AI Makes Your Sales Team's Soft Skills More Valuable (not less)

Forbes

2 days ago

Real-time data and customer insights support human connections rather than replacing them.
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The convergence of artificial intelligence and consumption-based pricing (CBP) is transforming sales relationships, but not in the way you might have expected. Rather than diminishing the role of sales representatives, these technologies are making human soft skills more crucial than ever.
Pay-as-you-go models like CBP are becoming increasingly popular–not only in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) arena, but for manufacturing equipment, driver's insurance, and numerous other products and services. And CBP is all about usage data. Customers like it; it inherently feels fair to pay based on real use, versus older seat-based subscriptions. (Salespeople also like CBP, if (and only if) their compensation plan feels fair.) For service providers using CBP, AI is proving vital in analyzing all that data to:
The benefits of AI automation and insights are too valuable to ignore. Given so much data to work with, generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI can even automate some price negotiations and write contracts. As Suzanne Krpata, senior vice president of SAP customer experience, puts it, 'AI is no longer an option in sales.'
So much for the sales team, right? Wrong. Instead of automating the entire process, AI is 'the linchpin that lets sellers move from pushing products to providing real solutions,' according to Krpata.
'And with that shift, soft skills become indispensable.'
Turns out, buyers are people (who knew!). And people like other people. 'Customers want a human guide through the solutions, someone who can explain, connect, and reassure,' she says.
Consider a SaaS renewal meeting: Previously, a rep would gather basic account information and demographics before attempting to position their offerings—a time-consuming and imprecise process. Today, that same rep can take advantage of AI-analyzed usage data to engage a cross-functional team including account management, product specialists, and finance to craft a highly customized acquisition or retention strategy.
Instead of simply highlighting a subscription's existing value, reps can reconfigure offerings to coordinate perfectly with the customer's demonstrated needs—potentially including relevant, significant upsells. Time previously spent on calculations and administrative work can be devoted to more strategic discussions about the buyer's future goals, overcoming objections or pitfalls, fine-tuning processes and applications, and exploring more creative use cases.
The customer feels understood, the rep secures a win, and the vendor gains deeper market insights with every customer added or renewed.
Indeed, that higher level of thinking and flexibility is becoming table stakes. 'Customers expect a true joint investment in customer success. Sellers can use consumption data to act as trusted advisors, offering solutions that grow with the customer's needs,' says Krpata.
While aligning with customer expectations, CBP introduces new challenges and requires revamping sales processes for consumption pricing[LD1] . As Ben Chambers, an independent sales compensation consultant specializing in CBP models explains, 'It may be choppier waters than subscription-based models, but it's a better path to revenue growth, especially in competitive environments where core competitors are also offering usage-based pricing arrangements.'
'Companies are getting pushed into the pool,' he says. 'If they don't start swimming, they won't be able to win against the competitor that designs and delivers a lower-friction sales cycle requiring far less money up front.'
An effective customer success team using AI-driven analytics becomes crucial for maximizing CBP benefits. Krpata notes, 'AI enhances CBP models by simplifying data collection and recommending content that supports customer-tailored solutions, making the partnership more collaborative and value-driven.'
Today's customers expect personalization, transparency, and efficiency. They want real-time insights and tailored experiences that clearly demonstrate value. They don't want disconnected customer service experiences or to feel burdened with configuring the right services themselves; they expect vendors to handle this seamlessly, which modern AI tools now make possible.
Sales representatives must still build genuine connections, understand needs, and negotiate complex deals. 'Primarily, they should be using their skill sets to unlock demand and identify and win new business—things that take persuasion and selling skills,' says Chambers.
So what counts as 'authentic' in sales? Genuine sales relationships center on:
A quickly widening variety of AI-powered tools for sales training and support are available. These tools can enhance soft skills by helping sales representatives:
However, Krpata emphasizes again that human connection remains irreplaceable. 'A trusted advisor relationship is built 100% on soft skills. How do I connect with you? How do I truly understand and listen to what you need? And then, how do I propose solutions that meet those needs? AI can't do those things, but it can empower them.'
The most successful sales organizations will use AI as a strategic enabler of human connections—using real-time data to support genuine, transparent person-to-person relationships rather than attempting to replace them.
A version of this story also appears on SAP.com.