Summary :
The businesses we sell to, the problems we solve, and the solutions we offer have evolved tremendously in the past 50 years. This raises a few questions: “Can you, as a salesperson, a manager, or an organization, effectively compete in today’s market?” The fact is, a high percentage of salespeople and the organizations they work for haven’t kept pace with this evolution. We’re living and working in a time I’ve come to refer to as “the third era of selling.” Understanding the history of this evolution is an important factor to moving forward into Era 3. So let me step back with you for a moment. Several years ago, I was asked to teach a course in Instructional Design, at the University of Minnesota, as it relates to “Sales Training.” As the instructor, you are obliged—in any introductory course—to work a short “History of This Discipline” speech into the first class session. As I surveyed what literature there was on the subject, I found that sales, unlike most other functions in the modern corporation, didn’t really have much of a “history.” At least, nobody studied and wrote about selling in the same way that they studied and wrote about Marketing, Logistics, Quality, Operations, or General Management. Even Purchasing has a longer academic pedigree than Sales.

Copies :