As with the beginning of almost every year we have a number of commentators and pundits proclaiming what the “new normal” is.
We’re told that the old normal was the government strove to keep unemployment below 5% and that the “new normal” is going to be to try to keep unemployment below 7%.
We’re told that the old normal in the auto industry was to try to increase the miles per gallon on a manufacturer’s fleet by selling enough high mileage units to raise the fleet average, and the “new normal” is no longer trying to sell large numbers of high mileage internal combustion engines but to sell hybrids and alternative energy vehicles.
In sales we’re told that the old normal was cold calling, face-to-face meetings with prospects and clients, and using salespeople to find, connect with, and sell prospects, and the “new normal” is that salespeople are an outdated and costly luxury and are, at best, nothing more than an archaic relic of the past that companies just haven’t come to the realization are no longer needed.
Many, including myself, find it amusing to read the “new normal” predictions knowing that for the most part they are nothing more than someone’s attempt to be relevant and gain some attention.
We’ll ignore addressing the issue of the “new normal” unemployment rate and the “new normal” in the auto industry and spend a minute or two discussing the “new normal” silliness in sales.
The “new normal” argument is based on several supposed changes in how buyers buy products and services.
- One argument is that the Internet has fundamentally changed the way people shop and buy. Proponents of this position argue that the Internet provides buyers all the information about potential products and services that they used to have to rely on salespeople for, making the salesperson obsolete. Further, most companies now offer their products and services online, so not only can the buyer get all the information and comparisons they need online, they can complete the purchase online, making a salesperson completely irrelevant.
- Others argue that in today’s highly competitive market where any company that creates a competitive advantage through product improvement or a more efficient process that reduces price can count on that advantage lasting only a very short time before their competitors catch up and return the market to equilibrium, there’s really no such thing as a competitive advantage. In such a market all products and services are reduced to commodity status where price is the only differentiator and once price is the one and only deciding factor, salespeople are an unjustified expense whose only significant contribution is to increase the product or service’s cost.
- And others argue that with the increasing popularity of social media and technology the sellers that are left will never have to leave their homes as they will be able to connect with, develop relationships with, and sell via a combination of social media and tale-meeting technology such as Go to Meeting. For these commentators the new normal is a world where technology replaces face-to-face meetings and even the telephone. Sellers who use their car, their phone, or even text are not only behind the times, they’re signing their own death warrant by not learning to adapt to the new reality of business.
Have you heard these proclamations of the”new normal” before? You probably heard them last year—and the year before that—and the year before that. This new normal is taking forever to get here but I guess if someone keeps claiming this is the year, sooner or later maybe someone will be right.
But I sincerely doubt it—at least any time soon.
First, let’s look at a couple of statistics that might shed some light on what salespeople are doing.
According to travel statistics, business travel has increased by almost 4% each of the last two years. I find it somewhat surprising that there’s a significant increase in business travel when supposedly salespeople aren’t traveling.
In addition, every single recruiter I’ve spoken to indicate a significant increase in open sales positions, especially for experienced outside salespeople.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing that the sales profession isn’t changing nor am I arguing that social media and technology are not impacting how sellers sell.
My argument is simply that in 2012—and probably for the foreseeable future—there will not be a “new normal.”
- Almost all sellers will find their offline activities will still be more vital to their success than their social media interaction.
- Getting out of the office and in front of prospects and clients will still be the primary relationship building and selling format
- More than likely business travel will increase again this year—and for the foreseeable years to come—including travel by sellers
- Sales jobs will continue to be created with the corresponding opportunities for both experienced and inexperienced men and women
- Social media will continue to be an area that sellers need to learn how to effectively engage—but the reality is it isn’t going to take the place of a seller’s offline activities such as cold calling, networking, and seeking high quality referrals and when a connection is made through social media, for it to be effective it will have to be taken offline.
In other words, for now and at least the next few years, the “new normal” will be the old normal.
Do those activities this year that have been successful for you in the past and you’ll be successful again this year.
It’s fun and exciting to talk about the “new normal,” but the fact is not much has really changed.
Human nature hasn’t changed since last year.
The phone still works and people still answer it.
Referrals will still get you more and better business than any other prospecting format.
You will still have to work to develop relationships.
You’ll still have to educate, be a real problem solver for your clients, and bring more value to the table than your competitors.
The world hasn’t shifted on its axis—yet anyway.
So take all the talk of the new normal with a grain of salt. Don’t ignore social media and by all means use technology to the fullest, but if you want to be successful in 2012, pick up the phone, fill up the car, and hit the streets just like you did last year and the years before that.
Follow Paul on Twitter: @paul_mccord
Points well taken. If anything, the proliferation of electronic relationships makes human intereaction that much more valuable and enduring. The more high tech a product or service is, the more high touch will be needed to recruit new customers.
Comment by mhdweb — January 27, 2012 @ 2:42 pm |
In other words, “real” relationships are still key. Yes, technology has allowed me to meet more people, but the “real” relationship begins when we take it off line, either in person or by phone. I think this is good new!
Comment by Pam BurzynskiPam — January 27, 2012 @ 2:59 pm |
Technology has allowed me to “meet” more people and re-connect with more people, but the “Real” relationship begins when we take it off line, either in person or by phone. This is good news!
Comment by Pam BurzynskiPam — January 27, 2012 @ 3:01 pm |
Funny, I was just listening about how Sales 2.0 is the new normal. Sales has and will always be about people and relationships. Technology is a tool to improve those relationships as well as to expand current ones. Just finished reading Who’s In Your Orbit? by Mike Muhney and Max J.Pucher. (a very quick read under one hour for me at least). What they write about mirror many of your comments, Paul.
My sense is too many people want the quick fix because they lack the critical thinking skills to think strategically. Some of your New Normal examples can be likened to the quick fix even though the facts dispute those examples as you cited regarding travel. I heard one sales expert state: “you do not ever have to leave your office ever again and your sales will dramatically increase.” Then there are all those landing pages that make similar statements. Thanks for another insightful posting.
Comment by thecoachlee — January 27, 2012 @ 3:56 pm |
Finally a voice of reason amongst all the social media clamor!
Comment by Craig Wilson — January 27, 2012 @ 3:56 pm |
For real. I just read Think and Grow Rich, where Hill talks about how the market is changing. He talks about how we’ll never again need to return to the “old way” of doing business. Says something like “the days of the go-getter are over. He has been supplanted by the go-giver.” Everything he said in that section sounds exactly like every social media guru these days, and it was a book written before any of us were ever born. Decades before the internet even existed.
My point isn’t that Napoleon Hill was wrong. My point is that the landscape is always changing. Always has been. Always will. And it’s good to learn the tools of your trade. Just don’t mistake the tools for the strategy. Wanting to run a business blog is smart. Thinking that having a blog is a strategy in and of itself is a horrible oversimplification that completely overlooks what makes marketing work in the first place.
We seem to agree, people buy the same stuff for the same reasons they always have. In this regard, the internet changes nothing. Nothing at all.
Comment by Christian — January 28, 2012 @ 2:56 am |
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Great article Paul. In addition, I would like to believe that many share thoughts regarding “attempts to be relevant and gain some attention”.
Comment by Jeff Blackwell — February 8, 2012 @ 4:02 pm |