ABSTRACT
Even with fewer salespeople, the value of personal sales work is not clearly reducing. The customer still needs salespersons’ expertise and support when purchasing a product, service, or solution. The challenge is that the customer has proceeded far in purchasing process before contacting the salesperson, because customers gather data for purchasing from for example, the Internet. Hence, the salesperson has fewer opportunities to influence the purchase process than before-especially in the early stages of the process. Rapid changes in market situation, more harsh competition, and advent of new, cost-effective sales channels to the marketplace affect sales work and thereby also the management of the sales (Majamäki 2012).
