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A Wake-Up Call For
Commodity Selling
In the June issue of
PPB
, PPAI
President and CEO Paul Bellantone,
CAE, focused the Perspectives column
titled, “This Is Your Wake-Up Call,” on
how selling commodity products and
advancing technology may cost B2B sales
reps their jobs in the years ahead, and what
they can do to keep them.
It is refreshing to see that our well-
traveled PPAI President and CEO, Paul
Bellantone, CAE, is willing to write a
painful, but truthful piece on the state of
our industry. In “This Is Your Wake-Up
Call,” he cites results from a study,
“Death of a B2B Salesman.” The num-
ber of B2B salespeople who will lose
their jobs is not something anyone wants
to hear, but what’s being said is true.
The study notes that “while B2B buyers
overwhelmingly prefer to research, and
increasingly buy, products and services
via a self-service website, B2B sellers
still force buyers to interact with their
salespeople as part of the purchase
process.”
Changing buying habits have been
brewing for a while. Distributors who
don’t have a strong online presence will
be challenged in an evolving market-
place. Today’s buyers like the conven-
ience of buying online and controlling
the purchase process. As nice as most
promotional consultants are, many buy-
ers enjoy the Amazon type of buying
experience. It's simple and people are
comfortable purchasing this way. A few
companies that I won't name here have
been very successful utilizing online
design tools to sell promotional prod-
ucts. They make the process simple and
have excellent profit margins meeting
this need for buyers.
Where there are challenges, there
are opportunities. As Bellantone sug-
gests, “Work to shift the focus from sell-
ing on price and product to providing
service, consultation and solutions.” Days
are numbered for stuff sellers. PPAI
offers education opportunities that will
help you be better prepared to serve your
clients. Love it or hate it, a strong social
media presence will serve us well in this
new marketplace. Build relationships
and share relevant content. Don’t always
8 •
PPB
• JULY 2015
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