Essay - New Trends in Business are Resulting in the Loss of...

New trends in business are resulting in the loss of demand for sales managers, and new communications technologies, sales force automation, team selling, re-engineering, customer focus, relationship selling, telemarketing, and integrated marketing are all impinging on the role of the sales manager (Keenan 72). There is a ***** model for ***** sales manager as a person who is re*****ed intern*****y, someone who runs interference ***** the sales force within ***** organization, and gets things done internally so that the sales people can spend their time with the right customers.

Sales people often work out of ***** homes now, doing everything electronically, and only getting an office when they have built up business in a region to ***** high enough level ***** support it (Keenan 73). Representatives' updates ***** downloads can be done via a computer linked to the corporate ********** phone calls can take care of client problems, questions, and special requests; product training, sales coaching, ***** other general advice can be covered via telev*****ion networks linking remote *****fices. The role of a sales manager is obsolete. Successful ***** ***** will be those ***** stay close to the people doing the work, and feeding information from customers and salespeople back to their organization.

Electronic data interchange technology is impacting the role ***** ***** sales manager (Keenan 74). Sales managers are ***** ********** sales ***** leaders, working through leadership and negotiation skills rather than traditional management skills. People work through virtual offices with everything automated and available on their laptops. Videoconferencing, teleconferencing, emails, and voice mails are how sales managers stay in touch with ***** teams.

***** Institute of technology (MIT) and independent electronic, computer, and networking equipment provider NECX as early as 1997 created the nations first online campus computer store, allowing individuals at ***** to purchase products directly online ***** give students, faculty, and staff the best prices possible (Rasmusson 16). ***** deal allowed MIT to cut costs because e-commerce reduces admin*****tr*****ive costs considerably, and because it's store is a non-profit, it can pass savings on to buyers. First, the ***** purchasing will bring prices down, forcing reps to provide value-added services ***** succeed. They'll have to take on more of a ***** role. The service will be electr*****ic end-*****-end, with no humans involved in orders, so the 20 ***** people will be able to concentrate on acquiring customers and managing these relationships. Secondly, the need for sales ***** will decline and ***** focus will ***** on core dec*****ion makers at headquarters.

Computers and in*****m*****ion technology have affected almost every industry, and sales is no exception. Inventories ***** managed by computer, and manufacturers develop ***** links to suppliers and ***** (U.S. Department of Labor 31-37). E-commerce may reduce the use ***** conventional s*****res in ***** future, and web-based ***** are already commonplace (33). Total e-commerce is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2005. The traditional role of *****al sales ***** sales managers is ending, and ***** need to adapt their ***** to fit in ***** the new technology.

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