The same thing that's new in fashion, music, and food; nothing and everything. I'm privileged to be inside many different businesses through my consulting and coaching practice. What I find when talking to CEOs, presidents, finance, and sales execs is that you have to be (insert shameless book plug here)-> "High Touch in a High-Tech World."

Within the ops-minded brains of the business world, there is a fantasy in which algorithms and bots reach out to prospective buyers, pique their interest, online chat all the right questions, and respond instantly with all the right programmed answers. Then the prospect transfers some crypto, and voila! Closed sales without sales professionals managing the process!

There also exists a creature that is soon to be completely extinct; The Salesosaurus. He roams the streets in a suit, tie, wingtips, and a leather portfolio under his arm. He has glossy cut sheets of his products and a little engraved carrying case for his business cards. He uses an American Express calendar book and keeps samples in his trunk. He has only recently discarded his Hagstrom map and learned to use Waze. He has keen eyesight but almost no hearing (or so it seems as he speaks over you), and he often gives pricing that is good for TODAY ONLY.  

Nothing and everything. What's new? We carry great intel in our pockets. We can find out almost anything about prospective buyers, buying patterns, up to the minute news about their corporate plans, officers, and customers. 

Innovative companies aggregate all of this information to create their perfect customer avatar.  

Gone are the days of knocking on 100 doors to find a single prospect. The ops-minded folks are correct. This is a brave new world with data mining and sales automation pushing the bleeding edge daily. What those folks miss, however, is that their clients are vulnerable to the next bot that flashes on their screen and offers the same product for a nickel less. 

That's where what's old kicks in. 

Keeping clients from following the next shiny object is the sales professional's job. We can use the technology to shepherd clients through the portals and into our real-live businesses run by people. It's our job to make sure they see value in our company and have a soft ear to call when the automation process fails to deliver.  It’s our job to be the face of the business.

As with most things in life, both sides have merit, and either can limp along without the other and do an OK job with just the tools they choose to deploy. Still, superstardom comes to those enlightened alchemists who can meld both of these lessor, semiprecious systems into gold.

Own Your Sales Gene…