The power of artificial intelligence for sales teams is growing at an astronomical pace. For years, companies have been gradually increasing their investment in intelligent tools, leveraging AI for advanced data analytics, task automation, and productivity enhancements.

You’re probably already using artificial intelligence in sales and marketing tasks, like prospecting, lead qualification, and demo scheduling. However, as AI becomes smarter, and more versatile, sales teams are beginning to discover new ways to use it to their advantage.

Today’s cutting-edge teams are using AI for everything from content creation, to sentiment analysis, forecasting, and budget management. If you haven’t jumped on the AI hype train yet, you could be missing out on a tool that could have a transformative impact on not just conversion and win rates, but team efficiency, customer relationships and retention.

The Evolution of AI in Sales

The idea of using AI in sales isn’t entirely new. Sales teams have used AI-powered tools for several years, to help them analyze large volumes of data, complete competitive analysis tasks, and even automate things like collecting prospect contact details.

Now, more than 50% of senior-level sales professionals are using AI in their roles on a regular basis, and they’re discovering new ways to unlock the advantages of intelligent tools. Thanks to innovations in machine learning, conversational, and generative AI, intelligent tools can do more for sales and marketing teams than ever before.

They can analyze sales models and strategies based on market data and customer insights, helping you to adapt your processes proactively to changing trends. AI solutions can create demo videos and sales pitches for teams, follow up with leads automatically, and even help optimize the customer experience. Most importantly, AI can help salespeople focus more of their time and energy on building relationships with customers, and solving problems, by automating repetitive tasks.

At the Hard Skill Exchange, many of the world-leading coaches we work with even use AI to personalize learning and development experiences for professionals in training.

The Core Benefits of Using AI for Sales

While the use cases for AI in sales and marketing are still being discovered, the latest technologies already have the potential to:

• Improve efficiency: Sales professionals can save more than two hours per day just by using AI to automate tasks like prospecting, collecting contact details, or entering data into a CRM. That means they have more time to focus on valuable processes (like rapport building).
• Enhance insights: With the ability to surface patterns and insights from huge volumes of data rapidly, AI can help you learn more about your customers, identify the perfect strategy for selling, and enhance resource allocation strategies.
• Transform interactions: AI-powered tools can help sellers to personalize every interaction they have with a customer. 69% of sales professionals say using AI for sales has helped them to personalize discussions with customers, and increase conversion rates.

While AI may never be able to replace human salespeople completely, it can augment them in a multitude of different ways, increasing their productivity, efficiency, and profits. It’s easy to see why 68% of professionals predicted that most of the software they’d be using for sales tasks would have AI features by the end of 2024.

7 Top Ways to Use Artificial Intelligence for Sales Teams

In today’s world, AI is quickly becoming the “ace up the sleeve” of the top sales teams worldwide. It’s not just about automating processes or simplifying data entry, anymore. The relationship between artificial intelligence and sales is becoming increasingly sophisticated and multi-faceted.

Here are just seven of the top ways companies are using AI in sales processes.

1.      Unlocking Insights for Sales Strategies with AI

Sales teams rely on data to create strategies and sales processes that really work. Unfortunately, without AI, these teams are often overwhelmed with more data than they can reasonably use, or handle. AI in sales technologies help teams to put their data to good use.

Innovative tools can source data from a range of third-party tools and platforms, such as sales outreach solutions and CRM platforms. They can then convert this data into actionable insights that help sales people determine which leads to target, which outreach strategies to use, and more.

Some AI tools can even leverage historical data, to predict the potential results of different sales strategies, helping companies to avoid wasting time on processes that won’t drive the best results.

2.      Learning About Customers with AI

If you really want to achieve incredible results in the sales landscape, you need to understand your customers. That’s easier said than done. Even with a careful approach to rapport building and questioning, agents can still struggle to identify the reasons behind customer objections, specific purchasing goals, and pain points.

Using AI for sales insights can address this issue. In fact, studies show that 65% of sales professionals agree that AI helps them better understand their customers.

AI solutions can tap into hidden insights captured within calls and conversations, analyzing factors that influence customer sentiment, and helping sales people learn more about the people they’re connecting with. AI tools can even automate notetaking and transcription processes, helping sales professionals to develop more in-depth consumer profiles faster.

3.      Improving Pipeline Management and Forecasting

Forecasting is a common process in the sales landscape. Unfortunately, even though most reps use best practices and cutting-edge technology to inform their forecasting strategies, many sales reps end up with inaccurate results.

AI in sales and marketing forecasting tools can produce insights into deals and pipeline opportunities with incredible accuracy. For instance, tools like Aviso can use historical and real-time data to automatically calculate which deals have the most potential, and which leads teams need to focus on.

These insights turn guessing games in the sales space into informed decision-making processes. They ensure business leaders can set realistic goals, and keep sales teams moving progressively towards their quotas.

4.      Using AI to Automate Repetitive Sales Tasks

One of the biggest reasons why artificial intelligence and sales teams work so well together, is that AI empowers agents to spend more time on the things they do best – building relationships, earning trust, solving problems, and connecting with leads.

AI can handle the busywork that usually consumes so much agent time, handling things like researching contact details, transcribing conversations, and entering data into a CRM system. This means agents get more time back to focus on creative, strategic, and human-driven work.

AI assistants can even work alongside a rep in their day-to-day routine, boosting efficiency by automatically adjusting sales pitches based on customer sentiment, surfacing information about products in real-time, or offering guidance during conversations.

5.      Leveraging AI to Personalize Sales Strategies

81% of customers say they prefer to work with companies that deliver personalized experiences. Whether you’re selling in the B2B or B2C space, personalization is the key to connecting with customers, increasing conversions, and earning buyer loyalty.

Using artificial intelligence in sales and marketing strategies makes it much easier to personalize experiences at scale. Both sales and marketing teams can use AI to learn more about their customers, map buyer journeys, and create messages and scripts that resonate with specific audiences.

Some AI assistants built into sales tools can even suggest ways to personalize interactions in real-time, drawing on insights gathered from previous conversation notes and CRM entries.

6.      Creating Assets and Resources with AI

Generative AI has emerged as a gamechanger in the sales and marketing landscape, helping companies to create comprehensive, personalized, and multi-functional assets at scale. Generative AI tools like Jasper and ChatGPT can create all kinds of resources in an instant, from sales scripts, to pitches and proposals, and even demo videos.

Sales reps can use generative AI to whip up emails, design sales decks, or write scripts that sound anything but robotic. They can even feed data into an AI system to help ensure that the content they create feels personalized, unique, and on-brand.

With AI in sales, producing valuable assets that earn consumer trust, improve the onboarding experience, or even increase conversions doesn’t have to be complex and time consuming. Reps can even use AI to convert existing resources into new mediums, like turning a sales pitch into the script for a product video.

7.      Embracing AI for Sales Training

Finally, as mentioned above, many cutting-edge experts are now discovering the benefits of using AI for sales training. Although AI tools can’t necessarily replicate the authentic experiences, knowledge, and insights offered by a world-leading coach, they can enhance the learning experience.

Business leaders can use AI to create training materials customized to the specific weaknesses and strengths of individual sales reps. Some generative AI tools can even create personalized development plans, based on a rep’s goals, abilities, and needs.

AI tools can even provide real-time coaching to agents on the job, offering ideas on how to respond to customer objections, approach negotiations, and manage follow-up processes. This all helps to empower agents to accomplish career goals faster, and more effectively.

The Future of Sales with AI Beyond 2025

There are still challenges to overcome with AI in sales. Artificial intelligence systems can still make mistakes, expose companies to security, privacy, and ethical issues, and present challenges to non-technical users. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that AI will be a common component of the sales technology stack in the years to come.

It will enhance the tools and systems sales professionals already use, transforming everything from prospecting and outreach, to asset creation and forecasting. AI solutions will also begin to act more like a fully-fledged member of the sales team, supporting human specialists with instant access to resources, recommendations, and guidance.

For sales leaders, the key to success in the years ahead will be developing a comprehensive AI strategy that involves using technology to augment, and enhance, but not replace sales teams.

If you’re ready to embrace the AI revolution, join HSE for a revolutionary “Sales AI Summit” this year, for a behind-the-scenes look at how artificial intelligence will change sales forever.