform the company propaganda on demand, traditional salespeople should be focused on providing personal service, problem solving, enhancing relationships, networking, and the other business development activities that require their skill, knowledge, and interactive ability.
(c) 2003 Mason Duchatschek, Duchatschek is co-author of "Sales Utopia: How to Get the Right People, Doing the Right Things, Enough Times" and president of AMO-Employer Services, Inc. (www.amo-es.com). He can be reached at 1-800-245-0445.
About the Author
Mason Duchatschek is the president of AMO-Employer Services, Inc., in St. Louis, Missouri, and co-author of the book Sales Utopia: How to Get the Right People, Doing the Right Things, Enough Times. His phone number is 1-800-245-0445, and his company's website is www.amo-es.com.