Every lily-livered LinkedIn “thought leader” and overexcited tech bro wants you to believe that AI is coming to steal your job because, frankly, thats how they make their grifter monies (well, and some of them have creepy Matrix fetishes, but that’s another blog for another day…). It’s not.
However, I did recently tell you that as a sales leader you need to get on the AI train or GTFO. AI isn’t going anywhere and you’re delusional if you think you can survive being a luddite when it comes to using these exciting and super-valuable new tools. But that’s just it. AI is a tool. 🛠️
AI is automating tasks, optimizing workflows, and making sure you never have to decipher another convoluted pipeline report again. And that’s great! AI is my favorite new thing to exist since Botox, but it’s no match for a human with a heart and lived experiences. 💅
You know that cliche phrase, “sales is an art and a science”? 🧪 Well, it’s really true. The science part is just getting really, really good, really, really quickly. AI can analyze data, track engagement, and send perfectly timed follow-ups. But the art of selling? The ability to connect, adapt, and make people actually want to buy? 🤌 That’s a human skill and no algorithm is coming for it anytime soon.
In fact, the best sales team I’ve ever been a part of consisted of: a former record producer, a biomedical engineer, a jazz musician, a color guard costume designer, and various other gadabouts and derelicts. The one thing we all had in common? A lot of personality (retroactive prayers up for our manager 🙏), insatiable curiosity, and the ability to creatively adapt to any situation. The ‘sales training’ was the easy part.
AI can tell you what to write in an email. But can it tell you that the CFO you’re pitching is about to say yes because they just leaned in, softened their tone, and stopped fidgeting? Can it sense when a deal is about to go sideways and pivot the conversation in real time? No.
And let’s talk about personality. Literally every great sales person I know is a weirdo and undeniably magnetic. Call it charm, call it presence, call it whatever you want: AI doesn’t have “it”. AI doesn’t make a prospect laugh at the perfect moment to break the tension. AI doesn’t pick up on the tiny verbal cues that signal when to go in for the close. AI doesn’t turn a routine call into a real connection that gets someone to trust you. AI doesn’t send a onesie to a customer that just had a baby with a handwritten note. (I mean, it probably will, but it’s going to be that creepy Matrix thing from earlier but with onesies somehow and that is pure nightmare fuel…).
Then there’s adaptability. AI is great at following rules. But what happens when a deal gets messy? When a prospect throws out an unexpected objection that wasn’t in the training data? When a competitor suddenly enters the deal and you have to change your entire approach on the fly? AI is incredible at anticipating these cues at a high level, but that split-second execution in the moment takes skill. It can only spit out pre-programmed responses while a great rep thrives in the chaos and finds a way to win. 🏆
The best salespeople don’t just hit quotas. They read people, adjust strategies in real time, and bring a level of creativity AI can’t touch. You know the Jazz guy from earlier? First of all, he was smooth as hell (duh)🎷, but more importantly, he could improvise on calls better than anyone else. Great reps know when to push and when to pull back. They know how to match tone. They know how to riff. They know how to make a deal happen even when everything seems stacked against them. They win because they’re human, not despite it.
So no, AI isn’t replacing great sales reps anytime soon. Mediocre ones? Maybe. The ones who just follow scripts, dump information on prospects, and rely on automation to do their work? Yeah, ok, they’re screwed.
The the sales reps who make sales look effortless, who turn skeptical prospects into lifelong customers, who win deals through instinct, wit, and non-creepy onesies? AI can’t beep boop and do all that. 🤖
