The Impact of the Digital Age on Selling

As Millennials, it is hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that products once were sold in person and not over the internet. Before Netflix and Hulu, there was Blockbuster; and before iTunes, there were physical music stores. However, with the rise of the digital age, sales as an industry itself has become more convenient and less restrictive.

According to The Insider, “Over the past few years, social selling has gained the attention of sales professionals looking to succeed in the altered customer purchasing landscape. With a predicted 2.55 billion social media network users globally by 2018 and consumers being five times more reliant on digital content than they were in the early 2,000’s, it is clear that the digital space is here to stay.” Pink believes that digital age has not hampered the industry but has radically impacted selling for the better. Instead of writing funeral preparations for salespeople, Pink states that if one were writing anything about selling in the second decade of the twenty-first century, it should be birth announcements.

The Insider states that using today’s available technologies to sell is not enough. Salespeople must combine digital selling strategies with social selling in order to drive traffic and increase revenue. So what exactly is social selling?

According to The Insider, social selling is the act of using social media to target one’s audience. The Inside states, “Successful social sellers can be regarded as thought leaders by prospective customers as they provide value through industry insights, sharing expertise and offering solutions to common consumer questions through creating or sharing insightful content.” Social selling is so vital in today’s economy because 90% of decision makers never answer cold calls.

While most traditional salespeople feared the Internet and its ability to eliminate sales jobs, social selling has provided these individuals with another avenue to sell. However, it is critical that these sellers understand how to use social media. Overall, the digital age has made the selling industry more convenient, personalized, and lucrative.