Years ago, packaging salespeople were extremely valuable to customers because they were the holders of information. Without salespeople, customers were hard-pressed to uncover facts and gain insight on pricing, product specifications, similar and innovative applications, and industry trends. Packaging sales reps can still be valuable, but not in the same way — and packaging companies need to make their sales teams relevant or risk losing a valuable asset and competitive edge.
Three things are working against them that threaten to make them obsolete: