AI's triggered a tipping point in making sales harder

Welcome to "Unpredictable Revenue"

People have been predicting the end of traditional marketing & selling for ages, encouraging companies to prioritize more customer value and success, and less manipulation and pressure.

I even talked about some of this in Predictable Revenue.

Sure, there will probably always be some manipulation and high-pressure tactics around.

But if you’re trying to build a business, attract great customers, keep them happy, and get them talking positively about you, then this idea of “the death of selling” is finally happening.

We’ve hit a tipping point.

It's like growing up in California; everyone’s always said, “We don’t know when, but the big earthquake is coming.” Well, now we’re facing our own “big one” with AI—this big unknown.

With AI speeding things up (plus all the fear in the market "is next month the month I'm going to be obsoleted?" slowing EVERYTHING down), we’re starting to see real changes in how businesses operate.

There’s so much noise in the market, lots of copycats, and a general sameness that’s growing fast.

This has led to lower win rates, fewer conversions, and more mental health challenges for people in sales.

Now, being “good” doesn’t cut it.

Sales skills and leadgen practices that used to work aren’t enough anymore.

These days, people need solid sales skills and business knowledge, along with relationship-building skills—all of it.

More than ever, it’s about finding your unique voice, creating an emotional connection with your prospects, and offering something genuinely valuable that customers can use and understand.

Improvisation and creativity have also become must-haves. (Of course everyone wants to know HOW do we do that?? That's something I'm still working on.)

And it’s happening on top of the big disruptions from COVID.

There’s a lot less certainty about the future than there used to be.

Before, we at least felt we could sort of guess what would happen over the next year or three, but that confidence is fading.

Now, salespeople need to be industry-savvy and able to teach and coach their clients.

Customer success teams also need to step up and not just help clients use a product but also help them succeed in business.

Long-term, no one really knows what’s going to happen.

But we’re already seeing signs that switching industries or jobs is tougher than ever. With so many candidates out there, hiring managers want people who match their exact needs, and they’re recruiting globally. This could mean that the need for deep specialization might make career changes harder in the future.

I'm delving into this as I look at new Ideas for a talk or maybe book... stay tuned.