Thriving in sales has never been easy. It’s a fast-paced, chaotic landscape, filled with unique challenges that even the most skilled professionals can struggle to navigate.
Fortunately, the rise of more advanced forms of artificial intelligence in sales is already leading to some massive industry-wide transformations.
Imagine a world where sellers can spend less time analyzing data, drafting eye-catching emails, or conducting competitive analysis reports, and more time actually building connections and converting leads. That’s what generative AI offers.
Already, 50% of senior-level sales professionals are using AI to make themselves more efficient, productive, and creative in their roles. Want to make sure you can catch up with the competition? Here’s your complete guide to generative AI’s evolving impact on sales.
The Evolution of AI in Sales
Most salespeople have relied on cutting-edge technology for years now. The connection between artificial intelligence and sales is nothing new. Teams have been using AI bots, intelligent data analytics, and machine learning solutions for years.
In fact, McKinsey found empowering sales teams with cutting edge technology can lead to efficiency increases of 10-15% on average. However the use of generative AI for sales marks the start of a brand-new era. Generative AI, with its ability to craft unique content, analyze more unstructured data and support salespeople in virtually every task and process, is changing the game.
Generative AI can do more than just create sales pitches or demo videos. It can coach and guide your team members, and draw on your company’s data to get smarter over time, suggesting new ways to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and increase conversions.
Already, analysts predict that generative AI could deliver an incremental $0.8-$1.2 trillion in productivity-driven revenue across sales and marketing. It’s no wonder that the adoption of Gen AI tools is skyrocketing among sales teams.
Key Applications of Generative AI for Sales Teams
The great thing about using AI in sales is the opportunities and use cases are practically endless. Generative AI solutions can create pitches and emails faster than a human being, assist teams in closing deals with personalized insights, and even improve coaching processes.
Here are just some of the most valuable applications of artificial intelligence for sales teams in the evolving age of Gen AI.
Artificial Intelligence in Sales Strategies, Prospecting and Closing
Generative AI is reshaping how teams build strategies. Forget trying to tailor existing methodologies to the evolving needs of your customers and teams. Generative AI solutions can build the ultimate strategy for you.
Gen AI can scour everything from customer reviews to the latest social trends, piecing together a 360-degree view of industry dynamics, then walk your teams through a new series of sales processes.
Companies are even using AI for sales processes involved in virtually every strategy. Generative AI can streamline the process of prospect and account research and lead validation. It can quickly generate concise summaries from sales calls, and help you prioritize valuable leads.
As for closing, using AI in sales makes personalization a breeze—reps can tailor each step to the customer’s preferences, thanks to auto-generated summaries and sentiment analysis on previous interactions.
Using AI for Sales Outreach and Rapport Building
Building relationships with leads is one of the most complicated parts of the sales process. To really connect with customers, you need to develop a deep understanding of their needs, connect with them on an emotional level, and earn their trust. That can take a lot of time.
That’s why at the Hard Skill Exchange, so many of our coaches advise salespeople to use sales artificial intelligence tools to deepen their understanding of target accounts, get to the bottom of pain points, goals, and objections, and pave the way for stronger relationship building.
AI solutions can help salespeople not only personalize every interaction they have with a customer, through insights to in-depth data, but ensure they’re taking the right approach to outreach. AI tools can use historical data and CRM records to advise salespeople on when to follow up with leads, which channels to use, and how to earn trust and loyalty.
Artificial Intelligence for Sales Process Automation and Efficiency
The reality is that most salespeople struggle to spend the majority of their time actually selling. In fact, only about 39% of a sales rep’s time is spent interacting with prospects and customers. The issue is just getting worse, with more administrative tasks for professionals to handle each day.
That’s where AI in sales comes in, to automate the busywork. Generative AI can draft responses to inquiries, handle proposal requests, organize notes, and even update CRM data automatically. It can help teams spend more of their time on valuable tasks, and rapport building.
Plus, AI can work alongside a salesperson throughout their journey. AI assistants can suggest responses to customer queries, automatically adjust sales pitches based on buyer intent, and so much more, streamlining the sales journey.
Artificial Intelligence in Sales Analytics and Forecasting
Sales is more data-driven than ever before, with Salesforce finding that 96% of professionals agree data is key to keeping up with customer expectations. Unfortunately, tapping into data and transforming it into actionable insights isn’t always easy.
Artificial intelligence and sales analytics make prioritizing leads and creating accurate forecasts straightforward. By identifying trends in historical data, gen AI offers a more precise understanding of customer behavior, preferences, and purchasing cycles.
Generative AI can even create more accurate sales forecasts. It can give your sales reps clear and achievable goals to work towards, and even help you address potential gaps in your pipeline. This all makes it easier for companies to allocate resources more efficiently, and improve ROI.
Using AI in Sales Training and Development
Finally, many salespeople know that consistent learning and development are the key to staying competitive. AI for sales is transforming how sales reps learn. While it doesn’t replace the need for personalized courses and mentors, generative AI can make it easier to create development plans.
Bots can constantly analyze seller performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, and help sellers understand where they need to develop new skills. Companies can even build customized sales training programs with generative AI, based on the requirements of their individual team members.
Plus, with AI-powered coaching tools, business leaders can provide team members with assistance “on the job”, ensuring they gain access to real-time feedback, metrics, and data.
The Potential Challenges with Artificial Intelligence in Sales
The benefits of AI in sales are astronomical, but there are still challenges to overcome. As we move forward into a world of more advanced tools and technologies, companies and individuals tapping into AI tools will need to prepare for:
• Maintaining the AI/Human balance:
Sales is personal. Over-relying on AI risks losing the human touch, essential for relationship-building. AI should support, not replace, human interactions with leads and prospects.
• Potential Inaccuracies:
While generative AI is powerful, it isn’t perfect. AI outputs need regular review to avoid inaccuracies. Training AI with company-specific data can help improve accuracy, monitoring results is crucial too.
• Impact on Job Roles:
Fears about AI replacing humans are valid but overstated. Sales artificial intelligence won’t replace salespeople; it’ll make their roles more enjoyable and focused on rewarding work. However, managing this change requires open communication.
• The Cost of AI:
Implementing AI in sales can be costly, with expenses from licensing, training, and maintenance. Companies must weigh these against the efficiency and revenue gains AI can deliver.
Future Prospects: The Evolution of Sales Artificial Intelligence Tools
Generative AI is just in its early stages of revolutionizing the sales world. From creating powerful emails and pitches, to handling data with exceptional accuracy, AI has the potential to become a fully integrated part of the modern sales team.
There are still challenges to overcome, and companies will need to recognize that generative AI doesn’t replace the need for the human touch in sales, but adoption will only continue to grow. Already, 4 in 5 sales leaders are concerned that their company is missing out on Gen AI opportunities.
Now is the time for sales professionals and leaders from all backgrounds to embrace the revolution of AI in sales, and that all starts with the right plan of action.
Join the HSE’s revolutionary Sales AI Summit this year, for behind-the-scenes insights into AI opportunities, challenges and solutions, from the industry leaders already paving the way towards a more intelligent approach to sales success.
