When you ask someone to think of business functions that might be disrupted by generative AI technologies, sales probably isn’t the first area that comes to mind.
AI in marketing? Sure. Finance? Makes sense. But sales?
At first, you might be unsure. But once you learn about the benefits generative AI sales tools offer, it’s hard not to get excited. A recent study estimates that generative AI technologies will contribute to a $463 billion increase in the productivity of sales teams.
When you really think about it, the marriage between generative AI and sales makes perfect sense. Sales is a relatively manual process that harnesses diverse datasets to deliver personalized experiences – a perfect use case for AI.
There’s a good deal of skepticism toward generative AI sales tools among the sales community, but the reality is that––if used right––they will help your team close more deals, more efficiently.
How is Generative AI Being Used in Sales?
In recent years, technology has become an indispensable part of every sales team’s arsenal. From CRM software to sales prospecting tools, the modern sales team would be lost without technology.
Generative AI is the latest, and perhaps the greatest, of these technologies. Many leading software companies, including HubSpot and Salesforce, have already rolled out new AI sales tools that help sales professionals work more efficiently.
Let’s explore three innovative applications of generative AI for sales to help your reps close deals faster.
1. Automating Routine Tasks
For many businesses, sales is a labor-intensive process often held back by administrative tasks. Too much of your sales team’s time is spent on non-revenue generating activities: a fact that generative AI technologies can help change.
Many of the most time-consuming tasks your sales team performs, from writing down call notes to sending follow-up emails to prospects, can be done better and faster with generative AI sales tools. A recent HubSpot report found that the typical sales professional stands to save over two hours on routine tasks like meeting scheduling, outreach, and note-taking by adopting generative AI tools.
Here are some of our favorite generative AI tools your sales team can use to start automating routine tasks:
- Chatspot - Draft follow-up emails, create AI-generated images, and use pre-defined prompts to accelerate content creation. Integrates with HubSpot.
- Fireflies - Helps record, transcribe, and summarize virtual meetings to streamline the note-taking process.
- Dooly - Automates a wide range of administrative tasks, syncing notes and activities to your CRM platform in real-time to improve accuracy and efficiency.
2. Creating Personalized Messages Tailored to Prospects
Sales is all about delivering the right messages to the right people, at the right time. Doing that effectively demands a high degree of personalization, but when you have a high volume of leads, that can be a real challenge.
By adopting CRM platforms with AI technologies built-in, sales teams can automate the creation of personalized messages to prospects based on customer profiles, call notes, engagement history, and more. That creates a hyper-personalized approach to sales collateral that scales with your business, making for better customer experiences and stronger relationships.
Per a McKinsey study, 53% of sales leaders indicated they felt that generative AI technologies would have either a “significant” or “very significant impact” on personalized outreach.
One generative AI sales personalization tool to try is Tavus, a platform that enables sales teams to develop personalized sales videos at scale. Your salesperson simply records one video – for example, a follow-up message after a trade show – and Tavus creates a personalized version for every recipient.
3. Enhanced Sales Training
Upskilling your sales team equips your employees to close more deals. Whether it’s learning how to handle objections, shaping a pitch to an ideal customer profile, or perfecting the close, training is central to building your team’s skills.
Generative AI sales tools have the potential to revolutionize this process, transforming rote classroom exercises into situational training that imitates real-life scenarios. Ask an AI model to play the role of a certain type of prospect to test how your sales reps handle different scenarios.
Beyond that, generative AI technologies can also serve as your team’s personalized sales coaches. Whether identifying bad sales practices or analyzing sales calls to pinpoint development areas, generative AI tools can form a key component of your sales enablement strategy.
Today, 28% of sales teams are already using generative AI tools to analyze and simulate sales calls for training and coaching purposes. Here are a few ways to use generative AI tools in your sales training process:
- Simulating Sales Calls - Second Nature allows sales reps to practice by speaking to an AI avatar that's programmed to act the way their company’s customers might.
- Offer Personalized Training Programs - Mindtickle analyzes sales calls to provide reps with personalized learning curricula based on their strengths and weaknesses.
- Real-Time Sales Coaching - Cogito analyzes sales calls as they’re happening, evaluating dozens of voice signals to identify patterns in conversations and help sales professionals correct course in real time.
Top Benefits of Generative AI for Sales
Here are three of the most impactful benefits of leveraging generative AI for sales.
- Improved Efficiency - Adopting generative AI technologies is a complete game changer for your sales teams’ productivity. Teams save hours every week – time they can now spend building new customer relationships and closing more deals.
- Unique Customer Experiences - Thanks to the deep personalization generative AI technologies enable, businesses can take a bespoke approach that’s tailored to the unique needs of every customer. That creates memorable experiences that speak directly to customer needs, significantly improving outcomes.
- Streamline Decision Making - By equipping your sales team with rich, real-time insights, leaders can make decisions with greater confidence. Whether it’s building the perfect proposal for a major client or identifying new trends, generative AI sales tools help your team get important decisions right.
Ultimately, while improvements to the process are great, we know what matters most is the end result. Per McKinsey, sales teams that invest in AI technologies see a revenue uplift of between 3%-15% and a sales ROI uplift of 10%-20%.
Actionable Tips for Using Generative AI Sales Tools
Realizing the benefits of adopting generative AI sales tools can take time. These are new technologies, and every business is in the process of determining what approach works best for their team. As you consider how to use AI in your business, keep these best practices in mind.
- Provide Comprehensive Training - Generative AI technologies are a relatively new tool, and they’ll likely feel alien to your team. Shifting to this new way of selling cannot be done at the flick of a switch; it’s a gradual process. Sales enablement training, as well as training on specific generative AI tools, is a key component of this transformation.
- Start Small and Show Value - There’s no need to rip up your current sales playbook. Instead, explore areas where you can integrate generative AI capabilities into your current sales systems and achieve quick wins. Whether you use AI technologies to write prospecting emails or summarize sales calls, demonstrating the value of these technologies goes a long way toward securing organizational buy-in.
- Prepare for Bumps in the Road - Many AI models are inconsistent and occasionally, downright incorrect. Teach your team to approach new technologies with thoughtful skepticism and include human review processes in all new processes. Keep in mind that AI models improve as they gain additional data, training, and feedback. Maintaining a long-term perspective and staying patient will position your team for success.
Supercharge Your Team with AI Sales Tools
There’s no question that generative AI technologies will radically transform the sales landscape in the coming years. The real question is whether your sales team will be the ones leading the charge or lagging behind the competition.
Adjusting to this new landscape and creating an environment where your sales team can thrive is key to your business’s continued success. We remain in the early innings of this new technological era, and as a leader, it’s your responsibility to captain your team to success.
Get in touch to learn how our sales enablement training can equip your team with the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in the age of AI.
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