Chat GPT Imagines a New (unpublished) Sales Book

AI is going to have a profound impact on sales in the translation industry:  the services we sell, how we sell and how we manage salespeople and sales processes.  The productivity gains for salespeople who integrate AI into their activities can be significant.  A study conducted by Salesforce shows that high performing salespeople who leverage AI in their work realized major improvements in forecasting accuracy (41%), use of their time (41%) and personalizing customer communication (39%), to name a few.

Using AI to research customer organizations, industry-specific trends, news and other aspects of a client’s business is also a great way to develop a more compelling value proposition for potential customers. 

But we also need to exercise caution when using tools such as Chat GPT and validate the information we uncover.  I had the opportunity to discover the importance of this when preparing a presentation on the AI’s current and potential impact on sales.  I decided to use Chat GPT to see if any books had been written on the subject so I could learn more.  I asked:

I am learning about AI’s impact on sales. What resources should I be reading?

ChatGPT:
Learning about AI’s impact on sales is a great initiative! Here are some resources that can provide valuable insights into this topic:

Books:

1. “Sales 4.0: The Evolution of Selling through Insight and Automation” by Konrath, Davis, and Bloom: Explores how technology, including AI, is transforming the sales landscape.

I was excited to see a book that had been co-authored by one of my favorite sales authors, Jill Konrath.  I immediately went to Amazon to download the book.  There was only one problem:  it didn’t exist.  I went to Jill Konrath’s website to see if I could find it there, but no luck.  I Googled it and once again came up empty handed.  It had seemed so credible!  But it seems Chat GPT had simply made it up (unless it has some inside information!).   I also found it interesting that Chat GPT failed to mention a few books on AI in sales that ARE real and readily available on Amazon and other sources.

I subsequently used more specific prompting techniques that I’ve learned in an AI course I’m currently taking and Chat GPT did offer a more coherent response and even mentioned one of the AI books I’d seen on Amazon.   The lesson here is to be more directive and specific when prompting Chat GPT, especially when we’re researching a prospective client or industry for proposals and other client-directed communications.  It’s a great tool for salespeople, but hallucinations are very real indeed.  This one was fun…others might not be so much.