I started writing about the future of selling in 2008, although it did not feel like the future at the time.
The copier business was still built around equipment, territories, quotas, leases, service contracts, and the belief that the salesperson controlled the information. Customers needed us to explain speeds, feeds, finishing options, duty cycles, and cost per page. We carried brochures, made demonstrations, and waited outside offices hoping someone would give us twenty minutes.
