Historical Communication Lessons

In his sales talk, Wes Schaefer discusses the history of sales and where not only the world of sales is going next, but marketing and communication is as well. Taking note from Winston Churchill, the speaker explains how we can predict the future by looking at the past.

He says selling as persuasion has existed from the beginning of mankind. He argues we were meant to have community and get along with that community, which requires communication, which in turn involves selling, persuading and convincing. He notes in 1926 selling in America changed when NBC started broadcasting radio. For 50 years people were told what to believe and what to listen to and traded community for a box at home. Television arrived afterwards and the speaker believes this era is when the idea of and animosity towards the cheesy, pushy salesman was introduced.

However, 1996 was a tipping point with the internet. The sales talk goes through the the transformation from mobile computing, broadband communications and social media. The speaker states this is bringing us back to 1926, that we are going back in time to sense of community and power is being returned to the people.