5 Ideas to Use AI for Sales Activities

AI has finally come into its own. To be clear, it’s been around for a long time but has largely worked behind the scenes. It powers things like purchase recommendations, streaming watch recommendations, and the like. Today, AI seems to be everywhere, and that’s good news for your business because there are plenty of ways it can integrate with and empower your sales activities. If you’re new to AI or just unsure of how to integrate it with your sales processes, we’ve got five ideas to help you out.

The case for AI in your sales activities

Before we jump into the ideas for using AI, let’s take a look at the role artificial intelligence is playing in different businesses. You know that AI is here to stay, but in what capacity? Here’s a snapshot, according to Hootsuite:

• 34% of all US companies currently use AI in some capacity and 42% are exploring it.

• 41% of smaller companies are considering AI, so it’s not just relevant to big firms.

• 58% of marketers using AI reported it increased their sales performance.

• 54% of companies using AI say improved efficiency and cost savings are their biggest wins.

• 26% of organizations are now using AI for marketing and sales, and another 22% use it for conversational AI and virtual assistants.

AI is not going anywhere, and if you’re not already considering it, you could miss the boat. But how can it help change your sales processes?

It's all about that data

What’s the core of your sales strategy? You might think it’s your key differentiator that sets you apart from the competition, but the truth is that it’s data. Information powers every aspect of your sales funnel and having access to accurate information will transform your sales-related activities. Of course, you’ll need to be able to use that information, which means it cannot be raw. 

With AI, your teams gain access to not just pure information, but advanced data enrichment, along with AI-powered data analysis, extrapolation, modeling, parsing, and more to create the most comprehensive and holistic understanding of your leads and customers. With AI, you can predict lead behaviors, deliver more effective sales pitches, focus on the highest quality leads (those most likely to convert), engage with brand advocates, and so much more.

Have more authentic, effective conversations

You must stop looking at sales processes as “pitches” and look at them more as holistic, two-way “conversations”. You’re speaking to your audience and they’re talking back. It’s up to you to use these conversations to pick up on pain points, breakdowns in the conversion process, sticking points that might make customers look to competitors, and other areas of friction. 

With AI, you can elevate your conversations with customers and drive sales success. For instance, with a tool like Smith.ai’s AI-based web chat, you can recognize the context within a conversation, surface relevant information based on trigger words, implement playbooks based on what your leads are saying, and more. You can even drill down into mentions of geographic location, specific topics, competitor names, and other data that can be used to fine-tune your sales efforts.

Empower your sales team to do more

Your sales processes are only as effective as the people behind them. AI can empower your sales team to do more, better, and more authentically. With the right information and resources, your sales team can communicate with leads more effectively, closing more deals. You’ll find different tools out there that can work depending on your needs.

For instance, AI can automate the time-consuming process of crafting and submitting responses to requests for proposals (RFPs). That can improve accuracy in addition to speeding up a lengthy process and getting your proposal in front of a prospective lead much faster. 

Another way that AI can help empower your sales team is through the development of a dynamic library. In this situation, the sales rep can use AI to surface relevant, timely, accurate information from the dynamic library in real time to address a lead’s needs, qualms, or other sticking points.

Accurate sales forecasting

Wouldn’t it be nice if your business had a crystal ball that showed what your lead inflow would be like down the road? AI is the next best thing. With access to your historical trend data, information about your current efforts, data regarding audience demographics and size, and other information, AI can accurately predict a wide range of sales factors.

Those include things like the total number of new deals you can expect within a time frame, the level of churn you can expect to experience, the likelihood of closing a deal with a particular lead, and insights that can help you close more deals.

Real-time goal setting and tracking

Goal setting and performance tracking have been part of the sales process seemingly forever. However, they’ve almost always been retroactive. You set goals based on previous performance. You track performance over time and then adjust as necessary. But what if you could get ahead of the curve?

AI can help you set goals and track performance in real time. That means you no longer need to take a retroactive stance. You can become proactive and address trends as they begin to occur, rather than trying to put the cat back in the bag after it’s escaped.  

Let Smith.ai accelerate your sales success

At Smith.ai, we understand how critical it is that your sales processes are smooth and friction-free. That’s why we designed our service offerings to encompass virtually any communication need your leads, customers, and teams might benefit from. From 24/7 live virtual receptionists to live-staffed website chat capabilities powered by our proprietary, advanced AI, it’s never been easier to transform your sales activities.

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai.

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