EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Every organizational department has had to adapt to new routines amidst the stay-at-home orders and the coronavirus pandemic. Sales teams are no exception. Improve your sales team’s competitive edge and overall performance by implementing artificial intelligence (AI) powered products. 

Why implement artificial intelligence based products on behalf of your sales team? 

Nearly 60% of sales team members miss their sales goals annually. Why? Sales people spend an inordinate amount of time entering data into systems. Automate your data entry. Programs such as Salesforce’s Einstein AI can sync emails and calendar activity to the CRM and can automate new content record creation. 

Choose AI because disorganized employees can cost companies thousands in lost revenue opportunities. CRM automation tools can help sales team members organize their workflows. Team members will immediately identify which tasks need urgent attention and which are lower priorities; a challenging set of things to gauge and juggle for newer team members. 

Organizations that lock down their lead nurture process have 9% more sales representatives that reach their annual sales quotas than organizations with a patchwork of lead nurture processes. Cyber AI tools can enable sales representatives to fully automate lead qualification and nurture. This frees-up sales team members to pursue activities that are further along the funnel. As a result, team members save time, and representatives can move closer to their quotas more quickly. Win-win. 

At the end of the day, automating sales activities can lead to stronger teams and better outcomes. 

How is artificial intelligence making remote sales calls smarter?

Developing high-quality customer relationships matters. Companies, such as Gong and Chorus, are developing AI software that businesses can use to perfect the sales pitch and to better connect with customers. These AI-based programs employ tools to analyze elements of calls, including how quickly sales team members speak, and the best time to start a presentation. In some cases, the tools can automatically transcribe sales calls and make suggestions in real-time

How is AI used to improve the sales materials provided to prospects?

Nearly 70% of buyers are consuming digital content to assist them in the decision-making process. Lunch at Outback Steak House, Houlihan’s, or Nando’s no more. Artificial intelligence tools are able to correlate digital asset engagement measures -like scroll depth, minutes spent on content, and volume of content reviewed- with metrics such as pipeline velocity and conversion rate. As a result, AI can provide teams with robust insights into what content most closely resonates with which audiences. This can help guide content distribution and content development.

How can CIOs assist with a strategic sales team shift towards AI? 

CIOs should regularly check-in with sales teams regarding what’s working and what’s not. Are sales team members finding new systems seamless or a struggle to work with? Meet with your sales executives on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis to delve into the details. 

To learn more about how CIOs can empower sales teams with cyber AI read this article from CIO Magazine