The #1 objection I hear to AI in sales is that what matters most in sales in B2B and SaaS is being a “good people person”. That does matter.  It matter even more in field sales, in-person sales, and true enterprise sales.

But is it enough in the age of AI?  When your AI will instantly be a product expert, working 24×7?

And will it even matter in routine SMB sales, that are 1-2 call closes?

Kyle Norton, CRO of Owner and I exploded this.  They do a lot of 1 call closes, with a lot of AI.

AI vs Human Sales: Are “People Persons” in Inside Sales … About to Become Obsolete?

The uncomfortable truth about what AI means for sales roles—and why being a “people person” isn’t enough anymore

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The Knowledge Reality Check

Here’s a sobering thought experiment that happened recently: An AI system told a prospect they’d get 218 leads on average “for their type of person.” The human response? “I’ve never met a BDR this good.”

That single interaction encapsulates what might be the most significant shift in SaaS sales since the move from inside to digital-first selling. We’re witnessing the potential obsolescence of entire categories of sales professionals—and it’s happening faster than most realize.

The AI Sales Rep Already Wins on the Basics

Let’s start with the obvious advantages that AI sales reps have locked down:

Available 24/7. No more “let me check with my manager and get back to you next week.” No more timezone gymnastics. No more waiting for responses while your project timeline slips.

Knows the product cold. Every feature, every integration, every edge case. No “great question, let me ask engineering and circle back.” The AI has already read every doc, every GitHub issue, every support ticket.

Doesn’t lie or make stuff up to close deals. This one hits different. How many times have you been burned by a sales rep who oversold capabilities? Who promised features that didn’t exist? Who bent the truth just enough to get the signature? AI doesn’t have quota pressure. It doesn’t need commission. It just tells you what the product actually does.

The Mediocre Middle Is Disappearing

The blunt reality: Mediocre BDRs will be out of business within a year.

This isn’t hyperbole. When an AI can qualify prospects better than most human BDRs, deliver more accurate information, and never forget a single detail about your product or previous conversations, the value proposition for average performers evaporates.

The traditional qualification process—that smarmy dance we all recognize and hate—is particularly vulnerable. Prospects can smell qualification from a mile away, and they despise it. Why force them through a human-powered process that feels manipulative when AI can handle initial screening more naturally and efficiently?

The “People Person” Myth Exploded

This brings us to sales’ most persistent and dangerous myth: “I’m a people person, and people like to talk to people.”

Here’s the uncomfortable truth that’s about to reshape our industry: People don’t want to talk to you because you’re a “people person.” They want to talk to the best solution architect in the world who also deployed their exact use case at a very similar company with similar needs.

Being able to chat about who won the NBA finals doesn’t close deals. Knowing your product cold does. Understanding your prospect’s specific industry challenges does. Having deployed solutions for similar companies does.

The “people person” sales profile that relies on smooth talking and relationship building? The Challenger Sales methodology already identified this as one of the worst-performing profiles years ago. AI is just accelerating its demise.

When AI Becomes the Preferred Option

Something fascinating is happening in early AI sales implementations: Customers are preferring great AI over mediocre humans.

Real feedback from AI sales interactions includes phrases like:

• “You’re awesome, thanks for doing what you’re doing”
• “Great help, thank you”
• “This is exactly what I needed”

Said to an AI.

This preference emerges especially when:

• Prospects are working outside business hours (6 PM calls)
• They don’t want to wait for scheduling
• They need immediate, accurate product information
• They want to avoid the typical sales qualification process

The AI knows the product cold, never forgets details, and doesn’t make prospects jump through qualification hoops. For many buying scenarios, that’s superior to human interaction.

The Survival Strategies: What Still Works

Not all sales roles are doomed. The pattern emerging shows clear winners and losers:

Still Valuable: The Elite Performers

• Solution architects who can ask incisive business questions
• Sales engineers with deep product knowledge AND industry experience
• Account executives who’ve worked with similar customers and can teach prospects something new
• Anyone following the Challenger methodology: teach, tailor, and take control

At Risk: The Commodity Players

• BDRs whose primary function is qualification
• “People person” AEs who rely on relationship building over product expertise
• Anyone who’s essentially “punching a clock” in their sales role

The Technical Knowledge Imperative

The new baseline for sales survival isn’t personality—it’s technical and industry competence. You need to be a product savant who can:

• Understand complex technical implementations
• Speak intelligently about industry-specific use cases
• Teach prospects something they didn’t know about their own business
• Tailor solutions based on deep understanding of similar deployments

The question every sales professional should ask: “Do I know my product and market better than AI can?”

If the answer is no, you’re in trouble.

The Niche Exception: High-Touch, Relationship-Driven Markets

There’s one important caveat: Some markets still prefer human interaction, particularly:

• Non-tech-savvy buyers (like restaurant operators)
• High-value, complex enterprise deals requiring relationship building
• Industries with strong relationship-based buying cultures

But even here, the human advantage is temporary. As AI becomes more sophisticated and as digital natives move into decision-making roles, these exceptions will shrink.

What This Means for B2B and SaaS Leaders

For Sales Leaders:

• Start auditing your team against the “could AI do this better?” test
• Invest heavily in product and industry training for your remaining human sales team
• Begin experimenting with AI sales tools now, not later
• Prepare for a smaller, more specialized sales org

For Individual Sales Professionals:

• Become genuinely expert in your product and target industries
• Develop skills in asking business-critical questions that AI can’t
• Focus on complex, high-value scenarios where human judgment matters
• Consider specializing in specific verticals or use cases

The Timeline Reality

This isn’t a distant future scenario. Early implementations are already showing superior performance in specific use cases. The companies experimenting with AI sales tools today are seeing measurable improvements over human baselines.

The transition period will be shorter than many realize. Unlike previous sales technology adoptions that took years, AI tools can be deployed and show results within months.

The Bottom Line

The age of the “people person” in sales is ending. What’s replacing it isn’t robots taking over human relationships—it’s AI systems that are simply better at the product knowledge and initial qualification tasks that mediocre salespeople rely on.

The survivors will be those who can do what AI can’t: ask the right business questions, provide strategic guidance based on deep experience, and handle the most complex, high-stakes conversations.

Everyone else? Time to level up your product knowledge, or start looking for a new career path.

The great sales re-sorting has begun. Which side of it will you be on?