Salespeople and How Their Roles are Evolving
The customer's expectations were different yesterday than what they are today.
Updated
On this page
Updated November 2026. This was first published on 11 February 2021. The idea is the same. Any number below is what the original piece said then. It is not a new count.
Key takeaways
- The world is continually developing and growing.
- The customer’s expectations were different yesterday than what they are today.
- How consumers viewed things a few years earlier is different than how they currently view the very same thing.
The world is continually developing and growing. The customer’s expectations were different yesterday than what they are today. How consumers viewed things a few years earlier is different than how they currently view the very same thing.
Likewise, the position of the salesperson has also changed drastically over the last few years. Throughout the past, the partnership seen between the consumer and the salesperson was purely about delivering the goods or service to the customer. It is all about building a friendship with each other that supports both partners now.
71 percent of salespeople agree that their position is more tactical now than it was two years ago, and that is why the consumer has a perspective and influences it. Now that salespeople are more customer-oriented and consumers demand customized, linked, and quick interaction, agents are entrusted with more than finishing as many deals in as little time possible. 72 percent of service providers state that their encounters with clients are relationship-oriented.
The responsibility of salespeople is not only to promote a good or service, but now seventy-eight percent of service providers state that their company sees agents as consumer groups, and 75 percent sees them as brand ambassadors.
Agents appreciate increased responsibility and more tactical tasks. 51 percent of marketers desire a more demanding career. But chances to expand outside conventional roles are not being shared equally. 63 percent of agents in high-performing companies spend long hours resolving critical challenges, compared to 43 percent in underperforming companies.
77 percent of service decision-makers believe that they are making major investment decisions in sales training and 63 percent agree that working to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the workforce and is a top priority for them in the next two years.
These investment decisions are being paid off. At the same time, agents are engaged in more complex projects, 70 percent of whom say they have had the training they need to be doing their job well, and more than half (55 percent) now have access to on-demand training that facilitates learning where and when they work.
While these agents receive a lot more training, without the necessary materials, they are still unable to fulfill their elevated tasks. 69 percent of agents say they have the knowledge and equipment they need to do their job. Although there is an opportunity to strengthen how these resources work around each other. 56 percent of agents say they have to switch between multiple screens to find all the data they need to be doing their job.
Further than just training and technology, though, there is a less concrete element to the transition of agents: a sense of mission. As it works out, the possibilities for continuing job growth and advancement are not yet obvious to certain agents, with top companies offering clearer or more comprehensive future options.
What the original did not show #
The draft did not include a later count, a new quote, or a promise about today. Read the claims above as a record of the day it was written.
Questions and answers #
What is the main point? #
The world is continually developing and growing.
What else did the original piece say? #
The customer’s expectations were different yesterday than what they are today.