Reinventing Sales Management in the Age of AI
Reinventing Sales Management in the Age of AI
The AI “Sales Gym”
“Every Company Should Have Its Own Sales Gym.”
Equip your Salespeople as A-Players in their Market Environment by Reinforcing Selling Skills using AI. ELAvate and Salesably can build your functional “sales gym.”
Mike’s Note
Michael McGowan and Vidal Graupera are my “sales AI gurus.” Michael’s insight and experience in collaborating with Vidal Graupera of Salesably has accelerated my sales practice to incorporate practical AI for real ROI for sales training and on boarding results. Let’s gain from his insights he posted on LinkedIn. I have edited and added some content for clarity.
Will Sales Even Exist as We Currently Understand It?
With the advent of AI, many sales organizations are under more competitive pressure, but there is a new pressure now: With the advance of AI, will “sales” even exist as we currently understand it? Let’s review the changes Michael Mc Gowen envisages AI is exerting on sales management and the impact on sales teams.
From Maintenance to Growth
AI is already gnawing away at a whole range of so-called “sales” work that has always constituted the majority of sales roles. Account servicing, account management, answering queries, sending information, jumping on inbound enquiries, and order-taking are all being replaced by technology, tools and non-sales roles. The impact?
There are now fewer things to be busy about in a sales role, leaving only the real work of sales – the pursuit of revenue and market growth. And that requires sales expertise and skills, not charisma nor fashionable empathy and EQ attributes. An analogy may be the person who comes to the gym decked out in the latest sports fashion but never achieves any healthy improvement from all the equipment in the gym. Salespeople also need to regularly “work out” to build on the selling skills, market and product knowledge, to run the sales race in the marketplace.
Buyers are Already (Well) One-Up on Vendors and Sellers
When vendors were “one-upping” on buyers, sales management meant managing a team of personalities. There was an unspoken buyer-dependency that the seller relied on. Today, buyers are one-upping on vendors and sellers; buyers have already discovered that ChatGPT can give them more perspective in 60 seconds than a salesperson can give them in 60 minutes. This requires sales management focused on market & product knowledge and selling skills acquisition leading to application. There won’t even be time for this to be a trend; it’s already a necessity requiring a rethinking of the sales management model, away from managing personalities to promoting and equipping for the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Sales management should be in the business of wealth creation, for the company, employees, the sales team and all related dependents rather than “looking after sales.” Effective use of AI in sales management can accelerate knowledge, skill and revenue “wealth.”
The Passive versus The Productivity Sales Management Model
The vast majority of sales management is based on a passive, non-interventionist model. It assumes (hopes) that the experience and personality of the seller will do all the heavy lifting.
By contrast, the Productivity Model:
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Focuses on coaching for the sales role first.
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Equips sellers to execute the role reliably.
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Creates long-term customer loyalty.
Sales Productivity with the AI “Sales Gym”
Sales productivity begins with:
- Acquiring and mastering the right knowledge and skills.
- Learning how to clearly articulate and sell your company’s unique value.
- Building long-term, loyal customer relationships.
How an AI “Sales Gym” Helps
Our AI-based “Sales Gym” can:
- Accelerate your salespeople’s success.
- Deliver solid ROI on sales training and sales manager coaching.
- Onboard new sales hires to fluency in just days.
- Multiply the impact of your sales managers’ coaching.
Take the Next Step
Let ELAvate build a functional “Sales Gym” for your company.
