Today companies are taking a new approach to sales.
Sales are no longer just about convincing customers or consumers to buy or purchase a product or service.
The current approach has led experts to implement terms such as Viral Marketing, Strategic Marketing, CRM (Costumer Relation Management / Customer Relationship Management), among other concepts, which have led sales to become more of a study of comprehensive benefits for the client, than in a simple exchange of goods or services.
Going to Latin America, it can be determined how the large Latin American companies have little by little venturing into the use and implementation of this type of terms in their corporate processes, which for some are better known than for others.
Taking into account the economies of these countries and the typical behavior of the Latin consumer, I can come to the conclusion that part of the strategies that companies must implement to improve their sales is to delve deeply with this type of concepts and "educate", for to put it in some way, to customers in the new sales trends, so that new buying trends are also generated.
In countries with developed economies, there are other types of sales techniques that are different from the ones Latin Americans use, because their economic systems are different and consumers seek to satisfy other types of needs. It is in this type of society where consumerism stands out to the extreme and according to that large companies work to generate new products that can provoke purchases without thinking about whether a need will be satisfied or not.
With technological advances, little by little sales techniques have been modified according to the uses we can give to new technologies such as the INTERNET, and I mean "new" because although the Internet has been on the market for many years, it still There is a lack of culture at the level of our current society, for the use of this valuable tool.
The Internet has created around it a global network where we can communicate from anywhere in the world to any other place, it has erased the borders between countries and has reduced the links in distribution chains, where with just one click we can know any city, talk to someone and buy anything from anywhere in the world, all at the same time.
Due to the above, other related concepts such as e-business or e-commerce have begun to emerge. The first refers to any type of negotiation carried out over the Internet and the second to the activities carried out to market a good or service through the Internet.
It should be clarified that although these are related terms and somewhat similar, they are not the same. Each one is positioned according to the importance that each of the parties gives to the different stages of the sale as such.
With the appearance of these terms, the creation of virtual companies or commonly called “companies” began to increase. com "for that reason of the domain that generally has the".com ".
Virtual companies are born through an Internet page, which is enabled to provide relevant information to visitors. These pages must be agile and properly updated so that visitors find precisely what they are looking for.
This is where the forces of sales and technology begin to combine. The question today is how to sell making the most of this type of technology?
To answer this question, it must first be borne in mind that the entire type of economy that we are currently experiencing is a globalized economy, where half the world wants to negotiate with the other half and vice versa.
By having a tool as valuable as the Internet, we can maximize the intention of being part of this continuous globalization. The Internet allows any user in the world to communicate with whoever they want at any time, in this way it can be said that the company has 24 hours at its service, as far as information is required.
Due to this trend, today's entrepreneurs spare no effort to have their own website and, most importantly, that the page generates the expected results to make itself known as an interactive company and available to anyone anywhere in the world.
This is the beginning of learning to sell through this type of technology, which allows minimizing administrative costs, response times and immediacy of information.
The other side of the coin
But to speak of so much "wonder" as some would say, not only do you have supporters, obviously this type of theories, you also have opponents.
Why opponents of something so good and so modern? The answer is not complicated at all, simply because we still have a long way to go to cultivate ourselves as a modern society in the use of these types of tools, not to mention that in many parts of the world, they do not even have Internet connections or, failing that, it has costs very tall.
As long as the majority of consumers continue to have paradigms about making transactions over the Internet, many companies of this type will not be able to reach their potential customers, because it is simply not a tool that the consumer is counting as a possibility to satisfy their needs.
There are also other types of opponents to this theory and they are those humanists who insist that a machine cannot replace a person and simply do not share the idea that only a computer is the one that receives them when making some type of transaction.
This is a very difficult point of view to handle since it can be said that we are partly right and partly wrong, and I include myself because I have sometimes thought in such a way.
We have engraved in our memory the concept that generally when they sell us something or provide us a service, there must necessarily be a person on the other side of the situation who is in the obligation to listen to us and satisfy any concern or need that arises in the middle of the negotiation.
It should not be argued that it is obviously much better to be treated with an attentive greeting, a handshake or a warm smile. These kinds of things make you lose the tension before any negotiation of purchase and sale.
But what do we receive when we do everything through the Internet and the computer? We receive an immediate response, the possibility of communicating with any place in the world, or better with several places in the world at the same time and all at a much lower cost than an international call is worth.
We also receive all the options in a single click, the convenience of making any type of transaction, from our home, or from anywhere where we are, as long as we have Internet access, and all with one click!
On the other hand, it is necessary to take into account the Internet access itself, since in these times there are still many limitations in various parts of the world for a simple Internet connection, this can cause that at certain times, companies lose enormous opportunities to offer their products worldwide, without leaving your office.
Without also counting on that type of traditional entrepreneurs who are totally elusive to the use of these technologies, perhaps arguing that they are too expensive or that they simply do not agree to their negotiation policies.
This type of somewhat archaic policies are those that have caused many companies to be displaced from the market by others that have accepted the challenge of facing globalization through this type of tool.
Today's entrepreneurs must bear in mind that the levels of competition change every day according to the needs of consumers.
It is these needs that at a certain moment move world trade and those that encourage human beings to create new tools and customs that make life more comfortable and much more practical.
The practical life that we all want is attributed to the fact that every day we have more occupations and time is scarcer, therefore we live "slaves" of time, and any solution that we can find to this problem is valid to make our life a little more practical.
Therefore, tools such as the Internet and sales through this medium, make life a little more practical for many and we safeguard any minute that can be saved in order to continually maximize our results.
As a conclusion, it can be said that each entrepreneur, according to his product, his market and his strategy, verifies what type of tools he should use when offering to the consumer.
For this verification you must really take into account what the consumer is looking for and how they are looking for it. In this way, they can perhaps reach a positive agreement that creates a win-win for both parties, which is the overall goal of any negotiation.
For each one there remains the reflection of what they are really looking for and how they plan to achieve it… in the traditional way? Or in the most convenient way… the Internet?
The answer is according to the needs of each person and each company.
