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AI Takes the UK By Storm: 5 Strategic Developments

The United Kingdom (UK) is the beating heart of European tech as the continent’s best-funded country and investment attraction. The UK’s AI sector has been booming over the past few years, with a third of Europe’s AI start-up companies located in the UK. There are currently over 1,300 AI companies in the country – a whopping 600% increment over the last decade. Here are five important developments that highlight the UK’s journey to becoming a global AI superpower.  

 

1. The UK AI market is estimated to grow to over $1tn by 2035 

According to a 2023 study by The International Trade Administration, the current AI market in the UK is valued at over $21bn. That number is predicted to grow exponentially to more than $1tn by 2035 and may improve the UK’s current standing as the third largest AI market globally behind the U.S. and China.  

The UK is also attracting lucrative investments from tech companies across the pond. Salesforce is planning to invest $4 billion in its UK business in the next five years in response to strong demand for AI and digital transformation. Furthermore, Google has partnered with the University of Cambridge to drive progress in responsible AI through a multi-year research collaboration agreement and a grant for the university’s new Centre for Human-Inspired AI.  

Additionally, the UK is a market leader in open source AI, home to providers such as Significant Gravitas and Stability-AI. Founded in 2018, Significant Gravitas made a name for itself with the development of AutoGPT, a semiautonomous variant of ChatGPT. Significant Gravitas’ open AI code repository is number one in the UK and is the second AI project to gain 100,000 stars on GitHub.  

Furthermore, research by the Office for Artificial Intelligence and the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology discovered that over 3,000 companies in the UK generated £10.6bn in AI-related revenue in 2022. 60% of AI businesses are purely AI companies, while 40% are diversified companies with AI offerings. 

The study also found that the industries that widely utilize AI are: 

  • Automotive 
  • Industrial automation and machinery 
  • Energy, utilities and renewables 
  • Health, wellbeing and medical practice 
  • Agricultural technology  
 

2. The UK AI sector is booming with £18.8bn investment, £3.7bn GVA, and 50,000 jobs 

More than 50,000 people work in AI-related roles, yielding £3.7bn in gross value added (GVA). The AI sector has also secured £18.8bn in private funding since 2016. Research from McKinsey also predicts that the value of generative AI could be equivalent to the UK’s total GDP to the work economy over the next few years. 

Recognizing AI’s potential to spur economic growth, the government introduced the National AI Strategy in 2021. This initiative sets out the UK’s strategic intent to guide action over the next ten years across three pillars: planning for the long-term needs of the AI ecosystem, ensuring AI benefits all sectors and regions, and getting national and international governance of AI technologies right. So far, the National AI Strategy has led to the publication of The Future of Compute Review, an AI regulation policy paper, which prompted a full range of stakeholder feedback.  

In addition, former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair and William Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, released a joint report, A new national purpose: AI promises a world-leading future of Britain, which described AI as “the most important technology of our generation.” The report also indicated that the UK could pioneer the deployment and use of AI technology in the real world, “building next-generation companies and creating a 21st-century strategic state”. Strategies on how to achieve this include launching major AI talent programs, requiring generative AI companies to label synthetic media, and building AI-era infrastructure as a public asset. 

In early 2023, the UK government announced the building of a £900 million supercomputer to drive the country’s AI research and innovation capabilities that will be housed at the University of Bristol. The government also plans to invest £100m to position the country as a key player in producing AI-powered computer chips. An order of up to 5,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia is already in the advanced stages.  

There are numerous government initiatives to help UK companies fund solutions around AI development. For instance, the Fairness Innovation Challenge allows companies to apply for up to £400,000 in government investment to produce solutions to combat bias and discrimination in AI systems. This is in response to the challenges companies are facing with AI bias, such as inadequate access to data on demographics, and ensuring potential solutions meet legal requirements. According to a report by the Bank of England, AI bias could have serious repercussions in the finance sector, especially when incorrect data points affect mortgage lending practices.  

 

3. AI and machine learning are tech leaders’ priorities to drive innovation and efficiency 

AI is unsurprisingly a strong investment area among IT and digital leaders in the UK. A survey conducted by Info-Tech found that over 30% of IT leaders have investments in AI and machine learning in their organizations. When it comes to security tools, 79% of IT leaders favor those involving AI and machine learning functions (CyberEdge).  Another important finding from the survey is that AI is the fastest-growing technology for investment in 2023 and is the second most popular technology after cloud computing.  

Speaking of the cloud, AI capabilities are key to further cloud implementation. Both AI and machine learning are vital to accessing large volumes of data and scalability through the cloud. 

According to a 2023 study by Tata Consultancy Services: 

  • 74% of respondents have invested in AI and machine learning over the last two years to propel cloud innovation 
  • 78% plan to invest in the next year or two 
  • 80% reported that AI tools have boosted employee productivity, decision-making, and process efficiency 

According to the FIS Global Innovation Report, generative AI is a priority for many UK business leaders with 60% already adopting the technology and planning to increase spending within the next year to remain competitive. 

In April 2023, a report on post-pandemic economic growth by the House of Commons Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Committee highlighted the potential impact of AI on employee productivity in the UK. Based on original research by Deloitte, notable findings include that AI could boost UK labor market productivity by 25% by 2035. Additionally, research by EY found that senior business leaders in the UK are keen to develop AI technologies to spur economic growth and are looking for guidance due to the country’s complex AI regulation and compliance landscape.  

 

4. The UK government is tackling AI risks amid employee pushback on workplace usage   

Despite AI’s widespread adoption and visible benefits, AI has been officially classed as a security threat to the UK for the first time following the publication of the National Risk Register (NRR) 2023. There has also been pushback from employees on the usage of AI in the workplace.  

According to Randstad UK: 

  • 3 in 5 workers want AI banned from the workplace 
  • 60% of workers would support a government decision to ban AI from the workplace 
  • 37% would not use AI tools for work-related tasks, while 27% would consider it 
  • 2 in 5 workers said they were already using AI tools at work 

A separate study by Forbes Advisor found that the top AI concerns among UK citizens were:  

  • Dependence on AI and loss of human skills (42%) 
  • Autonomous AI systems making decisions without human intervention (39%) 
  • Job displacement and impact on employment (39%) 

In addition, only 45% of employees in the UK are confident that their organization’s risk management processes can support enterprise-wide generative AI integration (Avanade). Trade Union’s Congress (TUC), the UK’s biggest trade union, has created a task force to draft urgent legislation to protect workers’ rights and ensure jobs are not lost to AI. The task force aims to publish and lobby the AI and Employment Bill in 2024.  

The UK government has been proactive in developing frameworks and strategies around AI use to mitigate risks and increase transparency. For instance, the creation of the Frontier AI Taskforce to develop safe AI practices for the future and ensure the UK has sovereign capabilities and broad adoption of safe and reliable foundation models. The UK government will also host its Global AI Safety Summit in November 2023 where it will announce an international AI advisory group and kickstart international discussions on AI regulation. Leading up to the summit, the government body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), declared that it will invest £37m in AI projects to help businesses and research organizations pioneer AI and machine learning solutions.  

Additionally, the UK’s House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee opened its inquiry into large language models (LLMs) in September 2023. Issues that were covered in the session include how LLMs differ from other forms of AI and their evolution over the next three years, the role and structure of the Foundation Model Taskforce, and the government’s role in responding to the opportunities and risks presented by LLMs.  

 

5. AI has been adopted by the UK’s largest corporations, from Unilever to Rolls-Royce 

Let’s look at notable use cases across different industries in the UK: 

  • Consumer Goods: Unilever has harnessed GPT API to create AI tools that minimize food waste, auto-generate product listings, and filter emails sent to customer service, sorting spam from legitimate messages. AI tools reduced the amount of time customer service agents spent responding to customers by more than 90%. 
  • Aerospace and Defense: Rolls-Royce has adopted predictive analytics and machine learning to reduce aircraft engine emissions and optimize maintenance, enabling customers to keep planes in the air longer. AI-powered processes have helped Rolls-Royce extend the time between maintenance for some engines by up to 50% and save 22 million tons of carbon.  
  • Beauty and Cosmetics: Estée Lauder applied AI, augmented reality (AR), and machine learning capabilities to develop a Voice-enabled Makeup Assistant (VMA) to support visually impaired individuals in selecting suitable products. The VMA utilizes AI technologies to analyze makeup on the customer’s face and uses voice guidance to help customers create their ideal look.  
  • Retail: Marks & Spencer has deployed cutting-edge computer vision technology in over 500 of its stores. Using handheld devices with built-in AI, store associates can capture images of products on shelves and compare them to store-specific planograms in real time. This innovative approach ensures a well-organized and customer-friendly shopping experience. 
  • Finance: Nationwide Building Society (NBS) uses AI to create synthetic data that is statistically similar to real data but does not contain any personally identifiable information. This allows NBS to share data with vendors for validation and other purposes without compromising customer privacy. By using synthetic data, NBS has been able to reduce the time needed to supply data for vendors from six months to three days.  
  • Healthcare: KPMG developed a machine learning algorithm to predict which patients were likely to breach the 4-hour waiting time target in A&E, and to identify ways to reduce waiting times. The algorithm was trained on anonymized patient records and dynamic data about hospital operations. The algorithm was able to successfully identify 79% of patients who would breach the 4-hour waiting time target at the point of arrival. 
  • Manufacturing: ENEL partnered with AVEVA to develop an AI solution to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet sustainability targets. The AI solution identifies risks within ENEL’s power generation fleet and provides instructions on how to mitigate those risks, minimizing the impact on major assets and production operations. The AI solution has detected dozens of issues, enabling ENEL to improve operational efficiency, lower maintenance costs, and ensure maximum power generation. 
 

Although there are numerous governmental initiatives, frameworks, and discussions on AI use, there is currently no comprehensive law governing the deployment of AI for UK businesses. Some clarity was given in a policy paper titled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation that suggests an alternative approach to AI governance by only regulating AI when needed. However, the government is committed to staying ahead of AI developments and working with stakeholders to develop effective regulations to minimize risks and spur AI innovation.  

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7 B2B Networking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

B2B networking is one of the pillars of sales and marketing. In fact, the closing rate for customers obtained via business networking is 40% (Hubspot). Mastering the art of B2B networking is essential for every sales professional to build relationships with potential customers, learn about new opportunities, and stay ahead of the competition.

However, it can be a tough task as there are some B2B networking mistakes that even experienced salespeople might make that can them valuable time and resources. Fortunately, with every challenge there are solutions.

 

1. Being Unprepared

 

The worst thing you can be at a networking event, either virtual or physical, is unprepared. Not knowing who might be attending or the agenda of the events will lead you to uninteresting, surface level conversations. More importantly, you need to know which attendees are within your target market is so you can focus on networking with the right people. In sales, a buyer persona is your biggest asset and can lead to a 171% increase in sales for companies as they understand who their target market is (Zipdo).

In that vein, doing a little research on the specific people you want to network with at events will save you a lot of time and give you the best opportunity to connect with the right people.

Steps:

  • Request a list of attendees prior to the event (if possible) and research them and their companies. Look up any interviews they might have done and find out about their latest projects. This can help spark conversations.
  • Make a shortlist of who you’d most like to meet and connect with them on LinkedIn before the event.
  • Make a note of the interesting sessions at the event, especially those related to your product or services, so you can attend and find attendees to connect with who were interested in the same session.
 

2. Overselling

 

Networking is a skill that requires subtlety and precision. A salesperson who turns every conversation into a sales pitch and only talks about their own products and services is setting themselves up to fail.

Instead, focus on active listening – that’s a big part of communicating and forging a connection. People want to know that their needs and challenges are heard. Listen to understand and tailor your responses accordingly. Networking is about building relationships, not making a sale.

Steps:

  • Begin a conversation by asking about specific topics that were discussed at the event.
  • Guide the conversation towards their needs, challenges, and interests in that area.
  • Ask open ended questions and listen attentively so you can ask relevant follow-up questions.
 

3. Fumbling Your Introduction

 

A big challenge of networking events, especially in-person ones, is the limited time you may have to speak to everyone. There’s a lot of movement and social interactions happening, which means you must make a good impression immediately or risk losing people’s interest.

Something as simple as a firm handshake can provide a good first impressions for 72% of people who are meeting in-person. Approaching with confidence is also key as 70% of communication is non-verbal. Your posture, demeanour, and how you choose to approach someone will set the tone for the rest of the conversation.

Steps:

  • Prepare two to three simple introductions you can use when meeting people that will set you apart. Make sure to include who you are, what you do, and your interest. End the introduction with a question for the person you’re talking to that will push the conversation forward.
  • Prepare conversation boosters you can call on when needed if an interaction seems to be struggling. These should be open ended questions about their interest, current events, or share experiences.
  • In a virtual setting, you can include a link to your LinkedIn profile or website as part of your introduction.
 

4. Being Inflexible

 

When attending any networking event, be it virtual or in-person, you will meet all kinds of personalities. A style of approach that works on one person may not work for another, which means you must be flexible in your style of communication.

Attention is key. If you notice someone only speaks up when asked different questions, do that. There may be those who prefer talking about current events or others who prefer exchanging business cards first before talking about anything. You need to be adaptable and mirror the style of the person you’re networking in – that is how you can build trust and familiarity. This is especially true for in-person networking which professionals agree gives them the ability to read body language and facial expressions (77%) which can lead to building stronger business relationships.

Beyond that, Gitnux found that 80% of B2B buyers expect a B2C-like experience, which tends to be more personalised. This is where you can shine, by adjusting your style to suit the person you’re talking to.

Steps:

  • Pay attention to how the person speaks and their body language to mirror their stance and subtle movements.
  • Listen actively and adjust your tone, pace, and language to match the person you’re engaging with.
  • If you notice that the person you are talking to is disengaged, politely excuse yourself and offer a business card as a gesture of good faith. Do not take it personally.
 

5. Ending A Conversation Abruptly

 

How you end a conversation is just as important as first impressions. It’s your final chance to make a mark with the person you’re talking to and sometimes, it can be exactly what they remember you for. Fumbling your exit is a B2B networking mistake that can undo all the great work you’ve done so far to cultivate a professional connection.

If you remember to do just one thing, let it be an offer to connect on social media such as LinkedIn or Facebook, which are the two largest platforms used by business professionals. In fact, 35% of businesses professionals note that a conversation on LinkedIn has led to fresh opportunities including business partnerships. Make the most of that.

Steps:

  • Make sure to give out your business card, if you hadn’t already, at the end of the conversation. When receiving a card, make sure to accept graciously and stow it away in a separate pocket from your own.
  • Thank them for their time and insight. Tell them you enjoyed the chat and recount any key points that stood out to you.
  • Keep it light, friendly, and suggest a follow-up conversation or meeting. Offer to connect on LinkedIn.
 

6.  Mishandling Business Cards

 

Though it may seem arbitrary in a digital age, business cards are still an important element of B2B networking. Exchanging them is a sign of respect and a quick way to exchange contact details. Research suggests that 63% of people throw away business cards within 7 days of receiving them, but that sales still increase by 2.5% for every 2,000 business cards handed out. It’s a numbers game that you can win by giving out your cards to as many people as possible.

On the other hand, what you do with business cards that you receive is equally important. Receiving a business card isn’t just an exchange of contact details, it’s an invitation to stay in touch. You do not want to mishandle that gift and risk losing the connection you just made.

Steps:

  • Give out your business card while clearly pointing out any personal contact details such as a personal phone number or extension.
  • When you receive a business card, take a pause to look at it properly and ask a question about the information on the card i.e the company’s location, the person’s title, the design of the card.
  • Ensure that you place the business card in a separate pocket or card holder to keep it from getting mixed up with your own.
 

7.  Not Setting a Follow-up

 

The whole reason for networking is to create connections and grow possibilities. This is especially true given that 69.7% of attendees consider in-person B2B conferences as the best opportunity to lead about new products or services (Bizzabo).

So not following up on connections made while networking is essentially letting a lead go cold. All that work would have been wasted otherwise. It’s also important not to start follow-up with a sales pitch.

Steps:

  • Before exiting the conversation, make sure to offer connecting on online by exchanging LinkedIn profiles and/or email addresses.
  • Offer to meet again sometime soon to share more insights on the conversation you were just having. If you sense potential, invite them to schedule a one-to-one meeting.
  • Make sure to follow-up within the first 48 hours to thank them for their time. Reference a point in the conversation you had and make it clear that you are happy to continue the conversation.
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AI Literacy: A Must-Have Skill for the Modern Business Leader

Today’s business leaders need to sharpen their AI literacy skills to implement, scale, and leverage the technology in their organizations effectively. In this exclusive interview, Daniel Käfer, former Danish Country Head for Meta and Global Digital Marketing Director at Ooredoo; shares expert insights on why AI implementation starts at the top, what makes a successful AI strategy, measures to recruit and retain AI talent, and more.  

 
Daniel Käfer’s remarkable career in tech includes roles as the Danish Country Head for Meta and Global Group Director of Digital Marketing at Ooredoo, a renowned international telecommunications provider across MENA and APAC. He is now considered a distinguished tech leader, author, and entrepreneur; and is a partner at www.supertrends.com – a platform that maps out both past and future tech innovations with help from AI.
 

Key Takeaways from Daniel Käfer 

  • “AI is not hype. In five years, ChatGPT and similar tools will be 10 times more effective than it is today. AI is going to grow quicker than anything we’ve seen before.” 
  • “It’s the responsibility of the CEO and board members to set the direction for AI in their organizations, not the Head of Digital or other roles.” 
  • “Building a digital transformation-AI team and retaining the most talented employees will be more challenging than ever.” 
  • “Get started today. Experiment with different AI tools to help you understand the technology. When you use your knowledge together with the tools, you will see the power of AI. Invest the time needed to get the best results.” 
 

Why is AI considered a super trend?

AI impacts all other trends. No trend in the world is bigger than AI and I believe we are just in the beginning. AI will impact every area of our life. I think we still see people divided. There are more people discussing AI than using it. AI is very underestimated; most people understand to what extent AI can support us with many of the challenges we face.  

When I speak to business leaders, AI is under-hyped and under-leveraged. There’s some fear when it comes to AI on many levels. Even when people consider their own career, right? How do you embrace something that will become more intelligent than you and will probably outcompete you in several areas?  

The average age of a board member in a S&P 500 company is well into his 60s. And if you look at the users of ChatGPT, it’s only really used among college students according to the numbers. There’s a generation gap to some extent and the 2% who have tried that ChatGPT has not really tried it. They scratched the surface but were left disappointed.

But it’s a complex tool. It’s like giving somebody a huge book and they only go through a few pages and say, “It’s not for me, I’m not sure what it can do for me.” So, I think it’s misunderstood. I think people do not invest the time they need in AI to really understand and leverage it at this point. 

 

What are the building blocks of a solid AI strategy?

Before we were discussing AI, we were discussing digital transformation. I’ve been part of putting a digital transformation team together myself and trust me, it’s difficult. It takes experts to hire experts. When you add AI to this complexity, it gets even more difficult. So where do you start?  

You need to start at the very top and make sure that AI is part of the strategy at the CEO and board level. You cannot just assign someone to take care of AI, it must be at the very top level. Get some people in and start working on strategy. The type of AI tools you choose doesn’t matter at this point.  

The most important questions now are, “Do we use AI?” And the answer should be yes. And the other one is, “How do we use it?” And then make some strategic decisions. For example, there could be areas in terms of copyright where you might not want to use AI for music or pictures. However, there could be other areas where AI could be leveraged, such as recording, transcribing, and summarizing meetings. You might also use it in recruiting or marketing.  

There are so many areas, but I think it’s more about defining how to use it, where to use it, and then creating a plan for using it. You might not start with a perfect tool. I don’t think that’s a big issue. It’s more about getting it at the right level and having a strategy in place. 

 

What jobs will AI replace? What can leaders do to prepare their employees?

I spoke with people from the advertising industry, and they admitted that a job that would normally take two to three weeks with four full-time people plus contractors can now be done by one person in a matter of hours with the help of AI.  

Firstly, people will not lose their jobs to AI, but they will lose their jobs to people using AI. There’s nothing we can do about that. That’s just the fact of the future and this will only accelerate. People always say, “If I only have more time to do this.” With AI you do have more time. When I was working at Ooredoo and Meta, there were a ton of projects where we wished we had more time. They were not completed because there were not enough resources.  

As long as we’re asking for more resources, and I’ve yet to meet a company that’s not doing that, AI does not have to displace jobs. However, I’m not saying that there’s no risk of losing your job to AI. Most people see the greater good of AI, but they do not want to be negatively impacted by it. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Jobs with repetitive tasks will be the first to go. But skills like good communication and coming up with out-of-the-box ideas cannot be replicated by AI. 

Leaders need to encourage their people to be open to change and identify where they can add value in the future.  

 

Why must leaders include employees in the company’s AI strategy?

Transparency in communicating the benefits of AI is important. AI can be a big motivator in a way. For example, employees may want to know how AI will improve the company’s offerings.  

If AI replaces automatic tasks, then some roles won’t be needed anymore. But if those people pivot, they can do something much more interesting in the workplace. Therefore, leaders need to explain the benefits of AI and the expectations needed for their employees to reap its benefits. You can’t say nobody will get fired because of AI and do the opposite. When one person loses their job, everybody will panic.  

It’s about getting the process clear on the management level and then explaining the benefits to the employees. But of course, be clear about the risks of not moving forward and developing AI. 

One of the biggest pitfalls around AI implementation is talking about it but not doing it.  

When leaders talk about how important and effective AI is but don’t have a plan, employees will not feel involved at all. There will be a huge negative effect if you don’t build that strategy.  

 

Why should leaders consider a humble approach to AI adoption?

I think we are all riddled with fear that we need to be a know-it-all at the executive level. I listened to a keynote from one of the Coca-Cola executives last week. The funny thing is, he started out saying, “I’m just learning, I’m actually really new to this, I don’t know a lot.”  

And of course, he’s got a great career within Coca-Cola so I’m sure he’s brilliant. But he just had this very humble approach to say that they’re still testing things out, some of it works and some doesn’t, and they don’t always know why.  

If we could have this humble approach, I think that will help in the future to map out where we can add value instead of being a know-it-all. We are not self-critical enough to know where we can add value and where we count. 

 

What are the challenges of recruiting and retaining AI talent?

The first challenge is understanding what you want. You may want somebody who’s skilled in AI but what does that mean? Is that a prompt engineer or someone who understands AI strategy? I would always recommend getting the strategy right first to build the frame of your AI department. Actually, I don’t see it as an AI department, I see it as a digital transformation department anchored very high up in the organization. 

It’s a mindset more than a technical skill.  

It’s about creating processes and making decisions. You don’t need a super technical guy to use Bard or Midjourney. Anybody can learn that. It’s like going to the gym. Once you start, it gets easier. If you have a decent digital transformation team, they can probably be part of the process. I would get the AI strategy in place before I do anything else. Unless you want, for example, to build a sophisticated chatbot, then hire an external expert. 

 

What is your advice for dealing with risks associated with intellectual property and privacy?

A tool like Midjourney basically works like an artist who gets inspired by millions of different artists until it creates something new. I think the more the models are trained, the less likely a prompt will be so specific that a single work would infringe on another work.  

The other risk is how a model is trained and who would be liable. I’m not a lawyer but I think that, for example, if Midjourney is trained on certain works and the copyright owner doesn’t allow it, Midjourney would be the first target more than its users.  

But that said, this is where companies need to sit down with their lawyers and assess AI risks. We don’t know where this ends and I do foresee many lawsuits within art, graphic design, and music. We will also see regulation taking place differently across the globe. I think Europe will lead with regulation but lack innovation, unfortunately. It also depends on where you do business, whether you’re global or local.  

 

How can companies with limited resources utilize AI?

AI and big tech have created huge advantages for smaller companies. ChatGPT is just one of the tools, but you can have a whole army of tools playing together for a couple of $100 a month.  

It’s not that complex. If you use ChatGPT in your strategy process, if you learn how to have conversations with ChatGPT, you’re already halfway there. Then you start to understand how you can use AI. You don’t have to build your own AI systems. It’s a matter of looking at your processes to see where you can save time and which areas need improvement.  AI can offer quick help with some processes but sometimes it’s more about opening your mind. For example, asking AI if it’s realistic to break into a new market.  

While AI may not give you the answer in the first prompt, it will start a conversation. 

 

*The interview answers have been edited for length and clarity.

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Always Be Closing: 3 Reasons to Redefine the ABC Sales Mindset

Always Be Closing has been a mantra for sales professionals since it was introduced in the 1992 movie Glengarry Glen Ross. Alec Baldwin’s character, Blake, is tasked with motivating a group of salespeople and strongly emphasizes that they should Always Be Closing (ABC) no matter what.   

The philosophy behind ABC is that sales professionals should focus 100% of their efforts on closing deals. ABC places pressure on sales professionals to use any tactics necessary to close a deal; and prioritizes persistence, determination, and ruthlessness.  

Without a doubt, the ABC mindset has helped sales professionals deliver KPIs and hit sales targets for years. However, sales professionals can’t only rely on ABC in today’s increasingly competitive B2B sales landscape. Here are three reasons why:  

 

1. B2B Customers are Smarter 

Today’s B2B customers are less susceptible to sales gimmicks and empty promises.  

They want to see real business use cases, data-driven results, and ROI. They would have already done their research about a product rather than asking a sales professional for it. Traditionally, ABC favors the salesperson in the sales process, completely ignoring the customer’s needs. This approach will only spell disaster with well-informed B2B customers.  

In fact, 61% of buyers have a positive sales experience when the sales professional is not pushy or aggressive (HubSpot). This is why building customer trust is paramount. Research by Gartner found that customers are more inclined to make a purchase when they trust a sales professional. The customer holds more power in today’s B2B sales landscape as they are smarter and savvier with the accessibility to information and reviews online.  

Consequently, today’s sales professionals have to spend more time generating leads, strategizing, and following up with customers rather than closing a sale. The focus has been shifted to the needs of the customer, rather than the seller. As Dale Carnegie famously said, “People don’t want to be sold to; they want to feel as if they’re buying.” 

 

2.  Personalization is Valued   

Instead of ABC, why not give Always Be Helping (ABH) a go? Coined by HubSpot, ABH focuses on understanding the pain points of the customer and finding solutions to their challenges. In contrast, the high-pressure approach of ABC may leave customers feeling like an ATM machine instead of a human. ABC may also hurt your company’s reputation if word gets out that aggressive sales tactics are being used, harming the chance of gaining new customers in the future.  

Today’s B2B customers expect a personalized and engaging purchasing experience, with 72% of them expecting vendors to personalize the sales process to their needs (Salesforce). With the ABH mindset, sales professionals can assist prospects at any stage of the sales funnel and create a customer-centric experience by providing resources and guidance to solve their challenges.  

The availability of tools and technologies today allows sales professionals to efficiently create solution-oriented strategies. CRM software, data analytics, and AI are powerful tools that can help sales professionals create personalized experiences for prospects. Sales professionals can also work with lead generation partners like ME Matchmaking that provides target group insights, a summary of investment areas, and list of pain points to help them tailor a personalized experience for each customer.  

By centralizing customer data, providing insights into customer behavior, and recommending next steps, these technologies can help sales professionals better understand their prospects’ needs and deliver more relevant and engaging outreach. 

 

3. Networking is the New Selling  

Successful sales professionals understand the value of networking and having a social presence. According to Salesforce, 58% of high-performing sales professionals have strong social network capabilities and know how to harness the power of social media platforms. Data on prospects is widely available on social media platforms – giving sales professionals no excuse not to do their research and connect with prospects directly online.  

Other than networking online, sales professionals can join in-person events with their target audience in attendance. At in-person events, sales professionals can connect with prospects directly and plant the seeds for a long-lasting business relationship. In addition, prospects can also put a face to a company when they interact with sales professionals in real life.  

The ABC practice asks sales professionals to abandon leads once they are cold and move on to finding new ones. Networking online or in-person presents numerous opportunities for sales professionals to reignite a connection with cold leads and nurture them into deals. In fact, the Demand Generation Report noted that events are the most effective lead generation strategy, at 68%. For example, ME Matchmaking clients can attend full-day invitation-only local events where sales professionals can network with hundreds of top decision-makers in the region under one roof. 

 

A modern B2B sales professional’s role has expanded beyond closing. It’s about connecting with prospects, understanding their needs, and offering solutions that can drive business results. Therefore, sales professionals should combine the ABC approach with modern sales practices to create value, build customer trust, and foster long-term professional relationships.