What Competencies Should I be Teaching in my Introductory Business-to-Business Sales Course in the Age of Artificial Intelligence?

The present study investigates a current question among sales educators: What competencies should I be teaching in my introductory business-to-business (B2B) sales course in the age of artificial intelligence (AI)? Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from seven interviews with sales managers and 13 interviews with alumni, along with an online survey of 157 sales professionals. Based on these data, the contribution presents five relevant findings about which competencies to teach. First, the findings highlight the importance of active listening and salesperson authenticity. Second, they emphasize an increased focus on discovery and the need for diagnosis rather than simply closing. Third, the role of AI emerges as one of augmentation, not replacement, of the salesperson’s human judgment. Fourth, participants identified knowing when not to use AI as the most critical AI competency. Fifth, the findings reveal a data privacy paradox: Although 77% of sales professionals avoid using AI when managing confidential data, data privacy ranked lowest among sales curriculum priorities. Together, these findings suggest ways to revise the competencies taught in introductory sales courses, potentially closing the gap between what is taught and what employers expect in the age of AI.