Note: This article is based on a lightly edited transcript of a video conversation. The language has been kept conversational to preserve the speaker’s original tone and flow.
Technology has been a game changer. It has revolutionised sales and countless other industries. But the question we need to ask is: has it pushed us too far?
Are we becoming overly reliant on technology in sales? Are we losing our intuitive edge and struggling to engage in meaningful conversations with clients and prospects?
This session aims to emphasise the importance of balance and why emotional intelligence, especially empathy, is fast becoming a key competitive differentiator. Most importantly, it’s a skill that must be actively practised.
We’ll focus on three key areas:
- The impact of technology on sales
- Why do we need to rebalance the scales
- How to proactively use empathy and emotional intelligence in sales
The Impact of Technology on Sales
Technology that adds value by automating repetitive tasks is invaluable. Without it, staying competitive is nearly impossible. From that perspective, technology is essential.
However, the sales technology landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace.
To illustrate this, let’s look back. In 2011, the marketing technology landscape was relatively small. Sales automation occupied a minor space with only a handful of companies involved.
Fast forward to 2020, and the landscape had transformed. New niches emerged, and entire industries formed within the ecosystem. This shift was driven by personalisation, customisation, and the need for granular data. Companies became more comfortable using sophisticated tools to meet these demands.
By 2022, reports indicated nearly 10,000 marketing tech solutions existed. In 2024, that number surpassed 14,000, marking a 9,304% increase since 2011. This translates to an astounding 41.8% compound annual growth rate.
From 2023 to 2024 alone, over 3,000 new solutions emerged—likely driven by the AI boom. Within the sales tech space specifically, more than 1,000 tools were introduced in 2024 alone.
One of the main drivers behind this growth is customisation. The “one-size-fits-all” model no longer works. Buyers now seek bespoke solutions tailored to their specific industry needs.
For example, rather than using all-in-one CRMs like Salesforce or HubSpot, some companies prefer niche software built exclusively for industries like manufacturing. These tools are more intelligent, collect more data, and offer increasingly targeted insights.
This explosion in tools aligns with a 2020 McKinsey report, which highlighted enormous automation potential across the value chain. Where automation and AI can do the heavy lifting, they absolutely should.
A Real-World Example: We’ve been working with a manufacturing client that offers both high-end and transactional products. Each year, they receive around 70,000 transactional orders—a massive volume requiring manual processing.
To manage this, they’ve started implementing an AI-powered solution to automate the processing of these orders. However, for their high-ticket, complex sales, they continue to rely on human expertise.
This reflects a growing trend: companies aren’t expecting AI to solve every problem. Instead, they’re applying it strategically, targeting specific parts of their value chain where automation offers real gains in efficiency.
The key takeaway here is that AI isn’t a silver bullet. Success lies in having a thoughtful strategy. Know where and how technology can help—and integrate it in a way that complements your broader business goals.
Rebalancing Technology and Human Touch
While technology has been a powerful enabler, we need to rebalance the scales. There’s currently too much emphasis on leading with technology in sales. So, why is rebalancing necessary?
Buyers today are more informed than ever. There’s more choice, more competition, and greater buyer awareness. Most sales organisations already know their audience well and engage with them across multiple platforms.
Technology can open doors, but it cannot hold meaningful, nuanced conversations—especially in complex, high-value sales. When organisations rely too heavily on automation without proper checks and balances, they risk undermining the very relationships they’re trying to build.
One major challenge is bias. AI systems are built by humans and inherently reflect their creators’ perspectives. Ask the same question to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok, and you’ll receive different answers because each model is based on a distinct set of data, algorithms, and assumptions.
This leads to another critical point: the quality of input determines the quality of output.
If the person prompting the AI lacks a deep understanding of the customer, product, or market, the results will be suboptimal. In transactional scenarios, AI can help. But in complex sales, it often falls short.
Another issue is data inconsistency. Businesses now collect vast amounts of data across different tools and platforms. But comparing metrics from one system to another is often like comparing apples to oranges.
Each tool measures and reports differently, leading to misaligned insights. Without a clear understanding of how data is generated and used, companies risk making flawed decisions.
Buyers, especially in complex sales, are increasingly aware of the role of technology in their experience. While they do extensive research independently, they still seek human interaction to validate their understanding.
If your sales process doesn’t accommodate that need at the right time, you’re missing a critical opportunity to connect. To illustrate, here are four relevant statistics:
- Gartner reports that 77% of B2B buyers found their last purchase complex or difficult. Sales aren’t getting simpler—buyers must now consider integration, data requirements, legal compliance, and privacy issues.
- In 2019, Gartner illustrated a non-linear, looping B2B buying journey, involving multiple stakeholders simultaneously. It’s even more complex today.
- The number of stakeholders involved in B2B buying rose from 5.4 in 2015 to 10.2 in 2019, and is likely even higher now.
- Gartner also notes that 33% of buyers prefer a seller-free experience, rising to 44% for millennials. While this suits transactional sales, it’s impractical for complex B2B decisions.
Buyers are overwhelmed, and sales processes must adapt accordingly.
It’s not about abandoning technology, but about striking a balance. Use the best of AI and automation, but don’t lose sight of the human essence of sales: solving problems, building trust, and communicating with empathy.
We may no longer have long discovery calls at the very beginning, but when a buyer engages, that interaction must count. Your sales process should align with their buying journey, not follow a rigid, outdated structure.
If you’re still operating with a 2019 process, it’s likely out of sync with today’s buyer behaviour. Ask:
- What research has the buyer already done?
- How are they interpreting that information?
- What assumptions have they made?
Often, buyers will already have placed your company in a “category”—right or wrong. You need to be ready to shift that perspective. This requires emotional intelligence, adaptability, and the ability to read the situation in real time—none of which can be done by a bot.
Ultimately, technology should support, not replace, human interaction. Know when to use it—and when to step in personally. Without that awareness, you’re just operating on autopilot.
Sales is about guiding buyers through a complex process. That requires thoughtful, high-quality conversations.
So let’s get back to basics. Let’s make sales more human again.
Leveraging Emotional Intelligence in Sales
To truly connect with buyers, we must go beyond just hearing them—we need to actively and empathetically listen.
This means being genuinely curious, asking thoughtful questions with the right intent, and resisting the urge to jump into solution mode at the first “trigger word.” Instead, we should pause, fully understand their decision-making process, and qualify before prescribing any solution.
Rather than pitching prematurely, the goal is to co-create the solution with the buyer.
Hypothesising potential directions and allowing them to guide the conversation fosters alignment and trust. That’s where emotional intelligence (EI) becomes an indispensable part of any modern sales training programme.
If you’re exploring how to learn sales effectively, this is a vital concept taught across leading sales academies, sales training courses, and sales training academies.
The best programs don’t just teach you scripts—they build your sales skills by developing your ability to read emotional cues, build rapport, and adapt in real time.
Sales success isn’t just about systems—it’s about sensing. Can your team read the room, not just the script?
In complex B2B sales, tech alone isn’t enough. You need emotional intelligence and adaptability. Take our Capability Assessment to uncover blind spots with instant insights and go deeper with our expert sales audit.
The Five Pillars of Emotional Intelligence in Sales
Psychologist Daniel Goleman outlined five core components of emotional intelligence in sales, all of which are essential for which are essential in B2B sales training and high-impact selling environments:
- Self-Awareness: This is about knowing yourself—your strengths, limitations, emotional triggers, and how you come across to others. It’s about understanding not just what you say, but how and why you say it.
- Self-Management: Once you’re aware of your reactions, self-management helps you regulate them. For example, when you hear a potential need and want to jump in with a solution immediately, self-management enables you to pause, stay curious, and ask a follow-up question instead.
- Motivation: This is your internal drive—your personal “why.” Whether it’s about achievement, credibility, or purpose, understanding what motivates you helps you stay resilient and focused.
- Social Skills: Strong communication, rapport-building, teamwork, and trust are essential in sales. Social skills allow you to connect with clients and colleagues in meaningful ways and move relationships forward.
Empathy: Often emphasised in leadership, empathy is even more essential in sales qualifications and real-world client interactions. It allows us to step into the buyer’s shoes, understand their emotions and point of view, and respond appropriately.
Empathy: The Sales Superpower
Empathy is more than just a buzzword—it’s a competitive edge taught in every high-quality sales academy.
It allows you to pick up on subtle emotional cues, reframe your approach based on what the buyer is experiencing, and ultimately build stronger, trust-based relationships.
Empathy can shift your focus from “How do I close this deal?” to “What does this person truly need from me right now?” And that shift can make all the difference. Goleman, along with researcher Paul Ekman, breaks empathy into three distinct types:
- Cognitive Empathy: Understanding the other person’s perspective intellectually—great for interpreting complex buying dynamics in B2B sales training scenarios.
- Emotional Empathy: Feeling what the other person is feeling. This helps you emotionally connect and align in the moment.
- Empathic Concern: The highest form of empathy. It’s not just understanding or feeling, but caring. It’s about wanting to help and taking action with compassion.
Imagine this: you’ve sent a proposal and scheduled a follow-up for Tuesday at 2 p.m. The client shows up but has no update. Rather than pushing hard or expressing frustration, empathic concern means asking:
What’s happening on their end? What’s changed? What do they need from me now? You adjust accordingly. That’s empathy in action—and it can transform the relationship.
Practising Emotional Intelligence
Like any skill, empathy and emotional intelligence must be practised deliberately. They’re fundamental components of effective sales training courses and a central part of most modern sales training programmes.
In every conversation, take a moment to ask:
- What is the other person thinking?
- How are they feeling?
- What’s the right course of action—not just for me, but for them?
Sales is not just about closing deals; it’s about human-to-human conversations. And where EI is lacking, relationships suffer—trust fades, conversations become transactional, and opportunities are lost.
Final Takeaways
- Greater customer satisfaction starts with emotional intelligence. Empathy re-humanises the sales process and makes it more meaningful for both sides.
- Empathy builds stronger relationships and trust. That trust leads to deeper engagement and better long-term outcomes.
- Emotional intelligence sets you apart. In a world increasingly driven by automation and data, the human touch is what makes you memorable and effective.
If you’re rethinking your sales approach, you’re not alone. Buyers are overwhelmed. Tech is evolving fast. And emotional intelligence is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a must.
Whether you’re building a team, revamping your sales process, or looking for the right sales training programme, the next step is clarity. And that starts with a conversation.
Let’s Build a Smarter, More Human Sales Approach Together
If you’re ready to shift from transactional tactics to trust-based selling, let’s talk. In a short call, Vinit will help you:
– Pinpoint what’s not working
– Introduce emotional intelligence into your process
– Align sales training to real buyer behaviour
