The AI Sales Revolution: How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping the Sales Landscape

When AI and Salespeople Join Forces: Unstoppable Sales Machines

Greg's Words

To all my copier, IT, managed print services, and IT services brothers and sisters - The way your prospects purchase is changing right now. 

Your world is going to change; for better or worse, it is going to RADICALLY alter everything you do.  You have a choice, today, that will determine if it is better or worse.

I've seen transformation before - from typewriters to PCs, from receptionists to voice mail to email to IM to the internet.  I can see patterns only because I've lived through them.  I remember a time before 911, the Great Recession, the Fear of Covid, and the mass acceptance of AI. 

This is the big one. But there is a significant difference.  

This time, instead of change occurring over a decade, like the PC boom; rather than the half-decade-long journey from 'interwebs' to the internet, unlike the four-year turn from no social to everything social, and contrary to a 24-month move from cubicle to the second bedroom, this transformation is measured in hours and days.

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in November of 2022, hundreds of new apps have been developed to work with OpenAI.  Venture capital is pouring into new, AI firms in Silicon Valley, Microsoft threw in 11 billion dollars of its own, and Alphabet issued a "Red Alert" drawing battle lines in the metaphoric sand.

I implore you to use AI in your everyday functions.  Today, you can generate a customized thank you email, a 2-page proposal, a needs assessment survey, and a findings document in less time than it takes to get the copier warmed up.

And they won't be templates.  The documents will contain whatever numbers, findings, and recommendations you discover and generate. From your notes to finished, personalized and specific documents in minutes.

There's so much more, but you've got to get in and wrestle with AI on your terms.  The technology is malleable, like clay, waiting for you to create.

Executive Summary:

• AI is transforming sales by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining processes, and increasing efficiency.
• Sales professionals are adapting to the new AI-driven landscape, focusing on relationship-building and strategic thinking.
• Despite concerns about job loss, many experts believe AI will complement human skills rather than replace them.

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The Turbulent Truth: Climate Change and Airborne Chaos

Climate change may be bad, but don't blame it for your bumpy flights just yet.

Greg's Words

"Climate Change" is a crock. It always has been; different names, same narrative.  

It started with the best intentions - stop littering, "Give a Hoot.  Don't Pollute", 1970.  But as the world moved away from the Evil Empire, AKA The Communist Threat of the USSR, the search for the next 'great threat' went into full gear.  

The Ice Age of the 70s, Acid Rain in 1980, Hole in the Ozone in 1987, "The Oceans will be dead in 10yrs", 1988, The Oceans will rise and flood New York City, 1988, the arctic will be ice-free by 2015, on and on.

Don't get me wrong, mankind impacts the environment yet just like the death of Lake Erie in the 1960s, the death of mankind has (always) been exaggerated.

A few weeks back, climate experts were pitching the notion that climate was responsible for the increase in the number of home runs in the MLB.  So it was with piqued interest I engaged with the WSJ article, "Heavy Turbulence on Flights Is Likely to Get Worse" (PW).  Two articles in as many weeks connecting dots with climate change - I detect a whiteboard adorned with a narrative timeline.

Recently, climate experts posited that climate change played a role in the surge of home runs in MLB games. Intrigued by this claim, I delved into the WSJ article, "Heavy Turbulence on Flights Is Likely to Get Worse" (PW). Encountering two articles in quick succession linking seemingly unrelated phenomena to climate change - I sensed a whiteboard adorned with a narrative timeline.

I know, I know, Climate Change is real.  And UFOs are fake.  It's hard to deny. But these reach-around articles, from the Wall Street Journal no less, are getting hard to ignore.

So we threw four articles at the AI in the Sky, custom-built a prompt, and let it go.

Enjoy.

Executive Summary:

• Media sources commonly attribute increased turbulence to climate change.
• Scientific data and research reveal a more complex relationship.
• Other factors, such as jet streams and natural weather variations, contribute significantly to turbulence.
• Misleading conclusions may detract from focusing on the real issues at hand.

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The Cost of Progress: AI Regulations and the Erosion of Innovation

Bureaucracy and AI: A Match Made in the Cloud

Freedom takes a hit,

AI regulations loom,

Innovation weeps.

Greg's Words

No. No. NO.

This is a really bad idea and if implemented sets back the freedom of speech and puts the entire media, news reporting, and the distribution of facts, back 100 years.

The truth will be what they want us to believe.  You know this. You've seen a glimpse - no matter what side you are on, when a government entity can call up a media outlet and tell them what to say, the freedom of the press dissolves and we citizens are at best lulled and at worst sent off to the re-education camps.

The 911 Act was bad enough; it sounded great that all the alphabet agencies share data, sure, but the FBI given jurisdiction in foreign lands?  A no-fly list? I'm still required to take my shoes off?  When do we retire the TSA? 

Never.

I don't think AI should be regulated because it stifles creativity and promotes a narrative.

I think the platforms should be considered just like the phone companies - it is just a wire.

And after watching the FB and TT hearings, I am more than convinced our elected officials do not know sh$t about technology.

And you want BIDEN making recommendations on AI?  Are YOU that big of an ID 10T?

We put the big AI in the sky in the question.

Enjoy.

Unseen Connections: The Intricate Webs of AI, Gender, and Remote Work

We are all tangled up, but it's not as bad as it seems

Haiku:

Threads of tech and life,

Interwoven in the age,

Modern tapestry.

Greg's Words

I've finally done it.  I fed the great big AI in the sky FIVE different articles, asked it to digest and write a piece connecting the concepts and information contained within each.

The article titles reflect AI's impact on image generation, the scientific distinction between sex and gender, Gen Z, remote work, and ethical AI. 

It worked. Quite the web of interest.

We are passing into a new age of technology, which includes social shifts, and the way we work. It seems our view of life has become more clear than ever before - In the olden days, hierarchies were important and drove mankind into many different 'ages'; fire, steam, industrial, electric, up to semiconductors and microchips.  The old ways built skyscrapers - cathedrals of human resources, churning out the paper by the ton. The nine-to-five drudgery was accepted, expected, and glorified in phrases like "work hard, and you'll make it", "it's a numbers game, kid. Remember that." and "sure it is a nine to five, but we expect you in at 7AM and still see your face at 7PM, that's how we move people up the ladder" - indeed, "up the ladder" was the mantra.

And we kept our noses down.  Did our job without looking left or right - if we happened to look, we saw a clone of ourselves, working.   And our processes never crossed lanes; everything occurred in a vacuum, the universal connections hidden.  We were happy "mushrooms".

Today, we are witnessing the breakdown of traditional hierarchies and structures as the old ways give way to the new. The shift from the Piscean age to the Aquarian age is becoming increasingly evident. In the world of business, conversations now revolve around a diverse range of topics, including remote work, artificial intelligence, sexual harassment, fake news detection, and productivity. Despite their apparent diversity, these issues are interconnected and create a complex web of seemingly unrelated problems.

The ChatGPT Revolution: How AI is Transforming the Sales Profession

ChatGPT: Putting the 'Artificial' in 'Artificially Intelligent Salespeople

Greg' Words

I cannot stress enough how important AI, and specifically today, how important it is that you as a salesperson needs to get to know AI tools and start using each one that becomes available.  When used correctly, you will discover benefits beyond comprehension.  The one caution I have is to notice when your peers get to the same level as you in AI experience.  When they do, shift and pivot in another direction.

Today, we can use ChatGPT to compose emails based on our input, put together proposals with the data we supply, and research everything from a specific company, niche, industry, or economic region.  What had once taken us weeks, can be done in hours, the hourly task now finishes in seconds.  That is the reality today, who knows what is over the horizon.

We've put together a work that discusses the existing state of ChatGPT in the world of sales for you to digest.

Enjoy.

g

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Overheard conversation, at the digital watercooler: Greg to GPT, "Is your statement opinion?

Overheard conversation, at the digital watercooler:

Greg to GPT, "Is your statement opinion?

'As we navigate this complex landscape, it is our collective responsibility to foster a spirit of collaboration, empathy, and determination, ensuring that our actions today lay the groundwork for a brighter, more equitable tomorrow..."

GPT says, " Yes, the statement 'As we navigate this complex landscape, it is our collective responsibility to foster a spirit of collaboration, empathy, and determination, ensuring that our actions today lay the groundwork for a brighter, more equitable tomorrow' can be considered an opinion.

The Silent Exodus: How Quiet Quitting Is Reshaping the Business World and Office Technology(2% Raise)

 They Came, They Saw, They Quietly Quit

Greg's Words

Do what your job description says to do.  There should be no shame in working within those parameters.

Let's put it this way, when you're responsible, through the job description, to complete X number of tasks or deliver Y amount of revenue, or produce Z quantities of corporate events, and you achieve these goals within a determined time frame, you are entitled to a pat on the back, raise, bonus or whatever is stated in your employee agreement.  

Fulfilling your part of the Employee Agreement is NOT QUIET QUITTING.  When you do what the job entails and no more, you are not lazy.

Yet this is what the established structures, have labeled the activity of completing your job according to specification and doing no more.

Doing "what's best for the company" was a belief that when you do, the company would take care of you via salary or promotion, etc. It is a lie finally recognized.

"Team Players do whatever it takes..." This is true when the team members have a clear, identified, common goal that when accomplished, benefits both the team and the individuals.  Furthermore, each team member knows their place in the overall strategy and although one member may be asked to perform above and beyond, in general, the roles do not change, and are not exchangeable.

I guess the biggest thing here is finally understanding that the 'social contract' between employee and employer is finally in the light of day.

Regardless, here is a researched article we put together for you...

Enjoy!

g

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