If this is your first time visiting, you can receive this blog by RSS Feed or email .

It seems like every company I come in contact with has salespeople that are concerned they are going to be replaced by the company’s ecommerce website. They reason that if a customer can order on the web then why would their employer need to keep them on the payroll? They are right about one thing, eliminating the sales department at a company would result in massive savings. Believe me; if a company could find a good substitute for their sales department they would most assuredly eliminate it. For that matter, if a company could eliminate any department they would do so. It’s all about the money. But, eliminating the sales department is not in the cards for the vast majority of companies. Some facts, historical and otherwise, to consider:

Many thought that Sears and Montgomery Ward (remember them?) with their paper catalogs would eliminate sales representatives and retail stores. Well, we see what happened with that prediction.

Remember in the 1990’s how the soothsayers predicted that the Internet would mean the end of universities, retail stores, “brick and mortar workplaces,” etc.? Didn’t happen.

Let’s not confuse a customer’s use of a company’s ecommerce website with buying on that website. Depending on the product, 20–80% of buyers go to a company’s website before buying to research their purchase. When they have finished gathering information they contact a sales representative to purchase.

A little secret about ecommerce websites is that most companies frequently charge their highest prices there. Not surprisingly, corporations like that part of ecommerce. While customers may go to a company’s website to research their purchase, they will then contact a salesperson to negotiate the price. Most customers don’t want to give up that ability.

Even the major league dotcom companies have sales representatives. I’m talking about Google, EBay, Yahoo and others. That should probably tell you more than anything else. These companies are the Internet and ecommerce.

Guess what? People really like being with people; we’re social animals. People like to buy from other people too. Always have and probably always will. Think of your company’s ecommerce website as an informational resource for your customers and as a job aid to you. It’s also a great place to send those small customers that you don’t want to fool with. Relax. You have nothing to fear.

We'd like to hear your feedback on this post - feel free to comment below!