Crying the alarm for the death of the sales professional at the hands of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) is a bit too dramatic. But, it’s safe to say that organizations that transform their sales functions due to machine learning and AI will find themselves rising above the competition.
Machine learning tries to teach computers to learn like a human
Now that we generate and collect vast amounts of data, we are able to give machines the amount of data that is required for them to learn by using algorithms to interpret the data and predict outcomes. When machines get feedback about whether those predictions were right or wrong, they use that feedback as learning experiences to make their predictive capabilities better in the future. Machine learning is one aspect of artificial intelligence and it is disrupting roles and responsibilities for professionals in every industry.
The power of machine learning
Never fear, sales professional. There’s a personal side to selling that machines will not (at least for a long time) be able to replace. Humans, and exemplary sales professionals in particular, are uniquely suited to listen, convince, negotiate and empathize as well as explore and answer the very critical question of “Why is this the best product or service for me.” However, the power of machine learning to contribute to successful sales initiatives cannot be understated and will only continue to grow in importance.