I often receive outbound emails with questions like:
“OK, but how can your app truly solve my problem?”
“OK, but what does it do better for my specific use case?”
“OK, but …”Most of the time, the Account Executives (AE) or Sales Development Representatives (SDR) struggle to give me a satisfactory response.
It seems like AI might take over their roles soon.
— Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin 🇮🇱 (@jasonlk) March 13, 2024
It’s crucial for sales reps to realize that AI is making its way into their jobs.
You might dismiss the idea and believe that ChatGPT will never replace an enterprise Account Executive.
But the truth is, AI has already started taking over post-sales and contact centers. Contact centers now aim to automate more than 50% of interactions using AI and automation, which is a significant shift within just 18 months—going from 0%-10% to aiming for 50%.
This shift ultimately means a reduction of 50% in human involvement.
The next target for AI is sales. While AI integration with current sales tools doesn’t entirely replace human representatives yet, it is the ultimate goal. Companies are investing resources in reducing the number of human reps and automating more of the processes.
Will this transition be successful? Maybe not entirely, but there might be more success on the lower end than anticipated.
In post-sales, customers are willing to compromise on slightly inferior support to reach over 50% automation. So, would software companies accept slightly “worse” sales if half of their sales process could be automated?
Possibly. An AI sales bot may not match a top sales rep’s skills but could fulfill a significant portion of the job round the clock, in any language, at a fraction of the cost—a goal pursued by many already.
By 2025, we might witness some progress in this direction. It’s essential to acknowledge that this shift has already happened in contact centers, and sales might be the next area to undergo this transformation.
(robot image from here)
