“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.”

That’s the intro from the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man. As a kid, I was obsessed with this show. I had the action figures and fantasized constantly about being a dynamic, part-man, part-robot. I spent hours pretending to be the Six Million Dollar Man, defeating villains—sound effects and all.

Better, stronger, faster, and smarter. Man and machine combined has been a staple of science fiction since we began writing science fiction. We’ve always been fascinated with the possibilities of combining the best of humans with the best of machines.

Today, we are closer than ever before to making this core theme of sci-fi a reality. Artificial intelligence is here, and though we are still at the dawn of this cutting edge revolution, visionaries are already working on ways to plug AI directly into the human brain. Elon Musk’s Neuralink device is a brain implant that aims to help people with paralysis by allowing them to control computer programs with their thoughts. Bryan Johnson’s Kernel is a brain implant that tracks neurological activity in hopes of someday allowing humans to “coevolve” with AI.

As this technology develops and alters human life, the sales profession, like the rest of the world, stands at the precipice of a new reality in which we combine the best of what makes us human with artificial intelligence to allow us to amplify and unleash the potential of our human advantage.

The AI Edge

AI will elevate the profession of selling to new heights. Some of the applications are right around the corner, while others will take a little longer to arrive. Here are just a handful of the many ways generative AI will help you do the things you do today faster and better.

Personalized Content Creation: AI will be integrated into content management systems to instantly generate tailored presentations, reports, or videos designed around individual client profiles.

Prospecting Messages: Generative AI will make crafting compelling prospecting messages that maximize engagement easier, faster, and more personalized.

Building Prospecting Lists: AI will wade through enormous data sets and disparate bits of information to build dynamic and targeted prospecting lists that tee up opportunities that are entering an open buying window. This, by the way, is Jeb’s dream come true. Imagine how fanatical you’d be with a prospecting list like that!

Automated Follow-ups: Following up can be the difference between closing a deal and losing one. Using generative AI tools, sales teams can schedule and automate follow-up messages that align with previous conversations, ensuring timely and meaningful communication.

Advanced Sales Forecasting: Traditional sales forecasting, while valuable, can’t process the sheer volume of data available today. Generative AI, on the other hand, can churn through vast datasets, providing more accurate, data-driven sales predictions. This enables better resource allocation and strategy planning.

Virtual Role-Playing for Training: With AI simulators sales teams can practice and refine sales techniques like presenting, handling objections, andclosing in real-world scenarios.

The Human Advantage

There are voices in the business and sales worlds predicting a dystopian future in which AI replaces salespeople. This attention-seeking clickbait is pure BS.

The role of the salesperson is not diminishing. Instead, it’s evolving and becoming more important. With AI handling data analysis, content creation, and strategy suggestions, salespeople can focus on what they do best: building genuine authentic relationships, trust, and developing creative solutions for customer problems.

Despite AI, sales will continue to be a uniquely human endeavor, relying on emotional intelligence, personalized interactions, and an in-depth understanding of human behavior to foster genuine connections and build lasting relationships with customers.

Unlike machines, great salespeople read between the lines, perceive unspoken cues, respond with genuine care and concern, and tailor a unique experience for each buyer and stakeholder group.

The foundation of any relationship between buyer and seller is a conversation. While an AI chatbot may be able to make a recommendation based on a buyer’s question or request, only another human can understand the nuance of the discussion and the emotional experience of buying. When leading a stakeholder through a complex decision journey, humanity is your greatest strength.

Our human advantage is a composite of the unique qualities, skills, and capabilities that we possess compared to machines. This includes emotional intelligence, creativity, critical thinking, nonlinear thinking, empathy, adaptability, the ability to understand nuance and context and navigate complex social dynamics, and most importantly, build trusting relationships.

In a rapidly evolving world dominated by AI and technology, the human touch is an indispensable competitive advantage for delivering a powerful, personalized, and humanized buying experience that extends across the entire customer journey.

Better Together

So there you have it, AI and humans each have advantages. AI can do wonderful things, but the complexities of human behavior are a puzzle that AI cannot fully decode. We, on the other hand, have the unique ability to build rapport and build deep emotional connections, but we are infinitely slow at crunching data (and we have to sleep).

However, AI and humans merged together create a force to be reckoned with. Today we have the technology and capabilities to make sales professionals faster, better, stronger. When you leverage AI to do the things you are not good at to give you more time to invest in human relationships, you will become unstoppable.

Check out the The AI Edge: Sales Strategies for Unleashing the Power of AI to Save Time, Sell More, and Crush the Competition – the NEW #1 bestseller from Jeb Blount & Anthony Iannarino