AI in sales is all the rage right now, and for good reason. You’ve heard the old adage that time is money in sales and it’s true. The more efficiency you achieve across your sales organization, the more customers you can convert and the more revenue you can generate.
Artificial intelligence has been a major contributor to efforts by sales teams to improve results in recent years. Conversation intelligence software, for instance, is used to analyze interactions with prospects through text and speech platforms. AI-driven analysis is more effective at evaluating CX factors and optimizing service methods and approaches.
When you understand the role of AI in sales, you’re in a much better position to leverage its capabilities within your organization.
Today, we’ll cover:
What is sales AI?
“Sales AI” refers to artificial intelligence technology you use to simplify and optimize your sales processes. Various types of AI-driven software are now in use across sales-based operations—often to improve the experience for customers and coach sales personnel more effectively.
AI supports both agent-based sales activities and self-supported interactions via chatbots. Sales reps benefit from the insights gleaned to improve strategies for converting prospects into customers. AI analysis of large volumes of customer interactions can improve sales and support activities by identifying areas for chatbot optimization.
AI in sales examples
Artificial intelligence is a broad and diverse technological field. There are a range of interrelated types and subsets of AI that you can apply to AI. Here are just a few examples:
- Conversational AI: This is artificial intelligence which mimics human interactions. Using natural language processing (NLP) and related tech, this area of AI is particularly useful in sales for providing cross- or up-sell opportunities via AI sales bots.
- Conversation intelligence: Similarly named and related to the above, conversation intelligence is when AI helps sales organizations to analyze interactions and derive actionable insights.
- Predictive analytics: Applying AI to analyze large amounts of data, spot trends, and make predictions for the future. In sales, this may involve forecasting future areas of sales growth or resources needed to meet sales objectives.
- Generative AI: Artificial intelligence that’s able to be “creative” and produce new content (which can be written or visual). In sales, this may be useful for more cost-effective production of sales collateral like emails or for generating sales call scripts.
Benefits of AI in sales
There are a few key benefits to using AI for sales. These benefits impact the customer or prospect experience as well as the ability of your agents to manage the selling process. They include:
- Sales process automation
- Boosted productivity
- Improved conversion rates
Sales process automation
The first key benefit of sales AI is its ability to automate otherwise time-consuming processes. Things like call disposition, updating customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, and other previously manually after call work (ACW) is taken off your reps’ shoulders. That leads seamlessly into our second advantage.
Boosted productivity
With fewer time-consuming tasks on their plates, reps can spend more time actually selling. And that’s just one way that sales AI can boost productivity. Their sales activities can also be supported by AI-generated tips on live calls, better tailored coaching, and more. All of which results in…
Improved conversion rates
With automated sales processes and boosted sales rep productivity, conversion rates improve. You can more effectively home in on the right types of prospects with ideal communication strategies, and your reps have the time and support needed to close those deals.
Different ways AI sales tools can help you close more deals
AI tools for sales can help your sales reps in a range of ways across a great many areas of the sales process. Here are just a few ways that AI sales software, like RingSense AI, could help you close more deals:
- AI sales prospecting and lead qualification
- AI sales calls scripting
- AI sales assistant on live calls
- AI sales coaching post-call
- AI sales bots
- AI to automate sales representatives’ after call work (ACW)
- AI sales forecasting and analytics
AI sales prospecting and lead qualification
AI analysis of prospect interactions gives your business more visibility for improving lead-based qualification. It helps you improve lead-scoring models based on analysis of interactions, prospect traits, and other factors. Improved lead scoring by AI sales prospecting tools reduces time spent on less-promising prospects.
AI sales calls scripting
Agents benefit from improved scripts used on sales calls. The ideal AI sales call scripts help agents say the right things at the right time based on prospect interactions.
AI sales assistant on live calls
With the right solution, your reps can also have a sales AI assistant on hand while they’re on calls talking with prospects. RingSense AI, for example, delivers automated coaching tips so the team can give consistent, successful pitches.
AI sales coaching post-call
Sales artificial intelligence can also help with coaching post-call and at scale. RingSense delivers automated post-call feedback via an AI coach so sellers can improve over time. What’s more, AI is great at analyzing large volumes of sales data to extract actionable insights which can apply to coaching across your organization.
AI sales bots
AI sales chatbots are yet another example of useful AI sales automation. They provide fast, convenient access to prospects who have questions. Responding quickly to prospect inquiries is important to winning customers. AI-powered chatbots can accurately identify answers to common questions and make resource recommendations.
AI to automate sales representatives’ after call work (ACW)
Artificial intelligence tools in sales are also great for handling the repetitive, time-consuming, and yet vital tasks that reps otherwise have to handle themselves.
RingSense AI, for instance, seamlessly records and transcribes phone calls and video meetings and stores them for easy retrieval afterwards. Automated note taking during sales calls also helps reps to focus on active listening.
When the call’s done, RingSense then automatically updates sales CRMs like Salesforce. That automated data entry of summaries and next steps into CRMs aids hygiene and helps reps move on to the next call more quickly.
AI sales forecasting and analytics
Finally, AI can also help you make the most of all that lovely sales data. Data analytics is a known strength of artificial intelligence, with tools able to process and understand a large volume of data near-instantaneously.
RingSense AI can delve into your data and provides insights into what topics, competitors, and products customers are interested in. As well as insights across all your customers on your competition and their most common objections. All that actionable stuff you can use to close more deals.
RingSense: An AI sales platform that will help you close more deals
AI is making a huge impact on sales and business in general. By leveraging AI, you can improve sales coaching, optimize conversion rates, and give customers access to more effective self-supported chatbot interactions.
RingSense is designed specifically to support sales leaders through accurate and efficient data extraction powered by artificial intelligence.
Grow your sales team through custom and tailored onboarding for new hires. Improve coaching through sales enablement features like data-driven sales playbooks and greater individual and team insights. Empower your agents with AI-driven action suggestions during customer interactions.
Continually improve the digital customer experience with automated buyer journey summaries that offer insight into past interactions while creating upsell opportunities. Track customer behaviors and messaging sentiment more effectively.
All of these advantages boost your sales productivity and conversion rates. AI has become the great differentiator between companies that thrive and those that lose out to more tech-savvy and innovative leaders.
Contact sales or get a demo today to learn more about how RingSense can help you make the most of AI in sales.
AI sales FAQs
What is AI sales?
AI sales is the name given to a sales process that utilizes artificial intelligence technology. Subsets of AI such as conversation intelligence, predictive analytics, and generative AI can all help sales teams to improve conversions and close more deals.
How should I use AI in sales?
Precisely how AI and sales can best mesh for your reps depends on your organization and its sales goals. If you find that reps aren’t able to make as many sales calls each day as you’d like, automation of ACW may be your most useful application of AI. If it’s not the number of calls but their success rate that’s the issue, live AI assistance and coaching on those calls may work better for you.
Will AI replace sales reps?
That’s a resounding no. Any sales professional will tell you that human connection and trust-building will always be crucial to selling. AI is advancing apace, but it won’t ever be able to build rapport or connect on an emotional level like a human. Sales AI is best thought of as a support and a complement to your sales reps. When artificial intelligence and highly skilled reps work in perfect harmony is when you close most deals.
Originally published Dec 18, 2024, updated Dec 22, 2024
