Most people when they think of sales have an outdated view of what it really is. For example, in the past there was really no information that was available for a buyer to gain before heading into a sales experience. Therefore, the buyer had to put all the trust into the salesperson and whether the product was correctly shown. Another important thing to note is that when customers were unhappy with a product, there was no way to voice their disapproval of that certain product. David Meerman goes into detail about how sales has come a long way from then until now. What Meerman discovers is much like we have read about in Daniel Pinks book, Sales in the Startup. The insight that Meerman gives shows how the world of sales is changing from independent sources to an open book filled with content.
In todays world, there is so much more information the customer can learn before going into a buying situation, which evens the playing field. This makes it so the seller cannot really hide anything even if he tried to, and makes the connection and relationship between the seller and buyer more personal and trustworthy. The salesperson today acts as a clarifying person whenever there is a grey area or a discrepancy. Also, the customer can leave reviews based on the satisfaction of the product for other customers to gain even more insight on a certain product or service.
Personally I have noticed a change in this when I had an experience at the Baierl Toyota when I was buying my first truck. My Dad was with me and he did a lot of the talking but I had done a lot of research on the car and knew all the ins and outs. The salesman was named Bob and he was very helpful and said all the information I already knew about the truck but he clarified a lot of the information for us and also let us test drive the truck. This was very helpful because my dad and I were both able to trust the salesman and know that he was trustworthy and wanted to help us.
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