Who Really Does the Buying? by Thomas V. Bonoma
You don’t understand: Willy was a salesman…. He don’t put a bolt to a nut. He don’t tell you the law or give you medicine. He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake.
—Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
MANY COMPANIES’ SELLING EFFORTS are models of marketing efficiency. Account plans are carefully drawn, key accounts receive special management attention, and substantial resources are devoted to the sales process, from prospect identification to postsale service. Even such well-planned and well-executed selling strategies often fail, though, because management has an incomplete understanding of ...
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