Will Technology Take Over Your Job in Sales?
Shawn Casemore
Keynote Speaker, Sales Kickoff Speaker, Sales Training, Sales Coaching. ?? Enabling B2B Sales Leaders and Sales Teams to Achieve Unstoppable Sales?. ??Author of The Unstoppable Sales Machine.??
That’s the question a sales professional posed to me recently after I finished speaking at their sales kickoff meeting.
It’s a question I am hearing more and more. However, my answer isn’t what you might think.
First and foremost, sales is about trust.
Trust is something that is earned, not given.
So can technology like AI or VR build trust with a prospect?
No.
Is it possible that AI, AR, or machine customers improve the experience of our prospects when interacting with us or our company?
Yes.
If you are a true sales professional — that is, your job is to find, connect with, build relationships with, and convert prospects — there is no way to do that without human-to-human contact.
Alternatively, if you handle transactional sales, accepting orders by email, or processing orders that come in via a website, then I think it is possible your role could be replaced, at some point in the future, by technology.
But there’s a difference between these two functions.
If you are in the latter group, you aren’t in sales, you are an order taker.
Don’t get me wrong. We need people to take customer orders, answer questions, and make clarifications in those orders. However, that’s not what I would refer to as a true professional salesperson.
Is it possible that the role of someone who is an order taker might evolve, such that they focus on more high-value activities, while letting AI or machine customers handle the transactions??
Yes.
You see, that’s the benefit that technology can provide us in sales.
It’s not going to replace us; it’s going to allow us to focus on work of higher value.
We will have more time to focus on earning trust, building relationships, and dealing with complex sales.
And for the sales professionals I’ve met, that sounds a lot better than taking orders.
Here’s my point.
If you think technology may take your job in sales, you’re asking yourself the wrong question.
Technology is meant to be a tool, not a crutch.
Instead, ask yourself how technology can help you get away from transactional relationships, so you can focus on work of higher value.
Best,
Shawn
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