The Direct Selling Model Direct selling through telemarketers or a sales force is another common B2B selling model. Although the direct selling model is likely to survive, it is undergoing dramatic change as businesses feel the pressure to cut selling expenses and improve sales efficiency. Direct selling will always have its place in consultative and complex selling situations. It is difficult to replace a live sales call when it comes to selling highly technical or high-end products and services. Yet the Internet holds real promise as a tool for enhancing the sales process and for continuing the sales cycle in the absence of the salesperson.
Internet telephony offers one intriguing way to take advantage of direct selling.
Technologies that integrate telephony with the web make it possible for telesales representatives to jump in during a prospect's web session to assist by answering questions immediately. As a result, online ordering is being enhanced with live voice support. The Internet-enhanced direct selling model can also facilitate the traditional sales call. A salesperson could walk into a prospect's office and make a sales presentation that was absolutely guaranteed to be consistently the same, anywhere in the world, regardless of that salesperson's personal knowledge base. That could happen by adapting a web-based presentation, such as an online seminar, for the specific selling situation.