The bold step by Merrill Lynch to move its retail business to the Web made it clear to the company’s nearly 15,000 stockbrokers that most of them were expendable.

Anyone in sales should be concerned about the future. Striving to be competitive, more companies view the Internet as a way to get closer to customers while eliminating the cost of maintaining a sales force.

It’s not surprising that many in sales are doing their best to avoid taking seriously this threat to their future. Here is what they are saying:

• “I won’t get hurt. I’m in an industry that needs salespeople.”
• “Even if they cut back on the sales force, I’ll survive.”
• “I’ll hang on as long as I can. I only have a couple of years to go.”
• “Customers want to talk to a live human being. Selling is about relationships.”

We all try to maintain our mental equilibrium by tuning out potentially bad news. We convince ourselves that we can escape what others see clearly as an impending threat. The facts, however, suggest that many sales positions are in jeopardy.

Retailers were quick to see the possibilities in the Internet for selling merchandise. Besides convenience, the Internet solves the problem of selection, a key issue with today’s Web-educated consumers. For example, anyone going to a bookstore heard one message: “We don’t have it, but we can get it for you in a week or so.” Amazon.com saw an opportunity to solve this problem by providing an almost unlimited selection of books that would arrive on a customer’s doorstep in a matter of days. Visit a camera store and the selection is limited by what the manager wants to sell. And, of course, the same is true for cars. But not on the Web where customers have the satisfaction of knowing they have control over choice. Is it surprising that online merchants generate greater customer loyalty? According to Forrester Research, “In five out of six product categories, consumers are more likely to repurchase from online merchants than from traditional retailers.”

When it comes to buying a home, how many can you visit in an afternoon? Are you shown only those homes the real estate agent wants to sell? Technology, specifically the Web, gives the consumer the power to tour many homes in a brief period while sitting comfortably in front of a home computer. When we see where technology is headed, what is the future for real estate sales agents, for example?

It now appears that business-to-business Internet sales may be bigger than the consumer market. The Boston Globe (11/26/99) stated the case succinctly, “The idea: Use the electronic medium to order and delivery most things businesses buy from their suppliers, from paper clips to industrial steel.”

To some this may seem like a bleak picture for a career in sales. For those who choose to deny the impact of the Internet on selling, the future is indeed frightening. However, salespeople who take steps to make themselves valuable to their companies and customers, whether they are in a consumer or businessto-business industry, will do well. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with the impact of the Internet on your sales career:

• Avoid a commodity mentality. It’s tough to hear, but many salespeople “educate” their customers to develop a “commodity mentality.” The vice president of sales of a wholesale firm said, “Let’s face it. All we sell is a commodity.” If the salesperson considers the products commodities, then all that is important to the buyer is the lowest possible price. This becomes the only reason salespeople give buyers to do business with them.

A commodity mentality means that what you sell is no better or no worse than anyone else’s product, and there is no inherent value in doing business with you.

In the dry-cleaning and shirt laundry business, Sanitone has successfully differentiated its clothing care products from the others on the market. The company is so successful it limits the number of customers it serves in an area, and at the same time, charges more. The company proves its claim that Sanitone-processed shirts are cleaner and brighter. What others sell as a commodity, Sanitone has transformed into a brand.

• Get on the customer’s side of the table and stay there. The worst mistake today is for customers to conclude that they are being “sold.” An executive visited a jewelry store where he has bought gifts for his wife. “I’ve shopped there for years, but this time I had the feeling I was getting a sales pitch,” he said. What had changed? Not the jewelry store. Reflecting on what had happened, he realized his Internet experience had made him keenly aware that the customer is now in charge of the sale, not the salesperson. He resented anything that sounded like a “sales pitch.”

To be successful, salespeople must be 100 percent on the customer’s side. There can be no exceptions even when it means recommending a competitor’s product or service to meet a customer’s specific need. Anything less destroys a salesperson’s credibility with the customer.

• Be known for what you know. Customers who will stay perceive that you bring a level of expertise to their business that they aren’t getting elsewhere. A LCD projector buyer spent time on the Web researching products. After narrowing the selection, he called a dealer he had done business with over the years, and talked to a salesperson about the selection. After asking the customer a series of questions—What size room will it be used in? What material will you be projecting? How far will the project be from the screen?—the salesperson recommended another projector from the same manufacturer. The salesperson’s knowledge tilted the balance.

Customers, particularly business-to-business buyers, want support from knowledgeable people. The goal is to be perceived as a resource for buyers.

• Make sure your company has a customer-friendly Web site. Survey your customers and find out the type of Web site that best serves their needs. Ask them the key questions: What will make it convenient, efficient, and easy for them to do business with you? While there may be a place for a few faxed orders, for example, in the future, the answer is electronic. In the name of speed and accuracy, electronic ordering systems are now the standard.

• Recognize why most sales are lost. While there are all types of explanations for the lost sale, most seem to fall into the category of excuses. “They didn’t have the money.” “The guy’s brother-in-law sells insurance.” “She was just a tire kicker—no intention of buying.” While no one can close every transaction, most sales are lost because the salesperson gives up too soon. Whether it’s 30 days or two years after the last contact, the customer makes a buying decision — with someone else. And every salesperson wonders why it happened that way.

Unless there is a crisis, today’s buyers do not make quick decisions. They buy when they get ready, and most of them are getting ready “behind the scenes.” They are doing their research on the Internet. Dropping prospects too quickly costs most sales.

The successful salespeople live with their laptops and contact management programs to make sure they continue to interact and communicate with prospects.

• Be very particular about who you work for. The problems salespeople face today are not all of their own making. Management has a responsibility, too. If your sales manager or employer doesn’t grasp what’s happening in the marketplace today or doesn’t appreciate the role of technology, move on.

While you want to be helpful to the company you work for, recognize that some people just don’t want to acknowledge, for one reason or another, that vast changes are taking place that have a direct impact on sales and the role of the salesperson. We all know that a good salesperson wants to believe that he or she can convince anyone of anything. Yet, we also know that it isn’t really true. While you can certainly redefine your role as a salesperson, you may not find it easy to change the company you work for. As a result, it may be necessary to find a venue that respects customer cultivation, knowledge-based selling, and that values salespeople who are customer-committed.

In an e-economy, there’s only one place to keep your eye, and that’s on the customer. By recognizing that today’s customers are smarter — more interested in information they can use rather than listening to a “sales pitch” — you’ll excel in the new marketplace.