Why Technology Could Be Your Best Sales Team Member
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 4:03 am
Let’s backtrack five years ago. The year was 2019, and in-person sales meetings, even door-to-door sales, were still ‘a thing.’ The culture of sales was human, but technology was becoming a part of the process. Fast-forward to today and tech is embedded in every step of sales processes. Yet the art and the culture of sales is still, inherently human.
My father was a sales professional, and I learned the most amazon database I ever have in my life by just listening to him on calls and trying to mimic how he told stories to get to the heart of what his prospects needed.
I still believe that the most valuable thing a sales team member, whether it’s the one person at the top, your team lead, sales manager, or brand new sales development representative can do, is to listen to their customers more.
So the question becomes if I think the best thing a salesperson can do is to make more human connections, where does technology fit into the picture?
And the answer, at least how I see it, is to use technology as an addition, not as a distraction, to the art of sales, so every interaction you have is more impactful.
Recapping McKinsey’s Technology Trends Outlook 2023, the organization states:
“By focusing on only the most hyped trends, [organizations] may miss out on the significant value potential of other technologies and hinder the chance for purposeful capability building. Instead, companies seeking longer-term growth should focus on a portfolio-oriented investment across the tech trends most important to their business.“
In a way, the art of sales has become the science of sales, deciphering what elements are right for your business. We now live in an era where technology must be integrated into the process to amplify human connection.
How to introduce technology to your sales team
When bringing new technology into your sales team’s day-to-day process, the best thing you can do is to be intentional about what you’re doing. Think of the different buckets of technology and how you can break these down into what your team and your salespeople and your business needs. For example:
My father was a sales professional, and I learned the most amazon database I ever have in my life by just listening to him on calls and trying to mimic how he told stories to get to the heart of what his prospects needed.
I still believe that the most valuable thing a sales team member, whether it’s the one person at the top, your team lead, sales manager, or brand new sales development representative can do, is to listen to their customers more.
So the question becomes if I think the best thing a salesperson can do is to make more human connections, where does technology fit into the picture?
And the answer, at least how I see it, is to use technology as an addition, not as a distraction, to the art of sales, so every interaction you have is more impactful.
Recapping McKinsey’s Technology Trends Outlook 2023, the organization states:
“By focusing on only the most hyped trends, [organizations] may miss out on the significant value potential of other technologies and hinder the chance for purposeful capability building. Instead, companies seeking longer-term growth should focus on a portfolio-oriented investment across the tech trends most important to their business.“
In a way, the art of sales has become the science of sales, deciphering what elements are right for your business. We now live in an era where technology must be integrated into the process to amplify human connection.
How to introduce technology to your sales team
When bringing new technology into your sales team’s day-to-day process, the best thing you can do is to be intentional about what you’re doing. Think of the different buckets of technology and how you can break these down into what your team and your salespeople and your business needs. For example: