The WSJ today published an article – “Coming Next: The On-Demand Sales Force”. The story goes something like this – some SMB companies (for now in Sweden where the pilot is being carried out) cannot hire or find enough permanent sales folks for their B2B sales. So now they can go and get “freelance”, “fractional”, “sales as a service” sales folks who may sell their products/services if and only if their manager acquiesces. Of course in this crazy mobile app driven world the manager is, you guessed it – an app!!!

The app figures out the strengths and weaknesses of the sales person (not sure how this happens). The app then decides if the salesperson will qualify to sell the company’s wares. The app decides how and when to sell. And finally, the app will monitor your numbers to determine progress. And yes, the app (using quizzes) and the business owner (using remote technology like Skype) train the salesperson. Ah, the beauty of technology! How simple and elegant!!

Guess this is the end of the road for all those qualified sales managers! You have been superseded!!

Hold on… you know better. All is not lost!! Of course, we see some huge mega, massive roadblocks. Your sales force is your differentiator and is strategic to your growth. Companies like Salesforce.com have multiplied due to the caliber of their sales folks. So any company that is in the market place for the long haul and is serious about growth is out. Also out are companies that sell somewhat complex B2B products and services. Which begs the question? What B2B product or service will this model handle using “sales as a service” folks? We tried hard, but honestly, drew a blank. Maybe some of our readers can enlighten us on some potential offerings.

So, the next time you need to find a sales manager, go to Apple or Google store and download the “Boss Sales App!” Now only if my manager was an app………..

Happy Sourcing!!

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