Can A Robot Do My Sales Job???

 

 Everywhere we look today, robots are taking our jobs.  Back in 2012, travel agents began to be made obsolete because airlines installed new ticketing systems that allowed travelers to buy tickets online and make their own travel arrangements.  In the 1980's there were almost 50,000 travel agents in the U.S.  Now that number is less than 15,000.
Cars are being assembled by robots and driven by computers. 
Where is this all going?
First of all, by "robot", I don't necessarily mean a robot like the one pictured above.  I am referring to general automation of any job, from online ordering to self driving cars to actual walking, talking robots.  I am referring to having your job automated in some way--making you obsolete.
So, what exactly is "selling" and how can it be automated and should we sales folks feel threatened?
This is a huge subject with lots of examples of what not to do.  Once upon a time there was a huge, big box, computer-selling store called Circuit City.  People went to the store, determined what they wanted, and then went home and ordered it online.  And Circuit City went out of business.
The underlying cause of the problem is Failure To Adapt to current conditions.
Another example is McDonald's.  During the past few years, burger restaurants like Five Guys, and Burger Fi have risen to tremendous popularity.  McDonald's had the kitchens, the personnel, the hamburger supply chain, but they failed to adapt and now they are losing their market share to these boutique burger joints.
Using the Einstein post from last week, we need to spend 55 minutes thinking about what our personal strengths (and weaknesses) are and make sure we are playing to those strengths (and eliminate the weaknesses).
Circuit City would be around today (like Best Buy, for example) if they had recognized the trend to online purchasing and made their stores into showrooms and allowed purchase online.  McDonald's could have chosen to make some of their stores into boutique, made-to-order burger restaurants.
As sales people, we have to adapt to future trends.  We need to understand automation and how it will impact our jobs and we need to use it to enhance our abilities; we need to be specialists in our products--no matter what that product is, and be the absolute best at what we do. 
What is it that automation cannot duplicate? Real product knowledge, the ability to apply that knowledge to the customer's problem, and PASSION for your product.
If you are not committed to your product, to your industry, to your customer--if you are not passionate, the computer will win.
And do not ignore the benefits of online purchasing.  Embrace it.  Understand it.  And make sure your customer knows that what you give him can't be automated:
knowledge of your product,
knowledge of your customer's problem and how to solve it,
service after the sale,
and PASSION.