The Sales Coach Newsletter
April 1997
© 1998 by Galante & Company

Can technology replace salespeople?
Well, let's see. You can buy a list of prospects on disk from a mail order company and load them into your contact manager. Sort them by whatever characteristic you choose in your favorite spread sheet program. Then mail merge these names with a form letter created in your word processor. Send this "personalized" letter to your prospect with an offer and a reply card. If they bite, they call your automated ordering hot line and "Press 1 to place an order, Press 2 to check the status of an existing order, Press 3 to hear a list of products by part number, Press 4 to request more information, Press 5 to speak to a representative... Sorry, all customer service representative s are busy at the moment. If you would like to hold Press 1, if you would like to hear music while you hold Press 2, to leave a message for one our representatives Press 3, to return to the main menu press 9... Sorry, your entry is invalid. Thank you for calling, good bye."

Database management, computers and voice automated whatchamacallits are getting more sophisticated. Voice mail is becoming the norm, and the Internet is getting easier to use. But how is technology going to help a potential customer who has a product question or an irate client that was not notified about a back order that has been back ordered?

As companies struggle to achieve total customer satisfaction, many sales departments are looking to technology for the answer. In the wake of corporate down sizing, cost control and the like, companies across the globe are trying to find a balance between great service and cost efficiencies.

The sales department is about the only department that has not been struck by the cost cutting axe of the company accountant or controller. Thank god most business owners and senior executives come from the ranks of us sales folk or else we would be replaced with "Press 1..."

I profess that there has to be a balance between high- tech and no-tech in the sales environment.

High-tech can make a company/department/person more efficient. But, no-tech must remain in the sales and customer service departments in order to give prospects/customers a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Let's take a look at two of the hottest trends of the 90's. E-mail and Networking. The ironic thing is that these two communication medias are worlds apart from each other. One is about banging on your keyboard, (often with no idea who it is you are "conversing" with), the other is about getting to know someone, (how they look, dress, smile, shake hands, stand, sit, walk, etc.) One is still being developed and the other has been around since the beginning of time. I find it interesting to see how selling over the Internet is just as hot as good old face to face selling.

One could subscribe to the theory that as technology becomes easier and more affordable, it could replace conversation as we know it. I have heard arguments that say that this new technology would reshape the way we do business. I read a book in 1992 by a well known futurist and author who said that people in the future will spend most of their days indoors and distant from friends and relatives. They will shop via telephone and computer with little interest in outside activities. She goes on to say how companies that can capitalize on this new technology will reap huge rewards.

Many of her theories and fore sights are accurate judging by the stock price of Netscape, but on the other hand, many of her prognostications are off. Just try to get a tee time on a Saturday or stand on a lift line at a ski resort and you'll know what I mean.

Selling through technology has it's place when a customer needs part number 1234. They know exactly what they want and there's no guess work involved. Computers can help people look up part numbers, check stock on specific items or cross reference manufacturers. But if there is the chance they could get the wrong size, shape, color, style, texture, band-width, frequency, speed, version, thickness, etc. they want to speak with a person. This person can help them wade through the sea of options.

Selling with technology is great, but there's nothing like a firm handshake to clinch the deal or smooth some ruffled feathers.

Trade shows (both large and small) are a prime example of how putting the face with the voice can increase sales. Companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on trade show marketing because they realize the value of the face to face stuff. How many times have we went to a seminar or association function only to bump into someone that we talk with on the phone all the time but have never met him/her in person. At first, you make quick adjustments in your thinking and opinions, then you build the relationship based on your previous conversations.

Another example of how people are hanging on to the past was evident in an article I read recently. It appears that fine fountain pens are the hot new collectors items. They are hot due to the notion that e-mail is the wave of the future. The collectors of these pens are the few who still have a passion for the hand written note. I tend to agree with them. I would much rather send/receive a hand written thank you card then a digital e-mail message. It's much more personal.

Technology should be a part of the salesperson's arsenal, but we have to keep in mind that personal attention is what makes the difference between selling to a customer and retaining one.

After all, good sales managers say, "Sell yourself first, the product and the company second, and the price last." And what do they say to salespeople who complain about the company's price policies? "Your customer's are buying you, not our widgets or our prices. Go out there, make your customer love you and they'll pay a little more for your product."

If these statements are true, as I believe they are and have been for the past ump-teen years, then technology will never replace salespeople.

Quotes to sell by

The economic and technological triumphs of the past few years have not solved as many problems as we thought they would, and, in fact, have brought us new problems we did not foresee

- Henry Ford II

The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual

- Earl Warren

I walk slowly, but I never walk backward

- Abraham Lincoln

Lighten up
The Fed took it easy on us.
Spring has finally sprung.
It's time to dust off your clubs.
The boys of summer are back.
Patrick Ewing is still playing every game.

Galante & Company is a sales training and positioning firm. Our mission is to help entrepreneurs, executives, managers and salespeople realize greater success. Our purpose is to increase the performance of individuals and organizations. Our role is to understand our client, set realistic goals, help create practical action plans and follow through to completion.

Coaching, consulting and training services are available nationwide via telephone, e-mail and in person.

The Sales Coach is a free newsletter. Please copy it and pass it on to your associates or anyone who you think would benefit from it.

Thank you.

Michael J. Galante

GALANTE & COMPANY