• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, April 15, 2020

I feel for the salespeople trying to set up meetings right now.  I really do.  Their world is changing more dramatically than almost everyone else’s, and the rest of this year is going to be very difficult for them.

Salespeople thrive on face-to-face interaction, but that’s not going to be a priority for most people through the remainder of 2020.  While the shelter-in-pace restrictions could be lifted gradually, the societal changes for how people and groups interact are likely to extend through all of 2020 and possibly into 2021.

Large gatherings will probably be slow to return, so in-person trade events are going to be perpetually transformed to virtual.  Some will survive, but those will be large tentpole events where attendees can achieve broader impact at a single event.

With fewer large events, there will be more competition for a customer’s time when they do attend an event.  More competition translates to selectivity in what meetings people decide to take.

The virus has also driven a massive uptick in the overnight corporate acceptance of working from home, and video calls. Many salespeople are graduating to video and understanding this is the new norm. This will be harder for more traditional dyed-in-the-wool salespeople who want those face-to-face interactions. While video calls are great, they are not the most desirable format for salespeople.  Video calls allow for multitasking, while in-person sales calls tend to get more attention and focus from what is essentially a captive audience.

The other issue is the decline in business travel.  Many companies now realize their teams can be productive via video, so why allow for so much travel?  Travel is a major expense for companies, and if they can reduce it to essential travel only while still being productive, they will.  

As there are fewer events to attend and people are working remotely, there’s little reason for salespeople to travel.  They may do a big trip once per quarter and try to fit in as many meetings as they can, but gone will be the weekly trips back and forth from one city to the next.  This doesn’t even take into account that salespeople don’t want to catch the virus either.  They will likely elect to reduce travel just to stay healthy!

This COVID19 transformation is revolutionary.  It is not evolutionary.  This is not something that will be overcome in a week post-lift of restrictions.  This is something that will perpetuate through society for months to come.  How do you think it will affect the ways you work?