What's Faster? A Cheetah Chasing a Gazelle or Salespeople's Growing Skepticism Toward AI?"
Cheetahs are the fastest land animals, capable of reaching speeds up to 70 mph in short bursts covering distances of up to 1,640 feet. They can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 3 seconds. As we explore the rapid rise of AI in sales, one cannot ignore the equally swift surge in skepticism and indifference, both happening at "cheetah speed." As fast as AI has appeared so have feelings that it might be more buzz than substance.
The buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI (Gen AI) has reached a fever pitch. It’s nearly impossible to go a day without encountering discussions about how AI is transforming industries, making processes more efficient, or even revolutionizing the future of work. But amidst all this noise (and the hype) a significant challenge remains: many professionals, especially in fields like sales, remain unconvinced. They are struggling to discern whether AI is truly valuable or just another shiny object.
In the world of sales, where execution is everything, it's not enough for AI to merely be "cool." For AI sales readiness tools to break through the haze of indifference and confusion, they need to offer tangible, practical benefits that solve real-world problems for both sellers and their leadership. Recent survey feedback from sales professionals’ sheds light on what they actually need from AI sales readiness tools to add value and not just novelty. Sellers are busy enough and get pulled in many different directions. Foisting (not) another sales tool on them (A.I. or not) could end up in tears!
Understanding the AI Disconnect in Sales
There’s a disconnect in how sales professionals view AI. While the allure of AI’s potential is widely recognized, many salespeople and leaders are left wondering how to apply it in their day-to-day activities to improve outcomes. The skepticism is understandable; sales is an industry that thrives on personal connections, strategic thinking, and situational nuance. Adding a tool that simply automates tasks or generates surface-level insights isn’t going to cut it. For AI to be embraced, it needs to go beyond the flashy features and demonstrate that it can make a salesperson more effective, save time, help leaders become better coaches, and ultimately drive revenue growth.
What Sales Sellers Want from AI Sales Readiness Tools
The voice of sellers is clear: they want tools that make their jobs easier and their efforts more impactful. Here’s what they identified as essential for a valuable AI sales readiness tool:
Enhanced Account Understanding: Sellers are expected to engage clients in meaningful conversations about their business challenges and opportunities. AI tools can add real value by providing a deeper understanding of an account’s business environment, offering insights that go beyond generic data points. Buyers expect more from sellers. They are disinclined to explain the basics of their business and (rightly) think sellers should come into conversations demonstrating enough research and opinion. When a tool helps sellers feel more prepared to discuss specific industry trends, competitive landscapes, or business pains, it transforms AI from a "nice-to-have" to a "must-have." When sellers feel ready, they project confidence…and that’s infectious.
Proactive Coaching: Sellers want an AI tool to act as a coach, not just an assistant. It's not enough to get general suggestions or automated reminders; sellers want the tool to spot potential “red flags” in opportunities they might have overlooked. Maybe even challenge them in certain areas. By proactively coaching sellers in areas that need attention, AI can help sales professionals avoid mistakes. It’s like trying to avoid the situation where “we don’t know what we don’t know!”
Meeting Preparation Assistance: Sales calls and meetings with key stakeholders are critical to moving deals forward (or qualifying out). An AI sales readiness tool should go beyond merely scheduling or sending reminders. It should help sellers by suggesting relevant content, offering insights about the accounts they’ll be meeting, and proposing a structured agenda to guide the conversation towards desired outcomes. Buyers are devoting less and less time to sellers these days, which means every meeting needs to be on song. When AI can help a seller show up prepared and confident, it becomes a valuable tool for winning business.
Credibility Building through Thought Leadership: In today’s sales environment, simply delivering a pitch is not enough. Sellers need to establish themselves as thought leaders who bring value to the table. AI tools can help create persuasive approaches and presentations that are not just product-centric but also address industry challenges and future trends. This not only positions the seller as an expert but demonstrates their willingness to have invested time and effort into the research necessary to formulate such opinions. This helps with competitive differentiation and adds significant value to their interactions.
Simplifying Account Planning: Account planning is a time-consuming process, yet it’s crucial for long-term success. AI tools should shorten and simplify this process by incorporating and analyzing data from various parts of the client’s business, identifying white space opportunities, spotting organizational synergies that sellers can surface and suggesting strategies to engage. This kind of support can turn a daunting task into a streamlined activity.
What Sales Leaders Want from AI Sales Readiness Tools
While sellers are looking for tools that make them more efficient and effective, sales leaders have a slightly different set of priorities. They need tools that help them lead more strategically while empowering their teams. Here’s what sales leaders highlighted as must-have features:
A Strategic Business Partner: Leaders want AI to be more than just a tool; they want it to function like a business partner that offers coaching, not just for individual deals but in developing the overall skill set of their team. The tool should be able to provide strategic insights, help prioritize efforts and offer guidance on how to approach different clients.
Ease of Use: As with any technology, adoption hinges on ease of use. If an AI tool is cumbersome or overly complex, it becomes a burden rather than a benefit. For AI to be embraced by sales leaders, it must be intuitive and easy to navigate, allowing them to quickly access insights and manage their team’s activities effectively.
Force Multiplication: Leaders are often stretched thin, juggling numerous responsibilities. An AI sales readiness tool should act as a force multiplier by taking on the tactical coaching and development aspects, allowing leaders to focus on strategic growth initiatives. This “divide and conquer” approach enables leaders to address individual seller development while also pursuing broader team goals.
Empowering Sellers to be More Strategic: By automating tactical tasks and providing deeper client insights, AI tools can help sellers not just follow a sales process but truly understand their clients and anticipate their needs. This raises the bar from transactional selling to a more consultative, strategic approach that aligns with the client’s business objectives, and helps leaders raise the performance of all the team, saving on the constant thrashing around of firing and hiring.
Moving from Hype to Real-World Application
The key to overcoming this fast-emerging indifference and confusion around AI in sales lies in demonstrating real, tangible value. Salespeople are not technologists; they don’t adopt tools because they’re innovative or exciting. They adopt tools because they work, because they solve real problems, and because they help drive results. Our findings illustrate a common theme: sales professionals are not against AI—they are against wasting time on tools that don’t add value.
The potential for AI to transform sales is enormous, but success hinges on shifting the narrative from “AI is cool” to “AI is useful.” Sales readiness tools that cater to the specific needs of sellers and leaders (those that provide coaching, insights, strategic guidance, and save time) will be the ones that succeed. For the AI conversation to move beyond novelty, it must become clear to sales professionals that these tools can genuinely impact their day-to-day work and help them achieve better results.
Concluding Thoughts: From Skepticism to Advocacy
As the conversation around AI in sales continues to evolve, companies that embrace AI sales readiness tools must prioritize demonstrating value through easy, practical, user-centric features. The time has come to turn skeptics into advocates by showing how AI can enhance—not replace—the skills of sales professionals. The craft of sales is far from over, but with the right AI tools, it can certainly become less confusing and time intensive and more clear, straight forward and inspiring.
Whether you’re a seller struggling to find time for account planning or a sales leader juggling team development and strategic planning, AI can be a game-changer—if it's done right. And with the insights gathered from real sales professionals, we’re one step closer to realizing AI’s full potential in sales.
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