By Ioanna Mantzouridou Onasi, Co-founder & CEO, Dextego and Chris Ray, Co-founder, Sales Unicrn
In today’s rapidly evolving sales environment, AI-powered platforms like Dextego are revolutionizing how businesses approach soft skills coaching, in particular for sales enablement. By leveraging data from top sales experts and combining it with a company’s internal knowledge, Dextego provides real-time, personalized coaching that boosts engagement, reduces turnover, and shortens sales cycles. But while AI is transforming many operational aspects of sales, there’s one area where machines fall short: the human touch.
No matter how advanced technology becomes, human soft skills remain the cornerstone of building meaningful relationships with clients. Empathy, emotional intelligence (EQ), and active listening are crucial in understanding clients' true needs and fostering trust—something AI cannot replicate. For founders, especially those in the early stages of a startup, these soft skills are essential for building strong teams and steering the company toward product-market fit. Whether you are a founder doing founder-led sales or a sales manager leading a group of sales people you can’t afford to waste valuable time with old training methods. While AI can provide data-driven insights, a business that fosters genuine human connection has a clear competitive advantage.
For sales professionals, particularly in customer-facing roles, adaptability, effective communication, and managing interpersonal dynamics are essential. AI can streamline many processes, but human problem-solving, negotiation, and the ability to forge personal connections are what close deals and build lasting relationships. Success in sales today hinges on a delicate balance: leveraging the power of AI tools like Dextego while also cultivating the uniquely human skills that technology cannot replace.
When it comes to hiring for a sales team, these intangible skills often set top performers apart. High EQ, curiosity, drive, and resilience are core traits that cannot be easily taught but are critical for success. Emotional intelligence, in particular, enables salespeople to deeply understand clients and communicate with authenticity, often proving more valuable than raw intellect. Curiosity drives continuous learning, ensuring that salespeople remain agile and informed in a fast-moving landscape. Resilience and drive, meanwhile, are crucial in a profession that’s filled with setbacks and rejection. These traits can transform a good salesperson into an elite one.
At its core, sales is a learned skill. Almost anyone can be trained to master the basics—research, preparation, follow-up, and sales methodologies are all teachable. Even running an effective demo can be perfected through practice. But the intangibles—effort, resilience, and EQ—are what separate proficient salespeople from the elite. The best sellers in the industry didn’t get there by natural talent alone; they worked hard to refine their craft and paired that hard work with these intangible skills.
The good news is that sales can be learned, but the road to mastery requires effort. For those willing to invest time and energy into developing both their technical and human skills, success is well within reach.
Ultimately, these insights underscore the growing importance of soft skills in an AI-driven world. As AI handles more technical tasks, the human traits of emotional intelligence, perseverance, and adaptability will only become more valuable. While technology can enhance efficiency and performance, it’s the human touch that will continue to drive meaningful connections, close deals, and foster long-term business relationships.
