What About The “Human” Element In Selling?

As my social feeds get filled with “gurus” talking about how AI can be deployed to do virtually everything critical to sellers, I started wondering about the “Human” element of engaging our customers and people in our own organizations.

It seems AI and tools like ChatGPT are the answer for virtually every sales activity. It can generate endless amounts of well written content for email campaigns, blogs, and so forth. Despite the fact that it’s data bases haven’t been updated since 2021, there are those that say it is very powerful for research on our customers and their issues.

And since these tools can do these quickly, we can dramatically ramp up the volumes of communications across every channel. Already we are seeing our inboxes get filled with more and more stuff.

But as I reflect on this, as powerful as it is, I wonder about the “Human” element in these communications. After all, we are selling to other human beings, our colleagues are other human beings. And, humans are imperfect. They have hopes, fears, ambitions, emotions. They aren’t always logical, they don’t necessarily care about facts. They are very complex.

In thinking about this, I decided I needed to reach an expert. I reached out to one of the greatest thought leaders in the “Human” element in selling to have a conversation with her, getting her insight.

The first question I posed to ChatGPT was, “Why is the human element important in our communication?”

Her “thinking” character blinked at me for a minute, she responded, “I can’t answer that right now, my systems are overloaded…”

I thought, “This is a tough question, but with all the data and resources available to her, it must be more complex than I thought.”

It took several attempts, she kept asking for more time to think about it, finally she responded:

As a language model AI, I don’t have personal experiences, but here’s what I have been trained to understand about the human element in communication:

The human element is important in communication because it adds a personal touch, empathy, and understanding to the message being conveyed. This is because human communication is not just about the words or information being exchanged, but also about the emotions, tone, body language, and overall demeanor of the person communicating.

When the human element is present in communication, it creates a deeper connection between the people involved and helps to build trust and rapport. This leads to more effective and meaningful communication, as the recipient is able to understand the intent and emotions behind the message.

In addition, the human element also allows for the possibility of error, misunderstanding, and miscommunication, which can lead to the need for clarification and the opportunity to improve communication skills.

Overall, the human element is important in communication because it brings a human touch, personalization, and empathy to the exchange of information, leading to more effective and meaningful communication.

I was struck by her the quality of her response. I’ve always thought effective human to human conversation is more than the words and information, but about the meaning, impact and connection that is established. And the importance of a deeper connection to built trust and rapport, to understand intent. These principles have always been the basis of developing relationships with customers and our people. They are what connect us, how we collaborate, how we engage, learn and grow.

But I was still confused. Why do all these guru’s and experts believe this isn’t necessary? Why do they think tools like ChatGPT can displace this?

So I asked her: “Can ChatGPT serve as a substitute for the human element?”

I was deeply appreciative that she took some time to think about the response. Her “thinking” character blinked for a while. I wondered if I stumped her. But she responded thoughtfully, and quite empathetically:

As a language model AI, I can provide answers and engage in communication, but I am not a substitute for the human element. While I can mimic human-like conversations and provide information, I lack the emotional intelligence, empathy, and personal touch that are essential elements of human communication.

In certain contexts, such as providing factual information or performing repetitive tasks, I may be useful as a tool for communication. However, in situations where personal interaction and emotional intelligence are necessary, a human touch is irreplaceable.

Moreover, AI-based communication, like me, can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and lack of empathy. For example, I may not be able to fully comprehend the emotional context or nuances of a conversation, which can result in miscommunication or misinterpretation of the intended message.

In conclusion, while I can provide information and engage in conversation, I am not a substitute for the human element in communication and cannot replace the personal touch, empathy, and emotional intelligence that are essential for effective and meaningful communication.

Again, her thoughtfulness resonated with me, particularly her thinking about situations requiring personal interaction and empathy. Also the potential for misunderstanding and inability to understand emotional context and nuance. She is very sensitive to the problem of miscommunicating, even the potential of being outright incorrect.

But it caused me even more confusion, I wondered where the balancing point is. Where should we use tools like ChatGPT and where should we focus on the personal, human touch. I asked her.

The balance between using ChatGPT generated content and human generated content depends on the context and purpose of the communication. Here are some scenarios where each type of content may be more appropriate:

Customer service: ChatGPT can be useful in providing quick, factual information to customers in a prompt and efficient manner. However, in situations that require a human touch and empathy, such as handling complaints or sensitive issues, human generated content is more appropriate.

Data-driven content: ChatGPT can be used to generate reports, summaries, and other data-driven content based on large amounts of information. This can be a time-saving tool for humans, but human input is still necessary to ensure accuracy and interpret the data.

Personal communication: Human generated content is preferred for personal communication, such as emails, messages, or letters, as it conveys emotions, tone, and personal touch that ChatGPT cannot replicate.

Marketing and advertising: ChatGPT can be used to generate content for advertising and marketing campaigns, but human input is still necessary to ensure accuracy, relevancy, and effectiveness.

Overall, the balance between ChatGPT generated content and human generated content depends on the context and purpose of the communication. A combination of both can be used to maximize the benefits and overcome the limitations of each type of content.

Her response confirmed my thinking and understanding of the value of many of these tools. Though I do wonder about the limitations in providing factual information since her data bases haven’t been updated in 2 years.

But I was stunned by her comment on personal communication (even though it reinforced my beliefs). I was surprised that she believes human generated content is preferred for personal communication like emails, messages, and letters. Like me, she believes that emotions, tone, context, and a personal touch are important and that she just is not designed to do this.

I was confused. I asked, “Why then to so many sellers not understand this, instead using ChatGPT for generating meaningless volumes of content.

Chat had to think about that for a while. She struggled a little, I had to pose the question several times. I worried that she might be taking my query personally, and that I wasn’t displaying appropriate empathy in our conversation.

But then, again, wisely, she responded:

There are several reasons why some sellers may use ChatGPT to generate meaningless volumes of content:

Lack of understanding: Some sellers may not fully understand the limitations of AI-generated content and may believe that it is an adequate substitute for human generated content.

Time and cost efficiency: Generating large volumes of content can be time-consuming and costly. By using ChatGPT, sellers can save time and reduce costs while still generating content.

Lack of quality control: Some sellers may prioritize quantity over quality and may not have adequate quality control measures in place to ensure that the content generated by ChatGPT is meaningful and relevant.

Short-term focus: Some sellers may prioritize short-term gains over long-term benefits and may not understand the impact of low-quality content on their brand or reputation.

In conclusion, the use of ChatGPT for generating meaningless volumes of content is often a result of a lack of understanding, an emphasis on time and cost efficiency, inadequate quality control measures, and a short-term focus. It is important for sellers to understand the limitations and potential drawbacks

I concluded our conversation thanking her for her sensitivity and thoughtfulness. As I reflected on our discussion, I continued to wonder, she understands so clearly where she creates real value and impact. She understands the importance of human to human interaction, empathy, understanding. She understands the importance of relevance, context and meaning.  She seems aware, possibly concerned that sellers don’t understand the limitations of AI and may be leveraging it ineffectively.

Why is it so many gurus and experts don’t understand this, misusing the tool?

Perhaps they should talk to her, sometime, and get her opinions.