Dear Mike,


New technologies are transforming our life and work. Are they really a good thing? Are there dangerous consequences? Yes, in ways you might not expect.

"That's Good, no That's Bad"


We live in an era of paradoxes. We use so many time-saving technologies, yet we are busier than ever. There are new diet programs and medications, yet Americans are more obese than ever. Cars are safer, yet traffic fatalities are rising. It's so easy to travel, mingle, and socialize, yet people are lonelier than ever. It's never been easier to learn and research, yet reading, math and reasoning skills are declining.


All these trends are examples of "second level consequences." What happens much later, after the transformative technology gets widely adopted.


We've all heard the warnings and fears of runaway machine intelligence. Those ideas are scary and alarming. I'm more interested in AI's second level impact on the sales profession.

The Hour Between Dog and Wolf

A century's old French saying l’heure entre chien et loup, refers to twilight or dusk, a time of day when the light fades, and it becomes difficult to distinguish between a dog (a familiar and friendly creature) and a wolf (a potentially dangerous one).


"The Hour Between Dog and Wolf" is that time when there is uncertainty, and we can't tell if something is positive, negative, or some combination of both.


Here is just one example of the many books and articles using this metaphor:

Where Value in Sales Really Lies


I often hear salespeople complain that "all customers care about is price". While it's true that price will always be an important factor, this sentiment completely misses the point. No customer would ever spend anything at all if they didn't need some service or benefit.


Here is an illustration with Red Hat Linux. This company's core offer is Linux, something that can be downloaded for free by anyone. Red Hat built it's business around something that costs nothing. Yet the company became so valuable that IBM paid $34 Billion to acquire it in 2018.

Yes, that's right. IBM paid $34B to buy a company that sells something that can be acquired for free. Why? Red Hat provides the services to make the free software actually perform and accomplish real work. They:


  • Configure the software optimally
  • Deploy the software professionally
  • Integrate all the applications to ensure they work together
  • Train the users and administrators
  • Provide technical support
  • Handle Upgrades and Patch Management

In short, the value is in making the freeware work. But when you take one look at this list, you can see a future problem. Every one of these tasks can be performed with artificial intelligence in some form today. Not as well as the best people, perhaps, but it won't be too long before AI can do it better. And lots cheaper.

What's Going to Happen to Sales When:


  • Customers can design better solutions than salespeople by using AI?
  • Customers can compare alternative solutions better than salespeople by using AI?
  • Customers can price shop more effectively using AI?
  • Customers can go directly to providers and cut out the middleman?
  • Customers can build multi-year roadmaps better than a VCIO using AI?


Yes, it's the hour between dog and wolf for all of us in the sales profession. Everyone talks about how AI is going to make selling better and more effective. It certainly will, and smart sellers are gaining a competitive advantage with it right now. They see a friendly dog.


For fast-talking, glad-handing, commission-chasing, order-taking hustlers, what they see on the horizon is a wolf. And rightly so.

Bonus Chuckle

Here is another example of second level consequences. A classic strip from my favorite cartoonist artist, Ruben Bolling:


What if Hemmingway had an iPhone?

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Meet the "Hit Mann"
Mike Schmidtmann coaches business owners and sales leaders across the USA. He works to drive results in sales recruiting, new business development, and profitability.

Mike led sales for Inacom Communications for ten years. then founded and built a $30 Million business unit for SPS.

Mike produces the award-winning Trans4mers webinar series on IT sales and management subjects. He is a frequent public speaker on business topics.

He lives on a farm in Northern Virginia with his family and assorted horses, alpacas, goats and dogs.
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E-Mail Mike with a vexing and perplexing question and you'll get a telling and compelling reply.
Mike Schmidtmann

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