The door-to-door salesmen of tomorrow

Great factoid found from a (somewhat old) SF Chronicle article about Alibaba (the China-based company best known for their web service that connects
manufacturers from China with customers around the world) Specifically, how they
get manufacturers in middle-of-nowhere China aboard and online:

“Beneath its high-tech sheen, the success of Alibaba.com relies on
the old-fashioned shoe leather method of door-to-door salesmen. The
company employs an army of foot soldiers stationed throughout China and
other parts of the globe who call on local businesses and teach their
owners how to upload product photos, manage customer inquiries and
maintain their online presence.

Because labor in China is cheap, Alibaba.com can afford to deploy a
field sales staff of about 1,900 people to recruit new factories to
join the Internet revolution.”