Selling Today: Partnering to Create Value, 14/e

Emergence of Relationship Selling in the Information Economy

1. 1.2 Describe the emergence of relationship selling in the age of information

The restructuring of America from an industrial economy to an information economy began approximately 50 years ago (Figure 1.2). During this period, our economy began shifting from an emphasis on industrial activity to an emphasis on information processing. America was giving way to a new society where most of us would work with information instead of producing goods.5 Today, we live in an age in which the effective exchange of information is the foundation of most economic transactions, and the implications for personal selling are profound. We will describe the four major developments that have shaped ...