I wrote a LinkedIn article recently about resolutions that all salespeople should have in 2025. I included five ideas, but there is one that sticks out to me as being very timely for 2025: Use Artificial Intelligence tools.
I believe there are more important things salespeople can be doing to make themselves better, but none of them are more appropriate for 2025 than this one. If a salesperson dives into AI in 2025, then they’ll be ahead of the game and saving a ton of time on mundane tasks. If not, they’re going to get left behind, even by weaker salespeople.
So, what should salespeople do to dive into AI tools?
- Determine where to start. This can be as easy as asking ChatGPT “How can a salesperson use AI to become better?” Start with one basic skill. Perhaps you’ll use a tool to create emails, or research before sales calls, or summarize your notes? It doesn’t matter, just get started with one thing.
- Test and get uncomfortable. After getting comfortable and effective at the first skill, get uncomfortable and test many others. Determine what works and what doesn’t work for you. Do some research and find out what others are doing. Stretch yourself. You’ll be surprised how creative you become.
- Invest in tools when you need to. Many of these tools require a fee. Pay it. You might waste some money, but the education you receive and the rapid pace at which you develop your skills will be worth it. Eventually, you’ll have a suite of tools that might cost a few hundred dollars per year (or maybe a little more), but it’ll be worth it.
- Don’t be artificial. Sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Many salespeople will be making mistakes by letting AI tools do their jobs. Rather than checking and personalizing, they will automate emails, estimates, and executive summaries. This is becoming obvious to customers and unless you’re selling something that is transactional, you’ll disappoint and eventually lose your customers this way. Use AI to be more efficient but be authentic to differentiate yourself. For example, don’t forward emails generated by AI. Start with these emails, but then personalize them to make sure each recipient knows that you thought of them.
Get started. Figure out your routine. Get used to these tools and use your extra time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have the time!
