This post is a reply to Tema Frank’s blog post on the Canadian Marketing Blog by the Canadian Marketing Association titled, “Death of a Salesman… Let Prospects Sell Themselves.” The blog post talks about the decreasing necessity for sales people because research has shown that 29% come to their job unprepared and with very little knowledge about the product they are selling. Instead, companies are investing in more automated systems and online services that can provide consumers with all the information they are looking for, which has actually made companies a lot more profitable than hiring sales people.

I think that this is very true and it is not at all difficult to believe that automated systems would increase sales even more. When people are looking to fulfill a need, it usually is best to look online for all possible options first because asking a sales associate in stores may not always give a useful answer. Also, personal selling is more likely used for bigger ticket items, products that require a lot of involvement from the consumer during their use, and products that are risky. This way, the sales associate is able to answer any questions the customer may have and address any concerns. However, even with these types of shopping products, one sales person will not know everything there is to know about all the products in the product category that the consumer is considering and so it is almost impossible for the consumer to make the absolute best decision based on the advice given. If all the information is available on the web and companies make sure that it is user friendly, and search friendly, consumers are more likely to trust their own judgement and decisions and sales will increase for the company.