News about AI tools fills all my feeds and most of my conversations. New tools/use cases emerge almost hourly. Surveys show 94% of companies are “using” AI in some way.
In GTM, AI is hitting everything we do. Our outbound messaging and emails, our pre-call research, conversational intelligence, performance dashboards, and too many to mention. And AI Agents are taking over much of the work, itself, handling responses, calls, scheduling meetings and many more.
We hear so much about how efficient AI is making us. It compresses tasks that used to take hours into minutes.
But there is a key question. Is AI making our people more capable?
Efficiency is great, but if we aren’t becoming more capable, then we aren’t improving performance.
Efficiency drives activity. Capability drives performance.
Let’s look at an example. A seller that uses AI to do company research, providing a targeted call plan is being efficient. Something which may have taken hours is now reduced to minutes. But another seller takes the same research, starts recognizing patterns she’s seen in past deals, then develops a whole new approach identifying issues the customer was unaware of.
The first example is a demonstration of efficiency, the second is a demonstration of capability.
The first seller is doing more, the second seller is doing better. She’s connecting with the customer on the issues most critical to them.
The unfortunate reality is many organizations are using AI to do more of what they were already doing badly. What difference does it make that we can send 1000’s of more personalized emails if open and response rates continue to plummet? What difference does the pre-call research make if the seller can’t connect with the customer in a meaningful way?
Let’s look at what “capable” means:
First is depth of understanding. This isn’t depth of data or information, but it’s the depth of understanding of what these mean. Can our people analyze more complex situations, can they connect the dots across different conversations and different parts of the organization? Can they engage the customer with deep questioning to surface the real issues? AI can synthesize data and information in amazing ways, but do our people know what to do with it? We no longer have an information or data advantage, it’s how we use the information that creates the greatest impact.
Second is quality of judgment. Are our people making better decisions? Are they using their time better? Are they managing opportunities and their pipeline better? Are they exercising that judgment in every interaction with customers–helping them move more effectively through their buying process? AI can’t tell us the right thing to do, it’s human judgment that guides us through this process.
Third is the ability to create greater value with their customers. Are they bringing unique perspectives and insights that change the way customers think about the problem? Do they have the ability to challenge customer assumptions and help them reframe what they are doing? Are they helping customers see things they had never considered? We create the greatest value in our person to person interactions. If we can’t create value in each interaction, customers will and should look elsewhere.
Fourth is adaptability. Things are constantly changing. Do they have the ability to adapt to the situation, the changes, focus on what’s most impactful in the moment? In complex B2B sales nothing is ever routine. Customers don’t follow our playbooks or scripts. These opportunities require creativity, judgment, adaptability.
Efficiency without capability is accelerated mediocrity!
We have to stop focusing on “How do we use AI to do more?” We have to shift to “How do we use AI to help our people think better, understand more deeply, create more value?”
This requires developing the foundational skills including curiosity, critical thinking, problem solving, collaborative conversations. It requires deepened focus on business and customer acumen. AI used in this way can be very powerful and a capability accelerator.
The issue isn’t how many AI tools we deploy. It’s whether we are deploying and using tools that develop the capabilities or our people. I’m sounding like a broken record, but the reality is AI amplifies who we are. If we are all about efficiency that does nothing to contribute to performance, then AI will scale your bad performance. If we are focused on capability development, because we recognize it’s capability that drives performance. Then AI amplifies that.
Are we enabling much higher levels of performance, or are you just making your people busier?
Afterword: Another fascinating AI generated discussion of this article. Enjoy!
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