Keeping Sales Human in the Age of AI

Dec 09, 2024 · Sales

Revenue leaders face a critical challenge: identifying which aspects of sales require a human touch and which can be enhanced through automation.

Getting this balance right is a path to sustainable revenue growth. In our recent virtual event — Keeping Sales Human in the Age of AI — Rahul Vohra, CEO of Superhuman, hosted Mark Kosoglow, former SVP of Sales at Outreach and now cofounder and CEO of Operator.ai. They discussed how sales teams can accelerate with AI while keeping sales human — grounded in relationships, relevance, and empathy.

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The conversation revealed three key insights for sales leaders: how to move beyond superficial personalization to create genuine connections, where AI can most effectively support deal momentum, and which elements of the sales process are best suited for automation while preserving relationships.

Relevance beats personalization

Sales organizations frequently use personalization to connect with prospects. But it's worth asking — how real or useful are these connections? Many common personalization tactics have become predictable and ineffective. Referencing a prospect's alma mater or recent social media posts will often land as a manufactured attempt at connection rather than a genuine bid for a relationship.

The key isn't more personalization — it's greater relevance. Successful sales teams focus on understanding and addressing their prospects' specific business challenges. This means understanding industry trends, competitive pressures, and role-specific pain points to create compelling outreach.

For example, showing a CFO how other companies in their sector are reducing operating costs, or a CTO how similar technical challenges were solved with a case study, or a VP of Operations specific workflow improvements.

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Superhuman pro tip: Use Write with AI to strike the balance between relevance and efficiency. Superhuman AI helps craft messages that focus on what matters to prospects — their business challenges, goals, and needs — in your own voice and tone.

Deals die in the middle

Every sales organization is focused on new leads and new pipeline, but challenges in the mid-funnel erode top-of-funnel efficiency gains. For instance:

Even simple deals can require time-consuming, cross-functional meetings
Deal desk processes and approvals can be cumbersome
Important emails can get buried
Follow-ups can fall through the cracks

These challenges represent a significant optimization opportunity. By streamlining these mid-funnel bottlenecks, sales teams can accelerate deal velocity and increase the number of opportunities each rep can actively manage.

Rather than simply building more pipeline, sales leaders can drive revenue by improving execution quality throughout the entire sales process.

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Superhuman pro tip: Reminders help sales teams ensure important emails never get lost in the shuffle. Whether it's a crucial customer response, a pending approval, or a time-sensitive follow-up, Reminders make sure nothing falls through the cracks during complex deal cycles.

Where in the sales process to use AI

If you're hoping to press an easy button and get a fully automated SDR, you're going to underperform. The goal is not to replace human interaction but to enhance it by removing administrative burden and increasing efficiency where appropriate.

While AI can streamline tasks like scheduling and follow-ups, human sellers remain essential for building relationships, understanding customer needs, and navigating complex negotiations.

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Superhuman pro tip: Instant Event transforms one of the most time-consuming tasks in sales — scheduling meetings. Instant Event uses AI to automatically create calendar events with the right title, time, participants, and context.

What's next for AI in sales?

Success lies in finding the right balance between automation and human connection. The most effective sales teams will continually find new ways to automate routine tasks, leverage data for better decision-making, and use AI to augment — rather than replace — human capabilities.

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Sales leaders rely on Superhuman to move from stage one to closed won faster than ever before.

"Superhuman is a brand new category of sales tool — helping with every touch from lead to closed-won and beyond. Our GTM team is obsessed and constantly raves about it! We respond faster, follow up better, and get more done."

— Sergey Mann, Director of Revenue Operations, Hebbia AI.