Nokia CEO taps salesmen to assure Lumia push

Over the last year when it came to Windows Phone, we saw a lovely looking user interface fall victim to less than stellar engagement and interest on the part of the public – Stephen Elop this week says that it's the work of the salesmen, not the manufacturer, to make the final drop of the device into the hands on the consumer. Without a doubt there's a certain flair to the Lumia line of smartphones being released both here in the USA and abroad this year, but without the folks in the stores actually pointing people to the hands-on equipment, there's certainly no chance of a big hit in the engagement environment. Elop let the world know in Nokia's sales call what he expects from store employees in the very near future.

Without that final point-of-sale touch, all else will certainly fail, at least that's what Nokia's top minds seem to be saying this week. Though the devices are perfectly legitimate in their build and execution, and the advertisements surrounding them may be lovely, there's always a third step that must be taken. Elop said thusly this week in Nokia's sales call:

"We need to increase the engagement of the retail sales associates in the stores, because it is the retail associate who speaks with our consumers and puts the Lumia device in their hands. For example, in the United Kingdom, where competitive ecosystems are firmly entrenched, we have seen mixed retail execution around Lumia devices with a range of results among different locations, different chains, different stores and so on." – Elop

What do you think, average citizen? Do you think it's the final step that's most important to your deciding on which device to pick up? Or are you the sort of person who reads reviews on the internet and heads to the store with your cash in hand? What about your relatives, your mothers and fathers, your grandmas and grandpas? Who do you think they pay the most attention to when picking up a brand new smartphone?