The Sales Tiger vs. Big Data Sleuth?

Tiger vs. Sleuth? I believe the future of selling requires both, yet not in equal measure. The future of selling anything is more about understanding how to acquire and interpret data than being a tiger and grinding. The sales closer (Richard "Ricky" Roma of Glengarry Glen Ross) began to die away during the early part of our 21st century.

The Future of Social Selling http://sco.lt/8xGgLJ is a well written essay on social selling. the article is penned by the founder of a company selling a social selling platform. The article suggest Artificial intelligence is the added value layer his platform includes while most platforms are not yet AI enabled.

I believe the future of sales support tools includes both Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Now you may ask what's the difference (I know I did)? I've included an article written by Bernard Marr, Forbes Magazine - December 2016
which provides a easy to understand answer included below: http://bit.ly/2vZHQCE

Artificial Intelligence is the broader concept of machines being able to carry out tasks in a way that we would consider “smart”.

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Machine Learning is a current application of AI based around the idea that we should really just be able to give machines access to data and let them learn for themselves.

There are several products emerging which include AI and have architected their platforms to enable AI to interrogate mountains of BIG DATA in order to forecast when your ideal prospect is prime to make a purchase and how they might navigate the buyer's journey.

The future of sales is AI + Machine Learning = Predictive Modeling to illuminate the who, what, when, where and why a prospect will make a buying decisions.

Welcome to the brave new world of sales!