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Meet the Best 45: Tibor Shanto ~ Part One
Weekly Reminder: Live in the present moment "Being present in the
moment breathing without any judgment and/or thought begin to
make friends with your distress! Comments"
We are pleased to present a two part series article by Tibor Shanto,
and sincerely hope that you find his article resourceful. Please help
us welcome this month's mentor who has touched our lives and we
are pleased to share him with you in this entry of Meet the Best.
Introducing with appreciation and gratitude this month's "meet the best"
mentor Tibor Shanto with Part One of his article for your consideration...
Death Of Salesman 2.0?
By Tibor Shanto
Ah, the poor 21st century sales professionals, if he/she is not getting it
from their manager, they are being squeezed by what he thought was a
“loyal” customer, wringing yet another concession to ensure they keep
the business. As if all that were not enough, there is always a sniper,
pundit or sales expert ready to threaten their existence and value. One
such "end is near" piece was on SellingPower.com, entitled
"How Many Salespeople Will Be Left by 2020?";
(http://www.sellingpower.com/content/article.php?a=9452?rnd=324819)
according to which the species will be all but extinct by the end of this
decade.
While I think it is important for experts and pundits to challenge sales
people to stretch and evolve, to stay on top and ahead of evolving
trends and technology, it is also important to keep it real. Since the
advent of technology, especially from the start of the last century on,
there has been a debate about the impact of technology on selling and
sellers. The recurring prediction that sales people will be replaced
or diminished in importance by automation, seems a favourite among
some.
Technology no doubt brings levels of efficiency that will make selling
different and impact the interaction between sellers and buyers. And
while this discussion is important, it also needs to be real. It is important
that we pundits help and contribute to the process of evolution, rather
than impede or distract with outlandish statements that serve a narrow
and self-serving agenda.
The piece starts and builds from a question asked by the author at
Sales 2.0 conference, relating to acquiring books from Amazon.com,
and interaction with Amazon.com staff.
For me, and for all professional sales people, the piece has some short
comings, not the least of which are it fails to address or distinguish the
real difference between B2B and B2C; it fails to differentiate between
transaction – interaction – purchasing and selling.
If there is the dramatic reduction in the species that the piece suggests,
it is almost certainly to come in the B2C camp, not in the B2B. Buying
a book from Amazon is as retail as it gets, even more so than the drive
through at SONIC™. There is a great difference between selling and
buying, and more so between buying/selling and fulfilment, which is
what Amazon does when it comes to books. The book was sold by
the author, publisher, pr firm, Oprah, and these days social media, but
Amazon, they just delivered it. Most people these days will go in to
B&N look at the book, compare and then transact using the fulfilment
facilities offered by Amazon. There is no more selling by Amazon
there than going to your local Piggly Wiggly®
(http://www.pigglywiggly.com/about-us) for a tube of toothpaste.
Just look at how Piggly Wiggly® describes itself on their site, "America's
first true self-service grocery store, was founded in Memphis, Tenn.
in 1916 by Clarence Saunders." Not much new there, it has been going
for 100 years; the store has just shifted to my screen.
Read more about Tibor >>>
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Meet the Best ~ 45: Tibor Shanto ~ Part Two
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