You'll always buy from the person you like (at least for now)
With AI, proposals arrive more complete, faster and without mistakes. Why the person matters more than ever in B2B sales, and what I do to take care of that.
First published in Spanish. Leer en español
At least for now, you’ll always buy from the person you like. I said it a few days ago to Adri Beloki, Head of Comms at the group I work for, and the line went down very well. It got me thinking about why I say it with so much confidence, right when I use AI in almost all of my sales process.
Where does the line come from?
We were going through the case studies of SSTIL, the group’s marketing agency. Adri had been reading my articles and liked the approach, and we ended up talking about the stack, the flow and how I sell. In the middle of that conversation the line came out.
It sums up a lot of what I write about on this blog. I’ve been in sales since 2011 and I come from advertising, where a big part of the job was building relationships with clients.
Why does AI make this matter more?
Today my proposals come out of Claude Design with the right branding, Claude checks nothing is missing before I ask for the estimate, and the CRM updates while I work. I explain it in detail in how I automated my sales process.
Those tools are within anyone’s reach. I think that before long most proposals a client receives will arrive complete, fast and with no formatting mistakes. When that happens, the client has to choose based on something else, and very often that something else is who they’ll be working with for the next few months.
What does being likeable mean in a sale?
When I say likeable, I mean things the client can verify over time: that you did what you said on the call and that you warned them when something wasn’t in their interest, even if that made the deal smaller.
Being friendly helps in the first meeting, but trust is built with what happens afterwards. I saw it with my first two leads: they were friends, and they reached out because they already knew how I work.
Empathy belongs in the same place. What worries a client most isn’t always what they say on the first call, and for them to tell you, they have to feel that the person on the other side is listening before offering anything.
So where does AI fit in?
In everything that leaves me more time for that part. I get to every call with the client’s context: who they are, what they asked for and what we talked about before. Granola takes the notes, so I can look at the person and listen.
I have four principles I don’t compromise on, and one of them is that the time AI frees up goes back to clients. If I used it to send more generic emails, I’d be spending exactly what makes me different. I go into it in what I delegate to AI and what I don’t.
Why “at least for now”?
Because I don’t know how we’ll buy a few years from now. The tools change every month, and part of purchasing may end up being done by agents that compare suppliers on their own.
Today, in the projects I sell, there’s a person on the other side who has to trust another person before signing. As long as that’s the case, I’ll keep taking care of that part more than any other.
If you sell or buy services, I’d like to know whether you see it the same way. Get in touch and let’s talk.
Frequently asked questions
Does it matter whether the client likes you in a B2B sale?
Yes. When two proposals cover the same thing, the client chooses who they'll work with for months. That decision depends a lot on how much they trust the person in front of them.
Does AI replace the relationship with the client?
No. AI prepares: it researches, organizes notes, checks and builds documents. The conversation, empathy and trust still depend on the salesperson.
What makes a client like a salesperson?
Listening before offering, delivering on promises and being honest when something isn't right for the client. Being friendly helps in the first meeting; trust is earned with what happens afterwards.
Written by
Emiliano Moretti. Sales director at Modulor Studios. In sales since 2011, and today his sales process runs on Claude.
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