The sales department is the most crucial segment of every organization which contributes the maximum to keep the organization in profitability state and ahead of the curve. However, measuring the sales team contribution to revenue growth, managing unexpected risks, testing the innovation against the market or customer changes, precisely planning sales practices, reducing inconsistencies and closing the deals in addition to seamless communication with diverse stakeholders and prospects via conventional methods is undoable for the sales professionals.
It doesn’t mean the sales professionals have a lack of data. Instead, the multitude of platforms and sources are generating more customer information than before, but extracting the value out of the mammoths of data is the biggest challenge.
The need for accurate prediction, automation, and intelligence in the sales department has made embracing artificial intelligence and machine learning technology irresistible for all the organizations.
AI and ML technologies have become the best buddy of the sales team which helps them sell the services or products intelligently from prospecting to closing to the retention. Moreover, the precise forecasting outcomes of the strategy let the team create a future-proof plan that brings results galore. With the automation of mundane tasks, the sales team can focus on doing the right things versus wasting time on tedious tasks. Taking a step forward, the technology optimizes the processes and workflow with the increasing data and continuously close the performance gaps, if exist.
Here, we have barely scratched the surface of how AI with ML can accelerate the sales and augment the benefits it brings. Let’s discuss the profound implications of AI in the sales department in detail:
Transform the traditional workflow
Conventionally, CRM is used by the mid and small-sized businesses to keep a record of the leads, and the data entered manually is used for the prospecting and future sales. The time-consuming, error-prone and wearisome sales activity eat up nearly half of the time, which sales team can otherwise spend on customer engagement, better conversation, and more sales generation.
All of these tasks can be automated by AI technology that can be directly integrated into the sales software and CRM databases. It will eliminate the need for data entry, reduce the likelihood of errors, and provide intelligent recommendations to the sales team for increasing their efficiency and the output.
For instance, AI-powered sales dialers don’t have to spend hours in calling the prospects in quantity. The AI system makes prioritization on the list for the best prospect to call by analyzing the previous conversation and thereafter the information will be directly entered into the CRM for the future sales activity. Having such a technology stack in place enables the sales reps to generate more quality leads that increase conversion rate.
Gain the intelligence
It’s no surprise that conducting a pre-call research is an integral part of the sales activity before communicating with the client. It takes plenty of time to research about the client through the social profile, reviews, and the past purchase. Plus, there is no guarantee that research is done with precision and the sales reps have connected all the dots. It won’t allow the sales reps to connect with the client on a personal level. That’s a big miss!
The AI with machine learning and deep learning help the sales reps to access the client’s external data like- contact information, media updates, and purchase history instantly, and provide the actionable insights that assist the sales reps in how to start communication with a new client and create meaningful interactions. The availability of the information on hand ascends the chances of getting the call closed in the first meeting.
Going to a higher level, AI can also determine which sales reps in the team can better handle the call by recognizing their expertise and the closing rate with the similar type of leads. The intelligent prediction at a macro-level for sales team optimizes the resource allocation, build a healthy pipeline and improve sales.
Identify the prospects rightly
According to thumb rule, the success ratio of cold calling is 2:100, which means the guessing game with regular email reminders cannot contribute a lot to the sales. In this manner, the couple of hours and resources get wasted in trial and error method. Also, approaching the prospects without knowing the ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘when’, and ‘where’ elements about them decreases the probability of conversion.
The AI technology takes the guesswork out from the sales approach by determining the right time to converse with the right customer using the right message. Machine learning analyzes the signals including the date, time and place of the year when the customers are likely to purchase and based on the data, the algorithms are trained to identify the prospects that are likely to convert. The algorithms keep updating when any changes in the customers’ buying patterns are recognized. The prioritization allows the sales team to focus on the leads that are likely to convert and not waste the time on the leads that will never come down the sales funnel.
It’s a dynamic tool that immediately informs the sales team about the hot lead to be contacted right away contextually to engage the customers and enable impulsive actions.
Increase close rates
Many organizations struggle with the low closing rate even after effectively prospecting for the new leads. It’s due to lack of communication, no identification of the customer’s real preferences and poor customer experience. Machine learning can do it.
The futuristic technology analyzes the billions of data points to predict the effective solution proactively. For instance, the AI chatbots can easily recognize how customers are like to connect- via email or phone call, on which number they are more likely to answer, the suitable time to connect with them, and the initial queries that are raised about a product, pricing, and contract terms. When the sales team has all these details, the chances of sealing the deal, upselling, or cross-selling will be more. The addition of Big Data services to filter out a more feasible approach to adopt for improving the engagement with the audience can provide even better results.
Seal more deals with existing leads
The acquired customers are the biggest asset for every organization because the organizations have spent a huge sum of dollars to win them and have had a lot of information about them which helps in repeating the sales. Cultivating the existing leads leveraging machine learning succinctly tells the sales reps which leads in the sales funnel are most likely to repeat the purchase right away, after how much time or post-marketing efforts.
Nurturing the leads smartly provide hoards of the opportunities and align the sales team with the right execution strategy which upsurges the win rates.
Better Engagement with Existing Customers:
Maintaining the relationships with your existing customers is very imperative. A happy customer will surely turn to you when he wants to buy something in the category you offer. With Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology, you can have better customer engagement without putting more resources for the task. You can seize the micro-moments and make them feel special.
Adding utility
The field service personnel have to be customer-centric to quickly answer the customer queries and meet their needs when they are meeting the customer in person. The paper-based materials or training is no more an efficient tool for the sales associate to be prepared for meeting with a diverse range of customers.
The dose of artificial intelligence supercharges the sales professionals with the intelligent personal assistant which helps them understand the customer’s needs in the real-time. The voice-activated AI search technology when combined with CRM’s API to provide the essential information to the salesperson that helps them understand the customer’s needs based on the question raised by customers. The automated research process provides instant access to the right content to the sales associate that result in improved sales.
Conclusion
The market and technology are advancing radically where locking the organizations with old-aged processes means dying a slow death. The organizations have to stop looking in the rear-view mirror if they want to view their accurate future and secure market share with a future-ready solution. It’s high time to electrify the sales department and transcend everything embracing the AI trend.
AI technology enhances the productivity and efficiency of the sales team by bridging the gap between the customers and the salesperson, providing cadence capabilities to the sales team, nurturing the relationships, executing the processes rightly and so on.
At the core, the sales team can perform at their peak with a perfect combination of art and science. Let’s do it! Get your sales team empowered with artificial intelligence medicine during prospecting, engaging, negotiating, communicating and closing to not miss a potential customer and competitive edge.
