AI-enabled sales: boosting efficiency and conversion rates (and more!)

The sales profession has undergone a radical transformation with the advent of AI. As someone who has always embraced innovation and championed the alignment between marketing and sales, I've seen firsthand how AI can empower sales teams to work smarter, not harder.

The pace of innovation is unstoppable and I am not talking about the number of small startups, but Industry giants are conveying innovations in the market every month or so.

In July Salesforce announced Fully autonomous AI agents , aiming to make chatbots obsolete; Just yesterday at Dreamforce 2024 Salesforce & Google announced expanded partnership to launch?Salesforce Agentforce. According to the company, these autonomous AI agents are designed to help businesses collaborate securely across Salesforce Customer 360 and Google Workspace apps. A real application of an AI Agent for Customer assistance was demoed during the morning Keynote, with capabilities that just can't be matched by humans in those roles.

Like for Marketing sales teams have to rapidly embrace this change in order to work smarter and raise the level of interaction with customers supported by technology.

Let’s see where AI in Sales supports better decisions , less effort and higher results.

The first are awhere AI is giving a great support is interesting both for Marketing and sales and sits in the area of AI-Powered Lead Scoring and Qualification

AI has revolutionized how we identify and prioritize leads. For instance, Salesforce Einstein, an AI-powered CRM tool, launched back in 2016 uses machine learning to analyze customer data and predict which leads are most likely to convert, thanks to features? like Prediction Builder.

In many of the related case studies , implementing similar AI-driven lead scoring models has resulted in a 30% increase in conversion rates.

Te next step in the process is Automated Lead Nurturing AI-powered tools like Pardot and HubSpot use machine learning algorithms to automate lead nurturing processes. These tools can determine the best time to send emails, personalize content, and even predict when a lead is ready to be handed over to sales.

The next wave will likely be moving from co pilot to autonomous agents to enable sales to bring even more value to customers.

In the area of Intelligent CRM Systems and Sales Forecasting, AI is transforming CRM systems from static databases into dynamic, predictive tools.

Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Sales Insights uses AI to provide real-time relationship health scores and next-best-action recommendations. Results are so promising that Microsoft positioned the feature at 50$ per user per month.

One of the most challenging? aspects for sales leaders sits in securing? forecast? accuracy, that requires a great discipline.?Accurate Sales Predictions and Pipeline Management implies? tons of work for sales operations and the whole salesforce.

AI excels at processing vast amounts of data to make accurate predictions. Tools like Clari use AI to analyze historical data, pipeline information, and sales rep activities to forecast sales with up to 95% accuracy.

Implementing AI-driven sales forecasting can easily improve forecast accuracy in the range of 25%, allowing for more effective resource allocation and strategic planning.? For Build to order realities that would allow better provisioning, higher rotation of products, which turns easily in higher margins.

Even after the latest announcements that will take some time to materialize in the market Chatbots and Virtual Sales Assistants and in general Conversational AI are a great support to sales.

AI-powered chatbots have become invaluable in the sales process. Drift, a conversational marketing platform, uses AI to engage website visitors, qualify leads, and even book meetings for sales reps.

We implemented a similar AI chatbot on our website, which resulted in a substantial ?increase in qualified leads and a great reduction in response time to customer inquiries. Moreover Chatbots are always on and this lowered also the cost of a "round the clock" coverage.

When well trained AI can become a great support for sales calls as well. Revenue orchestration platforms like Gong.io use AI to analyze sales calls, providing insights on customer sentiment, talk-to-listen ratio, and even successful conversation patterns.

?As shared in the latest article AI can also be used to improve Sales Enablement and Training

Think about what it brings adding personalized training recommendations for each kind of sales team. That would tremendously speed up the understanding of the portfolio to sales teams and support them in getting on track quickly, based on their training history or success track record.

Highspot , a sales enablement platform, uses AI to recommend the most effective sales content based on the specific sales scenario.

In our organization, we implemented a sales enablement program where gen AI provided training recommendations and worked on refining a framework. This led to substantial ?improvement in sales rep productivity and a faster introduction of the new solutions with a faster ramp up of sales.

One other area where AI is clearly emerging is the performance analysis and coaching.

AI tools like Chorus.ai from Zoominfo use natural language processing to analyze sales conversations and provide actionable insights for coaching. this is a real change as it can identify for example where DSR are underperforming or struggling? and provide a personalized suggestion on where to fix based on what the most performing individuals are doing when facing the same conversation. In the long run this means make better enablement kits for more productive follow ups.? ?

Sales is becoming more and more a science, yet it has a very important personal component.

One of my mentors back in the past as I was learning the art of sales stated: “Each of us might not be the most talented sales person in the world, but discipline, use of methodologies and early embracement of technologies can bring you to be a high performer and get better results”. ??

That brings me to how organizations can face this revolution with their sales teams. It’s all about overcoming resistance and integrating AI into sales teams. While AI offers tremendous benefits, it's crucial to address the concerns of sales teams who may fear being replaced by technology. I can’t really say there is expertise already in this topic. We are all in the middle of the storm!!! However, in my understanding , the key to successful AI integration lies in:

• Clear communication about how AI will augment, not replace, human skills
• Comprehensive training on AI tools and their benefits
• Showcasing early wins and success stories

The future of sales is undoubtedly a collaboration between AI and human expertise. AI can process vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and make predictions, but it's the human touch that builds relationships, understands nuanced customer needs, and closes deals.

So I can identify 4 major areas where sales leaders need to focus more.

1. Continuously invest in AI technologies that enhance our sales processes
2. Foster a culture of data-driven decision making
3. Develop their teams' skills in areas where human expertise is irreplaceable
4. Keep people updated about the AI supported processes and maintain a 2 way conversation with sales Operation and marketing to ensure streamlined processes.

By embracing AI while nurturing our human talents, we can create sales teams that are more efficient, effective, and successful than ever before.

I am fully aware that I just scratched the surface with the few examples , but AI is already so pervasive, so as professionals inMarketing and sales accelerating the awareness and adoption is the only way I can see towards success. What are your thoughts on AI in sales? How is your organization leveraging AI to boost efficiency and conversion rates? I'd love to hear your experiences and insights in the comments below.