Artificial intelligence(AI) is here to stay and it will transform the way you sell. From managing online conversations on websites to analysing massive amount of sales data for predicting deal closure, AI has made its presence felt.
While AI can drastically reduce human interaction in sales process, its power reaches maximum potential when it’s seamlessly combined to assist sales associates with more contextual information while giving your customers the personalized journey they expect. By gathering and processing information at a far superior rate than humans can do, AI will augment sales associates’ selling capabilities.
Download the ebook to understand what AI is and how will it impact sales process as we know it. In the process of creating this ebook, we reached out to several experts to tell us what to expect from AI in the near future. So, you will find some valuable views and insights that have not been shared anywhere else. Further, you will understand if AI is set to replace human sales associates and then learn how humans can beat AI in sales.
What is AI and how is it changing how businesses work?
Techopedia defines Artificial intelligence (AI) as an area of computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines that work and react as humans do. Some of the activities computers with artificial intelligence are designed for include: speech recognition, learning, planning, and problem solving. AI works by combining large amounts of data with fast, iterative processing and intelligent algorithms, allowing the software to learn automatically from patterns or features in the data.
In the business world, AI is redefining how your sales and customer relationships are managed. AI is driving customer experience by acting as digital assistants that answer basic queries and provide relevant recommendations by analysing customer data. As AI powered systems can sort through large amounts of data more quickly than humans can do, customers get more accurate responses. For instance, insurance agencies are leveraging AI for claims process to eliminate wait on weeks of paperwork while hitting 99.9% accuracy. AI will continue providing human like experience at a faster pace. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationship with the enterprise without interacting with a human.
For sales reps, AI will augment their abilities and make them better at what they do – sell. AI capabilities range from automating repetitive tasks to extracting insights that sales associates don’t have the time or ability to find themselves. AI will provide sales associates with relevant data and insights at their fingertips, considerably reducing the time spent on research and analysis. It will free up sales reps’ from any task, such as data entry, appointment scheduling, or sales forecasting, that doesn’t require building personal relationships.
Here’s what the experts think:
Jim Dickie, Co-founder of CSO insights
We need to also be cognizant of that fact that B2B customers will increasingly use AI to buy. AI will give them insights on what their real needs are, which solutions to evaluate, what other companies are actually paying for those products, what existing users are experiencing, etc., all without talking to sellers
Viveka von Rosen, Chief Visibility Officer with Vengreso. LinkedIn author and influencer
I find that AI is absolutely crucial for our business. It allows those of us who are directors and owners of companies really to do what we do best. It allows us to be influencers, it allows us to go out to teach and talk, while it follows up with every lead that comes to our website or generated through LinkedIn. This way we know that we are not missing out on opportunities, we don’t have to be on the phone or on emails 24/7. AI will take care of the more dull and menial work allowing the business owner, influencer to really do what they do best.
Scott Britton– Prominent sales coach, has a udemy course on business development and currently the co-founder of Troops.ai
A.I. is going to help sales people better prioritize their efforts, but automating a lot of traditional work that required research as well as eliminate a lot of mundane tasks giving salespeople more time to sell and provide a better customer experience.
Laurie McCabe – Cofounder & Partner at SMB Group, Inc.
AI and machine learning will both automate many of the sales and marketing processes that have to be done manually today–and enable sales people to engage more personally with prospects and customers. For instance, AI and machine learning will automate repetitive tasks, such as follow up on every lead, and then funnel qualified leads to sales for further follow up. They’ll also help sales people to execute more successfully, drawing on the data to recommend next steps, alerts about new information, etc. AI and ML will also equip sales people with better information about customers’ unique needs so they can proactively zero in on a prospect’s hot buttons–and provide a more personalized service. These technologies will also help salespeople do a better job of anticipating customer needs and proactively step in with suggestions about how their solutions and services can help.
Download the ebook to get more such insights from the experts and understand how you can be ready for the shift
