The short answer is both.

As an entrepreneur, 15 year seasoned professional sales consultant for 5 publically traded companies, and digital marketing strategist with Google's only global business partner, I can understand and respect the nature of your question.

In the past, before the internet was a medium that the masses used to educate themselves...companies relied on traditional media to drive inquiries to salespeople. Salespeople were trained to overcome objections and close the deal. The message that was oftentimes delivered by the salesperson was inherently influenced by their desire to close business and the consumer knew it.

Nowadays, you have an internet educated consumer that has consumed multiple websites and media and if the digital advertising and strategy are delivering the right message, they may not need to actually speak to a salesperson to make a buying decision. Many times people convince themselves without ever even speaking to a sales person, especially if there are 3rd party websites that validate the messaging you're trying to communicate on your own website.

Depending on your product or service however, sometimes it is necessary to speak to knowledgeable trusted advisor in order to finalize the transaction and a strong salesperson always pays a company more than he or she is being compensated (hence the math of commission).

If you have any follow up questions, please reach out to me and I'd be happy to work with you.