Nouriel Roubini has a fascinating bestselling book called MegaThtreats: 10 Dangerous Trends that Imperil Our Future, and How to Survive Them. In this book, Roubini lays out 10 trends that seriously threaten our survival. This book got me thinking: are there mega-threats for our industry coming our way? Thus begins a new series of articles on mega-threats to our particular area of endeavor.
General Mega-Threats
We read and hear all about the general mega-threats to our world currently. Threats such as deglobalization, an economic trend that could stimulate reduced cooperation among countries and increased risk of international conflict. Or aging—life expectancy is lengthening, and healthcare costs will soar as hospitals have to support people living 100 years or longer.
Another is the global climate crisis, and yet another is the international conflict of war. Yet another is the threatened collapse of the dollar and the world economy relying on another currency, such as the ruble. Yet another is the rising suicide rate of children between 10 and 12.
Not Here?
Many people look at threats like these and say, “Well, these are terrible. But thankfully, there are no threats to my industry!”
It’s a rather ridiculous claim. These people believe they can build a lovely, isolated little island where they can coat themselves with sunscreen, eat bananas and coconuts, and dance to beautiful music far into the night. They need not care about the rest of the world because their industry is doing just fine.
The truth is, no one is isolated in such a way. Everyone will be affected one way or the other.
The world is changing tremendously, and businesses are constantly moving under their own changes. An obvious example is that, 125 years ago, many people dealt in horses. Those people had to eventually move into selling motor vehicles or risk being left behind. Every business faces such transitions, and no one can predict what will come tomorrow.
Changes in Our Industry
This series of articles will focus on our particular industry. That industry could be seen as marketing and sales.
I am not, however, a marketing expert. The only change I can predict for marketing is the degree to which AI will have an impact, especially in creating content. A person can speak directly to an AI app, it will then write for you, and you can correct and optimize what is written. At Pipeliner CRM, we’re currently using AI for both written content creation and video, including “spokespeople” and music for videos.
Beyond those elements, though, I can’t really speak for marketing. I will, therefore, be addressing the potential mega-threats to sales.
As an example, one potential threat is that baby boomers are now heading into retirement, leaving room for younger people to move up into sales. The problem is that many young people don’t like and even despise sales. Or they feel that sales isn’t “intellectual enough” or “cool enough.”
This generation coming up is very “entitled” and aren’t really fighters. Salespeople must fight for deals and need to learn how to do that.
Moving forward, let’s examine these and other mega-threats to sales. Stay with me!
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