“Don’t ever forget, our secret power is our ability to cooperate with each other.”

THE IDEA:  Jeff Bezos has built a legacy disrupting industries and reshaping the service sector by asking different questions. I find one of his questions essential.  Bezos once shared, “I often get the question ‘In the next 10 years, what is going to change?’ But I rarely get the question ‘What is not going to change?’ Are you investing in what’s “not” changing in your life?

I recently led a group discussion with a leadership team of a company I was coaching, and we were digging into the future of our industry. One member within the team bluntly stated, “I am not sure which customers and competitors will be standing in a few years.”  He went further, “are we evolving quick enough to meet the moment.”  Change was in the air.

Even though we live in a WORLD OF TRANSFORMATION some fundamentals remain the same.  The human touch is still a powerful differentiating force. Three reference points:

  1. 75% of consumers still consider it vital to interact with a real person when seeking customer service insight. (PwC)
  2. 50% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase from a company if they have a personal connection with the salesperson. (LinkedIn Research)
  3. 85% of sales or change management success is attributable to likeability, warmth, friendliness and showing genuine interest in others. (Harvard)

Our humanity still matters, but many overestimate their Emotional Intelligence and the quality of their own soft skills. It is breathtaking to consider that 80% of organizations believe they offer EXCEPTIONAL service, but only 8% of buyers agreed with that assertion. (Source: Gartner)

In an era where technological disruption reshapes industries overnight, survival hinges not solely on technical knowledge, but on the finesse of our interpersonal skills. Evolve or perish that’s the clarion call of a world demanding emotional intelligence, communication fitness, and empathy. These five skills are on everyone’s minds these days and are not going anywhere.


THE TOP 5 ENDURING SKILLS

  1. THRIVING IN AMBIGUITY: The ability to understand nuance, embracing uncertainty, and negotiating difficult relational agreements to achieve win-win outcomes for all involved.
  2. 1-ON-1 COACHING: Inspiring and guiding your team and partners, fostering a culture of candor, while building other’s future skills and leadership capacity.
  3. RESILIENCE: Flexibility, grit, and adaptability are vital to navigate changing market conditions and customer preferences. We must learn to love failure, adjust, and connect dots to learn in real-time.
  4. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The presence to understand and manage one’s emotions under duress, read the room, and build loyal teams. Great leaders are emotionally healthy leaders.
  5. MITIGATING RISKS: Holistic skills to proactively identify threats or risks and quickly fix costly internal problems or customer business challenges.

In a world increasingly driven by A.I. let’s remember: the essence of successful customer relationships lies in human connection. So, as we dive into the future of sales services, remember while technology might one day handle heavy lifting, it’ll never replace a touch, smile, or understand a Monday morning meltdown like humans do. Keep your interpersonal skills sharp. Remember a handwritten ‘thank you’ note beats a pre-programmed email every day.

 

“The human touch is the heart of an organization. It’s the empathy in a message,
and the sincerity in the response that leaves a lasting imprint.”