Update to Death of a Salesman post

I just read 2 stories in BusinessWeek that show exactly what I was saying in my last post. Check them out:

Amazon: The Web giant's cache of consumer-generated reviews lures ever-more shoppers, who increasingly research products before buying
"Amazon's review program reflects a new reality for the way consumers shop in the Digital Age: The Internet has become the world's greatest research tool, and consumers hardly buy anything anymore without first getting the skinny online. Some 70% of Americans say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before making a purchase, according to an October 2008 survey by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, a research and consulting firm. Amazon has played a central role in the change in consumer behavior by being the first successful Web retailer to embrace consumers' views. "What we try to spend our time on is harnessing customer passion," says Russell Dicker, Amazon.com's senior manager of community." bit.ly/25mYeg


FaceBook: They're reaching customers via new tools such as Facebook Connect and pushing the social network toward profitability
"Merrill Squires avoids car salesmen at all costs. So when the 48-year-old marketing executive from Dallas was choosing between a Chevrolet Tahoe and a GMC Yukon Denali recently, he turned to his 600 Facebook friends. Dozens responded, and one old pal—a Denali owner—steered him toward the Tahoe. "I trust his opinion on it, and I would never have thought to pick up the phone and call him," Squires says. bit.ly/2dshZJ


As one commneter posted on the original post, big, complex sales will always need a salesperson, but I bet that the salesperson comes in later in the salescycle after the research has been done.
How can you control what they see?