Use the Force Your sales force, that is, because you can't just sit there waiting for customers to find your Web site. You have to go find them.

Only a few years ago, some experts were predicting salespeoplewould be displaced by the New Economy. Netpreneurs have learned thehard way that a Web site alone doesn't bring in customers; nowmany are turning to traditional sales forces to pass the word abouttheir products or services.

"The best way to build long-term customers is with awell-trained, well-motivated sales force," says Dave Donelson,president of Sales Development Associates Inc., a managementconsulting and training firm in West Harrison, New York, and authorof Creative Selling (Entrepreneur'se-books), found exclusively at www.mightywords.com. "A Website might introduce someone to your product once; but after that,you have to go after [people]. That's what a sales force does.There's no substitute for it."

"It comes down to the basics," says Michael J. Doyle,43-year-old chair and CEO of Salesnet, a Boston firm that analyzescompanies' sales processes to benchmark current ones, identifyareas of improvement and codify their best sales practices."Flashy hype doesn't always translate into goodproducts," he notes, "so working through traditionalmediums to make distribution deals is the best way to reachcustomers." Salesnet provides an Internet-based tool thatoffers sales professionals a proven and customized sales process,optimizing selling efforts and driving a more efficient salescycle.

E-commerce does offer new means of distribution, though Donelsondoesn't think it changes the characteristics that netpreneursshould be looking for in their salespeople. "Selling isselling," he says. "And I don't think dotcom salesforces should differ much from brick-and-mortar [ones]. It dependson the product you're selling and who you're selling it to.If you're selling a retail product like clothing, you [shouldhave] a salesperson who can make a quick assessment of what thecustomer needs. In a complex sell, like software or insurance, theprocess is going to take longer. That means you're going torequire a salesperson who has the persistence and patience to makemultiple calls on the same person."

Traditional sales forces are especially important for B2Bcompanies. "Selling on a B2B basis is going to take at least12 contacts between the salesperson and the customer before a saleoccurs," says Donelson. "You can't make those 12contacts just by having a Web site."

Tenacity aside, Doyle says successful dotcom sales forces need acombination of skill sets. "Those who've sold throughtraditional methods also need to understand the Internet and how tothink out of the box. With sales force automation, companies caninstantly connect their sales teams worldwide to share informationsuch as automated reporting, calendars, scheduling. Deploymentspeed is quicker when you mix new technologies with traditionalproducts or services."

Contact Sources

• Sales Development Associates Inc., (914) 949-7483,davedonelson@elconline.com
• Salesnet, info@salesnet.com, www.salesnet.com