Slate.com published an article by James Ledbetter titled “Death of a Salesman. Of Lots of Them, Actually. The troubling disappearance of salesmen and how it helps explain America’s economic woes.”

Ledbetter claims that thousands of salespeople have lost their jobs to the Internet. He is correct. He left out one word when describing these salespeople: “retail.”

The B2C (business to consumer) sales marketplace is trending undeniably to the Internet. Black Friday now has a competitor: Cyber Monday. And Cyber Monday is winning the race.

People buy online for the convenience, the price and the availability. They avoid the hassle of driving to the store only to discover that the item they wanted is out of stock and the further hassle of having to deal with a salesperson.

REALITY: Books, music, electronics, appliances, shoes, clothing, medical supplies, prescriptions and gifts of every type and description, from companies all over the world, are being bought online by the millions. Without salespeople.

People like YOU are buying more and more online. That means fewer retail sales jobs. BUT … does that really affect the economy? NO!

The bottom line is that overall sales are increasing, therefore the economy is the same (or better) with or without the retail salesperson who’s being displaced. Another word for that might be “progress.”

Online companies are making news for their customer service prowess, Zappos and Amazon being the classic examples. Many companies now have both bricks-and-mortar stores and online businesses. Ask any of their CEOs which they would rather have, and I guarantee you they would all say online.

The online retailer can sell cheaper because overhead is lower, and warehouse rent and warehouse employees are much less costly than retail space and retail salespeople.

It’s not necessarily bad news. It’s just news – news that salespeople better pay attention to. Now is the time for salespeople to study the marketplace, make an assessment of where they feel their best long-term opportunities lie, select something that they’re passionate about, and dig in.

Sales jobs will grow wherever the economy dictates that they grow. Health care is going to grow, because the society is aging. Start there. Technology will expand and create tons of sales jobs. Take a look there. The Internet will create all kinds of jobs, especially sales jobs. The people who lost their jobs selling clothing should consider selling ad words for Google. Google is not a company; it’s a culture.

Ledbetter concentrates his article on the retail sector, failing to address the larger B2B (business to business) sector. It’s true that some jobs will go away, but 10 times as many will be created in their wake.

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is about a negative guy named Willy Loman who refused to change his ways as society grew and changed its ways. He eventually died a broke and broken man. So will you if you fail to recognize what’s happening.

Online business is not a job killer – it’s a job creator. It allows you and me as consumers to click and buy without spending $3 a gallon on gasoline or looking for a parking space that doesn’t exist during the holiday season.

Yes, there are the traditionalists, the people who love to go shopping in the store, the people who would rather buy a hardbound book than an e-book, and the people who like to touch things before they buy them. But they are getting older.

People under the age of 20 know the Internet as their prime source of communication, purchase and download. Get used to it, get over it, understand the sales opportunity it creates and take advantage of it. If you don’t, society will take advantage of you.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2010 Jeffrey H. Gitomer