According to Gartner, 75% of B2B buyers these days prefer a rep-free sales experience.
But I wonder if the rise in AI-generated content is about to change all that.
Recently, I was asked to write an article that announced a new addition to a manufacturer’s portfolio.
To help me get started, I had the content from the website that explained the benefits for customers.
The website text had been written using AI, and it sounded impressive at first glance. But it quickly unravelled. A couple of the key selling points said the same thing in different ways. Some of the points made no sense. The text was a real opportunity missed – it was clear the product offered something different, but it really needed expert human intervention to illuminate that difference and why it was so important.
Now, the manufacturer is a well-known name in their sector, and many customers will choose the new product on the name alone.
Even so, investing in it will be a significant business decision involving significant upheaval.
If we use AI content without spending time adding the human touch that makes something relevant and relatable, customers will need to seek human input at another stage to give them confidence in the decision they’re making.
Enter the sales rep, whose role will regain importance. They’ll need to sell the benefits of the product in much more depth, perhaps over several calls or meetings, rather than simply being the person who collects the signature on the contract at the end of the customer’s internal decision-making process.
The sales cycle may take longer and require more input than in the recent past, but it will provide the vital human touch that’s essential to sales.
