Using AI in Sales – Embrace a New Frontier!
By Tracy Larson, President, WeSuite
One topic I hear come up much more often recently among salespeople is AI “artificial intelligence”. Top of mind discussions center around how AI can be used in the sales process to increase selling time, produce better lead assignments, assist with scheduling meetings, and lessen manual tasks. We are also talking about how AI can help us to better understand buyer knowledge prior to reaching out, as well as changing needs and practices related to how buyers buy.
Nearly everyone I know uses ChatGPT, from the very young to our beloved grandparents. It is amazing to witness the levels at which our society is embracing and interacting with generative AI in their daily lives. I recently read a statistic published by HubSpot indicating that 97% of business owners believe ChatGPT will help their businesses, which is amazing!
I have been very intrigued by ideas surrounding the use of AI to assist salespeople. Most salespeople feel their greatest challenges are time, keeping the pipeline full of the right opportunities, and closing deals at a solid pace and profitably. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a sales Genie to personally assist you, at any time, in these key areas that drive sales success?
Recently I was talking with a client about an idea for using real-time sales data captured throughout the sales process in our software, presenting it to ChatGPT along with insight queries to receive in return actionable insights to improve sales. I was throwing out ideas that ranged from the reminders to move on certain opportunities based on data such as: market verticals, sale value, gross profit margin, recurring services, and the likelihood of closing, to specific observations and recommendations per salesperson, team, etc. Etc. is the right thing to say here – the sky is the limit when you think about it.
He was as excited as me and proceeded to share that he had just done exactly what I was talking about! He showed me the results and I was blown away. ChatGPT provided specific insights and comparisons of team members, types of sales, profit margins, and even how to improve sales to increase profit and closing rates. We continued asking deeper questions and received additional recommendations and observations. I was giddy as I reviewed the results and took a deeper dive for more.
Imagine the results produced with continued queries and machine learning. AI would proactively provide suggestions, observations, insights. As we get better at feeding data and asking questions the possibilities are endless. We can even more easily automate data visualization, furthering the use and understanding of data in ways that help all team members to digest and use results.
We are also seeing manufacturers offer AI within their product offerings, as they find new ways to monetize AI and share market value with sellers. Integrators are learning how to incorporate new product lines into solutions being sold and supported. Salespeople and sales engineers are figuring out how to quote AI driven products, offering new and enhanced solutions to their prospects. This trend is especially interesting. Cracking the code early on offering enhanced AI products and solutions will set you apart from others, provide added support from your suppliers – as they are looking for great partners and can add significant new revenue streams to your bottom line.
AI can help us as salespeople to shift perspectives, think differently, identify and address gaps, tackle items proactively, lower risk in many areas of our process, and gain back time for selling.
It is important to recognize that AI does not get it right all the time. We still need human intervention. You may get results that require correction or additional insight. It is up to us to determine how we use what is returned from generative AI.
The challenge I will leave you with is that the next time we see each other, you share your thoughts, ideas, concerns, and results as you start using AI. I would love to know how you are using AI tools to improve the way you sell, interact with prospects and customers, and provide better solutions for your customers. The way I see it; this is a new and quickly developing frontier in selling, and it’s time to embrace it full on!
