This article was originally published on LinkedIn.
As AI continues its breakneck evolution, it’s being hailed as the next great revolution in sales. Tools powered by large language models promise more automation, faster research, cleaner data, and sharper insights.
But let’s be clear: AI won’t save sellers who don’t know how to sell.
Yes, AI is a breakthrough. Yes, it’s important. And it’s not the main event. Value is. Buyer value is. And if a seller can’t diagnose, articulate, and deliver meaningful value to the buyer, AI simply accelerates their irrelevance.
AI Is Not a Strategy. It’s an Accelerator of One.
At RAIN Group, our methodology is grounded in value-based, consultative selling. It’s about deeply understanding the buyer’s world, uncovering needs and gaps they may not fully see, and guiding them with insight, conviction, and partnership.
AI can assist in this, but only if the seller is already equipped to do the heavy thinking. It can summarize, suggest, and simulate. It cannot replace the nuance of uncovering stakeholder misalignment or facilitating a breakthrough moment of clarity in a high-stakes conversation.
If sellers lack that insight, empathy, and strategic thinking, AI won’t fix that. It will simply amplify the void.
Experience Matters—and the Pattern Is Clear
In my role leading both client strategy and future product innovation at RAIN Group globally, I’ve worked with tens of thousands of sellers and sales leaders across industries, regions, and cultures. From navigating boardrooms to shadowing sellers in the field, one truth emerges:
Sellers who win are those who create buyer value. The sellers who lose are those who rely on process, product, or tech to do the job for them.
I’ve seen this in sales transformations from $50M to $5B in revenue. And right now, too many salespeople are leaning on AI for shortcuts instead of using it to sharpen their strategy.
We are seeking a technology solution to a human problem. That’s not a tech issue. It’s a mindset issue.
The Sellers at Risk Are the Ones Not Driving Value
In 2015, Forrester published “Death of a (B2B) Salesman.” At the time, it raised eyebrows. Today, it reads like prophecy.
- Order Takers (non-complex offering, non-complex buyer): Major job loss
- Explainers (complex offering, simple buyer dynamic): Moderate job loss
- Navigators (simple offering, complex buyer): Some job loss
- Consultants (complex offering, complex buyer): Job growth
AI has thrown this model into overdrive. Transactional sellers are being replaced, fast. Buyers can research, compare, and purchase without ever engaging a salesperson. If your role is limited to providing specs, answering basic questions, or processing requests, AI does it better.
Consultants, what we call Rainmakers, are different.
They drive demand. They shape thinking. They are strategic advisors, not passive vendors.
That’s the future of sales. And it’s the space AI cannot occupy.
Use AI to Refocus—Not Replace—Seller Effort
Gartner's most recent frameworks, shared at their CSO & Sales Leader Conference (May 2025), reinforce what we see daily. Their guidance: AI should streamline admin, research, and post-call tasks. It should enable more time selling, not more time configuring tech.
The highest commercial impact comes from human-led, high-value activities:
- Facilitating buying group alignment
- Establishing urgency for change
- Co-creating success roadmaps
- Proving value in financial and strategic terms
- Elevating the conversation beyond solution to impact
In other words, what great sellers have always done. AI can help; it cannot lead.
Don’t Let the Noise Distract You from What Works
The buzz is loud. But sellers must not confuse AI activity for sales impact. It’s easy to get seduced by the tools: auto-generated emails, deal health dashboards, and coaching bots.
But if that replaces real thinking, it becomes dangerous.
Great sellers stay focused on the buyer.
They don't outsource that understanding. They deepen it.
They earn the right to influence.
They craft tailored paths forward.
They make themselves indispensable.
That work cannot be replaced. That’s where value lives.
If you're not focused on buyer value, AI won’t make you better. It will simply make your mediocrity more efficient.
AI is a force multiplier for skilled, value-driven sellers.
Just don’t forget: right now, you’re still the one holding the reins.
