Technology and Sales: What Will Change in the Future?

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Introduction

When we set the early 1900s as a milestone, the technological changes that occurred deeply impacted not only many sectors but also human life. The question of “Will artificial intelligence make people unemployed?” discussed today, has been raised increasingly loudly with each technological shift throughout history. We’ve seen the new generations increasingly adopt the motto “I’m not lazy, technology is just very smart,” perhaps to justify their reluctance to work. Yet, no one ever said they preferred to use a postman instead of sending an email, or that they would rather wait in line at the bank to deposit a hundred liras instead of using an ATM. We all loved using technology, but we feared it would take our jobs. Eventually, we got used to it.

While experiencing these technological changes with fear and acceptance in all areas of life, let’s start discussing the behaviors of sales teams, who feel these changes to their core but whose initial reaction is “usually” to resist.

A Brief Technological Flashback

• The emergence of motor vehicles
• The widespread use of airplanes
• The transformation from massive computers to small pocket-sized devices
• The Internet
• Smartphones
• Cloud systems
• Mobile applications

All these technological advancements undoubtedly have transformed or ended many sectors, and of course, sales teams are among the most affected.

One of the main reasons sales teams resist relating sales to technology is that technology changes so significantly within a human working lifespan. When companies and individuals do not invest in their future with “technological investments,” adapting to technology becomes challenging, which manifests as resistance.

Thus, today, companies and individuals must allocate part of their budgets to current technological advancements and set aside time and financial resources for future changes or consultancy services. They must recognize the need to train their personnel. Large companies, instead of following technology themselves, will achieve this adaptation by acquiring technology companies or collaborating with them. In any case, they will always need an intermediary to reach the end user.

The “Goalkeepers” of the Business World

The adaptation of sales teams, the “goalkeepers” of the business world, to technological changes brings with it the necessity for companies to invest in resources. The efficient use of these resources will maximize benefits for companies. However, achieving this benefit usually requires a challenging process, often involving “blood, sweat, and tears.” With each new technological change, phrases like “Salespeople’s jobs are over, everything will be done by the internet, AI will handle sales, salespeople will be fired, field sales are over, machines will sell everything” are heard. However, the reality is beyond these predictions…

What has changed over the years is not the elimination of sales but its transformation. In ancient times, selling in a region was sufficient, followed by nationwide expansion and eventually globalization. Different methods were applied to achieve these goals. Those who invested in technology continued to stand and grow, while the “traditionalists” began to produce excuses for their decline. However, technology is not a wall to cry on. You either adapt or you don’t.

Today, with the widespread use of the internet, mobile applications, and cloud-based systems, along with the integration of technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can say the “Voltron” of our era is complete.

The Relationship Between Data and “Voltron”

As a “successful in the past” financial expert in the companies I’ve worked for, there was always a search for a “king.”

“Cash is the king” , “Sales is the king”

Today, the greatest king is data. “Cash and sales are dead, long live data.”

The ultimate goal of this era’s Voltron has been the acquisition of data. The more data you have, and the more high-quality data you have, the more advantageous you are.

Global companies that started to understand the importance of data have slowly increased their budgets in this area over the last 20 years, continuing to maintain and strengthen their global power.

Twenty years ago, we didn’t know what data engineering was. If we talked about data mining, we might have gotten many funny responses. Today, many people prefer to be data miners rather than work in a gold mine.

As the king of our era, data has started to infiltrate sales teams and play a role in sales managers’ decisions. Companies that used to try to understand their customers through surveys can now analyze millions of data points within seconds to make decisions on production models, products to be produced, sales channels, and much more. There are so many technological tools available that it no longer requires huge time resources to start using them. Companies have started emerging to do this for you. In the past, using “CRM” to manage everything was fashionable, but today, there are AI-supported tools that collect data from the field and play a role in decision-making processes by analyzing this data instantly. The challenge is not just to reach the right software but to find organizations capable of establishing the right organization to develop this software and maintain its continuity in a “consulting” role. This will be the biggest challenge for companies moving forward.

Technology and Natural Selection

Sales teams must adapt the technology that evolves beyond the standard human capability to their work, be open to continuous change, and feel the need to maximize individual and corporate development. They must set their personal career and corporate goals accordingly.

The dystopia most discussed by the youth and the fear of “Will AI take our jobs?” shared by middle-aged individuals seems to me like a story of laziness or preemptive defeat. I believe that people who forget that a human created AI and don’t think they can do better have accepted defeat. Technological advancement will not stop until that first apocalypse, which I don’t expect to happen in the near future, and will be present in everything from the smallest transactions in social life to the globalization of commerce.

Sales teams can maintain their competitive edge and use technology as leverage to meet customer needs by keeping pace with this change. Companies can strengthen their market positions by embracing innovative solutions. The future belongs to those who integrate and adapt to technology.