Digital Will Never Replace Salespeople

People are talking about whether or not digital marketing will replace salespeople. Well, radio advertising did not replace salespeople, TV advertising did not replace salespeople and digital marketing and advertising won’t either. 
 
Like earlier forms of promotion, smart companies are using digital marketing to set up salespeople and the closing process, and the data shows that they work best together. 
 
Now it’s true that if we know exactly what we want and can easily access pricing on the web, we can quickly purchase many commodity type items on our own. But when it comes to more complex transactions, particularly B-to-B, we still often seek out a salesperson to help us understand the nuance and details of the product or service.
 
What is surprising . . . shocking really . . . is how many times we pick up the phone and call the 800 number and either get those awful phone prompts, or people who are  poorly trained and could not sell ice to an Eskimo. I guess in those cases, companies hoped their digital marketing would not only attract but also close customers and that their call centers could just be order takers.   
 
Salespeople . . . you will always be needed!