Tema Frank‘s blog posting, “Death of a Salesman … Let Prospects Sell Themselves” , raised some pretty interesting arguments against personal selling. I mean come on, everyone has had some kind of negative experience with sales-people and can find reasons not to like them, but she is proposing we get rid of in-person sales all together and replace them with e-commerce that present the info needed for consumers to make their decisions and automate subsequent transactions.

Her arguments? Sales-people suck and can’t do their job properly while costing companies a fortune in salaries. Computers on the other hand, make less mistakes, provide comprehensive information and present those info on a timely basis to clients’ own homes; Calgary’s Optimum Energy Products Ltd. replaced their outside sales staff with technology and proved successful with a track record of profit growth.

I have to admit she has made some very valid points, at least judging from my experience. For most major purchases I make I tend to do my research well ahead of time. I land on a decision before leaving home and I’m only in the store to carry out the transaction, and yet the sales-person shows-up though I never asked for any help and claims commission for the sale. However, I realize not everyone makes their decisions in this fashion. I’ve witnessed consumers who know nothing of what they are buying and rely on the sales staff completely. To them, this procedure is absolutely necessary, without it they may leave for a competitor’s store due to lack of customer service.

Perhaps in a world where most consumers are self-dependent will this model work. In our world however, especially in B2C, way too many people expect to be served by real people; automation would take away part of the shopping experience.