Many people are curious about what the future of sales will look like with the addition of artificial intelligence (AI), and other AI-based tools. Some people fear that it will be an absolute armageddon and the end of all sales careers. Other people think that it is an amazing tool for salespeople to have access to. The reality is that it is probably somewhere in between, and AI’s influence will continue to evolve as things progress. DJ Sebastian, author of The Selling Revolution: Prospering In the New World of Artificial Intelligence, clarifies how AI will impact salespeople in this interview, hosted by John Golden.
This expert sales interview explores:
- Using AI to gather information
- Three trends that influence the sales world
Which Kind of Salesperson Are You?
There are two kinds of salespeople: those who will utilize AI-based technology to their advantage in order to succeed, and those who will be replaced by AI-based technology and lose their job. The elite salespeople will use AI as a tool in order to gather the information that enables them to do their job better.
Three Trends: The Way Customers Buy
There are three trends, influenced by technology, that shape the way salespeople do business. The first of the major trends is that customers are buying things differently. With so much information available to customers, they can do about 90% to 95% of their research and information gathering online, without ever talking to a salesperson.
Three Trends: Social Communication
Technology-based social communication has also changed significantly in the last several years. In a world where you can have therapy sessions through instant message conversations, and see a doctor through a video chat session on your couch, communication has significantly changed.
Three Trends: Salesforce Productivity
Salesforces are typically looking to reduce their costs. Initially, everyone wants to grow the sales team, but when they find out that half of them aren’t producing, they either invest in training, or they let people go. On average, only about 53% of salespeople met their quota in 2019.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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