What should stay human when you automate sales?
By Harish P, founder of Plux Labs · Updated · 2 min read
Short answer
Automate the repeatable work: research, data entry, first drafts, reminders and CRM updates. Keep people on anything involving judgement or trust: approving outreach before it sends, pricing and proposals, sales calls, complaints and deciding who is a good fit. A simple test: if getting it wrong would damage a relationship, a person should check it.
Safe to automate
- •Researching a prospect's company and recent news
- •Enriching and cleaning contact records
- •Drafting first messages and follow-ups
- •Logging calls, emails and deal stages in the CRM
- •Reminders, scheduling and routine reporting
Keep a person on it
- •Approving outreach before it reaches a real prospect
- •Pricing, proposals and contract terms
- •Discovery and sales calls
- •Replies that show frustration, a complaint or an unusual request
- •Deciding who is a good-fit client and who isn't
The relationship test
Ask one question of every step: what happens if this goes wrong? If the answer is "a record is slightly off", automate it and spot-check. If the answer is "a prospect gets an embarrassing message" or "we quote the wrong price", put a person in the loop. This is the line Plux Labs builds every system around.
Why checkpoints make automation work better
Checkpoints aren't a sign the automation is weak. They are what lets you trust it with more volume. When your team knows nothing goes out unchecked, they use the system instead of quietly working around it.
Sources and further reading
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