I’m guessing it’s not exactly going to be news to you when I say that ours is a disruptive era. You and I encounter evidence of that particular reality daily – hourly, even. The big question is, how do we not just survive, but thrive in this environment of constant change?
We've been here before with disruptive tech. And by “we” I mean “humanity.” Think about the wheel, the printing press, the steam engine, cars, computers, the internet, smartphones – and now AI. Transformative, game-changing tech is kind of how we operate as a species. And guess what? That means there’s some newer, even more disruptive thing on the way that we can’t even imagine at the moment. But right now, it feels like we can't fully grasp how much AI is shaking up sales. What we can grasp, though, is something Charles Darwin grasped more than a century ago: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change."
Now, rewind a bit. For about 120 years, up until around 2005, what was the main thing a salesperson brought to the table for a buyer?
Easy: Information and education.
If a buyer wanted to know about an industry, a company, or find a solution, they had to talk to us. Seems like a long, long time ago, doesn’t it? Since the internet hit its stride around 2005 – websites got better, bandwidth was faster, and Google became a powerhouse – the game changed. That was a big shift, even if we didn't feel the immediate impact. Buyers started realizing they could get information without needing a salesperson.
On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT drops, and it's a whole new ballgame. These large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, etc., make information super accessible and fast. With Google, you get links and have to dig. With LLMs, you get answers. That speeds everything up for buyers.
Fast forward to today, and we see that an estimated 96% of prospects do their own research before they even think about talking to a salesperson. They know all about our companies, our products, our services, and how we stack up against the competition. Buyers are way, way more informed than they've ever been.
Because it's so easy to use LLMs like ChatGPT to check out different options, buyers are now looking at five or more potential suppliers, compared to just two or three before. Plus, there are often multiple decision-makers involved. So, things are definitely getting more complex for us sellers.
A QUESTION OF WHAT YOU LEAN INTO
So, if buyers have this "slight edge" with LLMs and rapid research, what are we doing with this tech? A recent McKinsey study found that 90% of commercial leaders think their sales teams should often or almost always use generative AI, but only 20% actually are. That's a huge gap! But the good news is, early research from Gartner suggests that high-performing sellers who embrace AI are 3.7 times more likely to hit their quota than those who don't. It's like the mere act of choosing what you are going to lean into is somehow an unfair advantage for those who lean into AI.
It is an unfair advantage. And it’s an advantage you want on your side.
I know. With all this new tech popping up every week, keeping an open mind can feel like overload. Another Gartner study showed that 49% of sellers feel overwhelmed by all the new tools. I get it – "Another app?" Even though I'm all for change, sometimes it's just... a lot. And yet -- here's the thing: those feeling overwhelmed tend to underperform compared to those who are okay with the tech. It feels like there's a split – people are either jumping in the pool or not jumping in.
Believe me when I tell you you want to jump in this pool.
We have to learn how to set aside the overwhelm if we want to thrive. We have to begin to see the tools at our disposal as personal and competitive advantages. And we have to get comfortable with the idea of experimenting with new ways to apply those tools, even if we’re already too busy. Especially if we’re already too busy.
HIRE YOURSELF A NEW ASSISTANT
Think about what a typical salesperson does in a day or week. It's not just meeting with people – there's LinkedIn, CRM updates, admin stuff, content creation. LinkedIn, for example, is powerful, but to really use it, you have to spend time finding connections, re-engaging prospects, using Navigator, filtering leads, and then doing thought leadership – posting videos, sharing content, personalizing messages. Then there's CRM – cleaning up data, adding info, reviewing records before calls. It's a ton of work!
What if AI could take some of this off our plates? What if we had a personal AI assistant doing all those things we don't love doing?. We probably don't have the budget for five human assistants, but this is where AI agents come in. An AI agent is smart software that autonomously handles repetitive tasks and gives you valuable insights using AI. Think of it as a 24/7 tech that's constantly learning and getting smarter. Mark Benioff from Salesforce even joked about renaming it "Agentforce" because he's so into AI agents. Jeff Bezos sees them as our digital assistants. Deloitte predicts that 25% of companies using generative AI will launch agents by 2025, and that will grow to 50% by 2027.
Imagine your AI agent:
- Knowing your ideal clients and target markets.
- Knowing the content you like to share.
- Understanding your decision-makers' interests by crawling their LinkedIn.
- Personalizing messages.
- Potentially doing all that LinkedIn work for you.
- Finding new sourcing managers at your prospects and even connecting with them and drafting introductory messages.
- Noticing when your contacts get promoted and writing congratulatory messages and suggesting gift ideas.
- Telling you if your prospecting is lagging and even putting together leads, time-blocking your schedule, and writing 30-second commercials.
- Reminding you to take breaks.
- Doing pre-call prep for your meetings by pulling notes from your CRM and Fathom.
- Even suggesting follow-up questions.
And in the future, instead of just text alerts from your agent, you might have a personalized avatar giving you all these updates in a more human way. It sounds a bit out there, right? Like something from a sci-fi movie. But think about it – we watch animated films and get emotionally invested, even though we know they're not real. So, this idea of interacting with avatars might not be so strange in the future.
What if all this tech actually helps us sell more? What if it handles the grunt work so we can focus on the human stuff, the relationships?. As Chris said, we can't out-AI AI, but we can out-human AI. We're not at a point where bots are just going to negotiate deals with other bots. But what if technology, as a disruption, helps us amplify our impact? What if you had a digital twin, an avatar that becomes a version of you that can be used in certain situations?. Not for live meetings, but maybe for creating personalized content and reaching more people across different languages. Imagine your avatar creating personalized video messages in 175 languages! That could completely change global selling.
THE THREE A’S
So, to really make it in this age of disruption, I believe there are a few key things we need to focus on.
First, we need to have a mindset of ABUNDANCE. Instead of seeing all this change as scary, we need to learn to look at the possibilities and opportunities. The biggest disruptions have always led to the biggest opportunities. Tech can be an amplifier of what we do. Don't be part of that 49% feeling overwhelmed – lean into it!. Read books like Peter Diamandis's "Abundance" and Hans Rosling's "Factfulness" to help cultivate this mindset. Remember, mentality is mindset with action.
Second, AGILITY is crucial. Remember what Darwin said: it's not the strongest or smartest, but the most adaptable to change that survives. Think about how much we've all adapted in the last few years.
There are a few types of agility we really want to focus on:
- Mindset agility: Being able to change your thinking and unlearn old beliefs.
- Technological agility: Quickly adopting new tech without being tied to any single tool.
- Learning agility: Having a deep intellectual curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Sales leaders know this is key and are prioritizing re-skilling. The shelf life of technical skills is shrinking rapidly. If the change outside is faster than the change inside, you're in trouble.
Finally, we need AMBITION. Call it hunger, drive, desire – whatever you call it, it's the oxygen of success. With all the adapting and learning we need to do, a high level of ambition is more important than ever. If you're just coasting, it's going to be a tough road ahead. The best way to fuel your ambition isn't just setting goals, but surrounding yourself with ambitious people. As Jim Rohn said, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and Warren Buffett said you move in the direction of the people you associate with. So, connect with those who are leaning into the future with that abundance mindset.
Our era of AI-driven disruption is not going anywhere. It is here to stay. Buyers are more empowered than ever. To thrive, we need to embrace the technology, adopt an abundance mindset, be agile in our thinking and actions, and fuel it all with ambition. Remember John Shedd's quote: "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for". You and I are built for something bigger, for that bigger future that lies ahead. Let’s set sail for it.
