The death and rebirth of the salesman

Various technologies that are re-shaping the world and the way we live, have been around for a long time.

Artificial Intelligence, for example, is over 60 years old. The first robot was assembled in 1954, and the Internet was invented in 1983. Speaking of the internet, it’s the adoption rate that speaks for itself: 4.9 billion users today, Vs “only” 2.4 billion in 2012.

However, what makes the present time unique is the exponential growth of many of them. A mix of Moore’s and Metcalfe’s laws.

Artificial intelligence, robotics, but also virtual and augmented reality and genomic mapping, just to mention a few, benefit immensely from a connected world that produces an unprecedented amount of data. With it, they enter our lives in a myriad of ways we sometimes cannot even notice.

Small steps lead to big changes, and therefore observers from all over the world are raising a red flag: technological advancements may cause mass unemployment.

Modern factories replace workers with robots, and self-driving vehicles are just a few regulations away from displacing millions of drivers.

Physical jobs, however, are not the only ones at risk.

I read an article in Wired today that reported that many brands are already experimenting with algorithm-designed clothing. Will they replace visionary, extravagant creative minds like Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele? I doubt, but I am not sure how many people will land designer jobs 10 years from now.

I’ve also experienced firsthand the power of text to speech softwares. It is shocking to see spoken words appear on screen in real time. And, even more shocking, the possibility of writing words on a keyword, and hearing them spoken by your own voice!

I’ve tested several writing softwares. All you have to do is put down a list of keywords and an article like the one you’re reading now (humanly written by yours truly) is ready within seconds. The quality is still far from satisfactory (for me, at least), but I don’t doubt it will dramatically improve quickly.

I remember when, in May 2018, Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, presented Google Duplex, the first virtual assistant. If you haven’t watched the presentation yet, you can find it here.

To this day, I find it amusing watching a software (with a human voice) have a phone conversation with a hairdresser, or be able to book a table in a restaurant where the lady answering the phone barely speaks English. And do it brilliantly.

Another entertaining and revealing example of a potentially transformative technology comes from the keynote Julie White from Azure did in 2019 at the Microsoft Inspire conference.

In the video you can watch here, Julia makes her hologram appear on stage. At first, in small size, after a few seconds, in full body size. Now, you can see two identical Julia White walking on the same stage. But it is when the hologram starts speaking in Japanese that your fantasy will go wild, and an indefinite number of probable outcomes will cross your mind. Many of which will suggest lost jobs for human beings.

The list is long, and I can’t think of an industry, from finance to retail, from manufacturing to consulting, from farming to accounting, that will be spared by the technological revolution.

HOW ABOUT SALES?

One thing new technologies are increasingly making possible is the disintermediation between sellers and buyers.

From video conferencing to chatbots, from online payments to direct communication softwares and social media, the role of a salesperson, or the middle-man as once called, is changing. And in certain industries, losing relevance.

There are sectors in which, out of 10 sales, 6 (or more) are already made by the marketing, or other departments.

Does this mean the role of sales will disappear from the job market?

Yes, and no.

Yes, there will probably be fewer salespeople in the future.

Think of a retail store. Virtual trial rooms, automated stock replenishment, interactive cabinets and God knows how many mixed reality tools can and will enter the industry soon. It is not a stretch of imagination thinking less staff will be required.

Yet, this poses an existential question. Existential not only in terms of survival of sales jobs but also for the relationship between a business and a human being, that is its customer.

Here is the question: how far can a dehumanised relationship go?

Chances are that you never spoke to anyone during the many years you’ve used (and paid for) the Microsoft Office package you use every day, or the PC protection software that, hopefully, keeps you safe from virtual viruses.

Yet, they are exceptions.

A few years ago, McDonald’s introduced giant screens where customers could place orders to be collected at the counter. Unarguably, they are convenient and efficient.

To my surprise, when last week my wife and I took our twins to a McDonald’s restaurant in Dubai (something we do two or three times a year) I saw many smiling staff members delivering orders at the table, and entertaining conversations with customers.

NO ONE IS SAFE

If you work in sales, and perhaps in a less commoditized sector than the fast-food industry, you may feel relieved.

“I knew I had nothing to fear”, you may think, and it would be na?ve.

No one is indispensable, and companies will always try to gain efficiency and lower their cost.

So, it is not within the four walls of your company that you should seek safety, but rather in the needs of your customers, and the most human needs.

When technology will take over a large part of economic activities, we’re going to see a very dystopian world.

China offers a good glimpse of it. There, days can go by without a single human interaction.

All kinds of goods can be purchased online. Even a test-drive can be booked, and the car taken and returned, without ever having to deal with another person. Restaurants serve food on a belt, or with walking robots. Gyms are full of people isolated by their headsets, while their smartphone is connected with the training machine for a personalised experience.

For the most lonely people in our community, this would mean the end of human interaction. Several experiments done over the years have proven that, in the absence of interaction, human beings perish.

I trust we can safely say that in a theoretical automated economy, most human beings without a specific technical competence will be employed in tasks that require empathy.

Sales won’t make an exception. The salespeople of the future will be (again) the relationship builders.

Yet, a quality standard problem arises.

When customers get used to the efficiency of a technology enhanced service, they become more demanding also when dealing with salespeople in flash and bone.

This means the death of the unassumed, lazy, transactional, uninteresting salesperson and the birth of a new breed.

A new breed of salespeople who:

• Understand human psychology, and leverage the latest findings of neuroscience
• Know how to listen, and make customers feel heard, understood and appreciated
• Have the charisma to lead a conversation, and the humility to leave the spotlight to the customer
• Are life-long learners, and can add value to any conversation. Also, non-business conversations.
• Know how to negotiate, to protect the business’ interest, while helping clients achieve their goals.
• Are excellent teachers. There is no happier customer than the one who learned something while making a purchase.
• Are great problem solvers. When problems arise, you see who’s a pro and who’s an amateur.
• Leverage technology. Artificial intelligence (and all the devices powered by it) works best when paired with human intelligence.
• Can tell stories, and connect dots. This is how human beings learn and make sense of the world around them anyway, hence helping them save mental energy gives them immense credibility.
• Know their business inside out and yet know how to improvise when need be.
• Really care about their customers and their stakeholders. In a world that is becoming increasingly individualist, people who care are rare, and stand out from the crowd.

I know it’s a lot, and you may wonder if it’s worth becoming Wonder Woman or Superman to land a job in sales.

My answer is yes, because people with these skills will attract economic value and social relevance.

And if, in the future, we’ll spend more time in the metaverse than in the real world, we’ll need authentic human interactions even more.

I’d love to hear your opinion.

To your success!

Carlo Pignataro

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And speaking of Artificial Intelligence, I invite you to listen to an episode of Lux and Friends Podcast where I had the privilege of interviewing one of the world's leading experts: Calum Chase.