Virtually projected sales reps: Is that possible?

By Cássio Rossetti*

We all know there isn't - yet - such an interactive media as two people talking. Thus, sales reps can be called super mega multimedia, for there's no limit for interaction, and they do it online at real time.

However, it looks as if it can change sooner than we thought. According to Kurzweil, a renowned professor at MIT, who has been called the "XXI Century Darwin", we will be overtaken by our interactive power and, therefore, in terms of effectiveness by androids and robots within three decades. (see the table below).

Technology & computer industry invests some billion dollars annually in order to increase the interactivity between the receptor (user) and sender (electronic device), without overtaking the interaction capacity between two people talking.

If you think this is fictional, get to know that in October 2006, in the city of São Paulo, during a corporate event held at Anhembi Auditorium for almost 800 people, Kurzweil delivered a speech on the benefits of technology. He started by greeting the audience and praising the "beautiful auditorium". He interacted with the participants by listening to questions as well as answering them looking into the people's eyes, even though he was not present in the auditorium, that is, he was in his office in Massachussets, USA.

This was the first holographic projection done in Brazil. The episode means that we will be able to see virtually projected sales reps sales in offices, clinics and hospitals, by interacting personally with each physician, regardless of time and space. Besides, he highlights the anachronism still taken by some professionals (scarce, fortunately), who avoid professional conversation with the physician, opting for an unproductive speech instead. If we take into consideration that nearly 75% of the projections will become true, we have been running against time so that the human kind does not become obsolete.

That's about this rationale that pharmexxBrazil approaches during their trainings by highlighting the role of "The Sales Rep as an Intelligent Agent".

Therefore, besides preparing the professional to stimulate, practice and expand the interaction with the physicians visited, accelerating and increasing the teams results, we have worked to advance by incorporating new technology and tools, as well as complements of a super mega multimedia: the sales rep, as he works under our supervision, he will be aggregating a differentiation that not even Kurzweill could predict: committed work, hard work and, finally, heart work!

(*) Cássio Rossetti is the president of pharmexx Brasil, a lecturer, consultant and professor at UMC. E-mail: cassio@pharmexxbrasil.com.br