Redefining Sales in the Age of Too Much Information

In his manifesto for sales in the internet age, Daniel Pink declares that the wealth of information the internet has put in the hands of the average netizen has revolutionized the relationship between salespersons and their potential clients. With netizens now able to find minute details of any product or service, their alternatives, and user reviews, salespersons no longer have exclusive command of information relevant to what they are selling. The resulting erosion of information asymmetry has made it difficult for salespersons to sweet-talk clients into paying higher prices for subpar offerings.

As the title To Sell is Human conveys so succinctly, Pink postulates that greater availability of information to potential clients forces salespersons to change their tactics, presenting themselves as human beings that strive to relate to the individualized situation of each potential client, rather than simply matching the needs of the client with the capabilities of the products or services that are being peddled. The need to develop sustained emotional ties with clients will be complicated, especially for those who generally struggle with connecting with other humans in the first place.

Yet, Pink cleverly slip a double meaning into the word "human," making the concept relevant not just for those making a living off persuading others to buy something. His analyses of the internet age, where the barrier of entry for a whole host of industries has become significantly lowered and entrepreneurship, especially of the digital kind, has become increasingly commonplace. The result is a world of freelancers working and selling for themselves. Sales, in other words, have become not just a job of the few, but for practically all human beings who need to make a living.

The ubiquity of sales, then, changes the frequency of being sold to and the perception of salespeople. Pink cites a survey result in which those inquired about salespeople still overwhelmingly conjures up images of sleazy men in suits relying on deception to get their way. But in reality, today's salespeople can look like anything, and sleaze can be effectively prevented by doing some independent research before speaking to any salesperson. With sales coming from anywhere and more tied with available information, the mental hurdle of both interacting and becoming a salesperson has declined.

That new reality can be particularly concerning for the many people, myself included, that do what now seems to be a "traditional" job of pushing people to buy something. Given a variety of choices, people can easily dither from making final decisions, spending more time doing research, and talking to myriad competitors before jumping the gun. The sales cycle risk becoming longer simply because people have more free outlets of information, and salespeople cannot realistically persuade them with proprietary information that cannot be obtained elsewhere.

And this concern is particularly significant in the educational sector. As universities broadcast information about the admissions process and plenty of blogs describe firsthand experiences of students being admitted into top universities, educational consulting firms increasingly need to reevaluate what exactly are those value-added services that they provide, which others will not be able to find. Simply targetting those who are too lazy to figure out their own plans is no longer a functional answer when the process of gathering information (and making the plan) is now only a few taps away on a smartphone.

Perhaps what educational consultants are selling is peace of mind, rather than any particular information. In some ways, the job has become more like a psychiatrist. You just need someone to listen to your problems and shortcomings, which you certainly know better than the listener. You just want someone to analyze and interpret them to bring new perspectives and viewpoints so that you feel that there are ways to improve and resolve. The clients know what they need to do, and often how to do it. They just want someone else to tell them the same thing so that they have the confidence to go forth with the plan.

Validating others' beliefs may be a central principle in what Pink calls "empathy" in his approach toward the new world of selling. For salespeople, rather than spending time telling others information that the clients can find themselves, it might be better to have the clients get the information themselves. And when the clients come up with their action plans, salespeople can simply agree and provide the resources to implement the action plans. Rather than expending energy doing the research, wouldn't that make the lives of salespeople so much easier?