Without this prework, we’ll have a clunky mess on our hands. And if that happens, I predict that on a superficially even playing field of competitors (all using AI), the buyer will revert to deciding which human representative they trust and like the most. How ironic would that be?
So, while the AI doubles, triples, and quadruples its capability in a virtual arms race to the finish line, we need to be doing a few things in preparation.
- Get your sales process updated, simplified, and visualized – you will need this to engineer what parts of the process are AI-led and where you need a human in the loop.
- Design your ideal customer experience – AI will do the heavy lifting in grabbing and analyzing external and internal data and that’s a good thing. However, your buyers don’t want AI telling them how to think, feel, and act. So, determine exactly how you want your customers to experience your company from introduction through renewal and beyond – make this the north star by which your entire operation runs.
- Develop strategic salespeople – Buyers may appreciate aspects of your AI-led activities, but they will look for a credible, empathetic human-in-the-loop to build trust with. If your sellers today are stuck in basic discovery or can’t guide prospective buyers, now is the time to identify the ones with the most potential and invest in advanced selling skills, with emphasis on advanced.
Bottom Line: The time is now to get these fundamentals in place and start positioning your organization for all-out, AI-driven disruption. You don’t want to find yourself playing defense with this one.
