Is it the beginning of the end for humans in Sales?

‘Robots are the future’, a very common phrase which we used to hear growing up, is not about the future anymore. But, have the things made us productive as a society, could now be contributing to its decline?

The customer is evolving, he is well informed about a product or service, why do they need a human to convince them to make a purchase? Similarly, on average, salespeople hate to follow up, all of us know that it becomes tedious to manage even the good old CRM, robots however love doing all this.

In a recent State of Chatbots report, the consensus is that both consumers and businesses are happy with using chatbots as a sales and service tool. The introduction of chatbots has made the sales role even more perilous. Chatbots is on hand to help prospects get answers faster, remove friction, increase lead flow, and give sales an entirely new way to sell.

Should Sales reps be worried about robots then? I certainly believe we should not.

If the tech is here to stay, Technical sales and complex sales processes with “high consideration” and expanded buying committees will still require skilled salespeople – but only the BEST will make it. Relationships and emotional intelligence will still be the drivers that collaborate and coordinate the forward momentum of buying teams and influencers making complicated decisions. Robots might be able to understand the words coming out of someone’s mouth but deciphering the meaning behind them can be something else entirely. This is where the sales rep still dominates.

Much of Selling & Buying is based on trust and trust comes from building relationships. Technology might be seeping its way into the sales processes, to the point where machines are taking queries from customers and understanding their basic needs. But for later-level sales, the human touch is still required.

Man & Robot duo is an ultimate answer to effective sales. Sales leaders must acknowledge the potential productivity gains from working side-by-side with robots, dropping the idea that robots are a threat and exploit their potential.

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