The buzz about artificial intelligence is growing every day, and for good reason. The changes happening on a technological level are astounding and will change the landscape we live in for the long term. But very little that is helpful has been said so far about artificial intelligence in sales and how it will impact the people who make their living selling things. That’s why I invited my friend Gerhard Gschwandtner In The Arena today. He’s renamed his popular sales conference to reflect the changes he sees coming - It’s now The Sales 3.0 Conference (previously 2.0). We talk A.I., emotional intelligence, machine learning, and a whole lot more on this episode of In The Arena.

Sales is about to undergo the most monumental shift in our lifetimes.
Gerhard Gschwandtner believes that the sales community is about to experience the most monumental shift any of us have seen in our lifetimes. He believes this because of what he’s already seen in terms of how technology has changed the way we live and because of the rapid rate of change that continues to happen because of technology. The advent of artificial intelligence ups the stakes even more. The sales world will change and those of us who make our living by selling will have to adapt or be left behind. You can hear what Gerhard believes is coming and how it will impact you and your organization on this episode, so be sure you listen. You want to be one of those who is prepared for what is coming.
Is it true that 80% of transactions in the future are going to happen between machines?
As we consider the advent of artificial intelligence in sales it’s been suggested that at least 80% of transactions between companies in the future will be made machine to machine. Can you imagine it? But more importantly, can you imagine the impact that sort of change will have on you as a sales professional? Gerhard Gschwandtner is my guest on this episode of In The Arena to talk about the way we need to think about the coming changes to the sales community and the preparation required if we are going to not only keep up but thrive in the new sales environment. Be sure you listen.

What role will artificial intelligence play in sales? We have to decide now.
When it comes to the governance of artificial intelligence many helpful steps are already being taken. Mercedes and Microsoft are examples of companies that have established clear policies regarding the way their use of A.I. will be implemented for the good of their end users. It’s a wise and much-needed aspect of the A.I. revolution that has to be applied to the sales community as well. On this episode of the show, Gerhard Gschwandtner and I chat about how artificial intelligence in sales is going to change the way we transact business and the way we make a living, and what safeguards and safety nets are going to be needed to ensure that the people being served by the software remain the primary concern. It’s an intriguing conversation you won’t want to miss.
At what point will human beings say, “I prefer to work with a human being, not a machine?”
There will always be a need for human to human interaction. It’s wired into the way we work as human beings. But exactly what form that sort of interaction will take in a future that is saturated with artificial intelligence is anyone’s guess. But some people are better equipped to make those guesses than others because they’ve proven to be wise observers of the trends and movement that create the future. My friend, Gerhard Gschwandtner is one of those people. On this episode, we discuss the way artificial intelligence in sales is going to impact human to human interactions and transactions and how we might come to relate with each other in business relationships in that A.I. future.

Outline of this great episode

[0:44] Who is Gerhard Gschwandtner - founder of Sales 3.