Having worked at Dell Technologies, Oracle, Check Point, and Vodafone, I've seen many technology waves.

AI in enterprise sales is different — it's not just an efficiency tool, it's reshaping the entire buying process.

What's Actually Changing

Buyer Research is AI-Augmented

By the time a prospect talks to a salesperson, they've already:

  • Queried multiple AI assistants about your product
  • Read AI-generated summaries of competitor comparisons
  • Built a shortlist without any vendor contact

This means the first human touchpoint is already mid-funnel.

Proposals and RFP Responses

AI drastically reduces the time to draft a response to complex RFPs. What used to take a team three days can now be templated and refined in hours. The human role shifts to judgment and relationship — areas where AI still falls short.

What Doesn't Change

  • Trust is still built person-to-person
  • Complex deal orchestration requires human political navigation
  • Executive sponsorship demands authentic human engagement

My Advice

Embrace AI for the repetitive, data-heavy parts of the sales process. Invest the time you save into deeper, more strategic customer conversations.

The best salespeople in the AI era will be those who use AI to free up time for what humans do best: listening, empathizing, and solving real problems.