Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way we work. It operates alongside us, helping us to streamline our systems and identify new opportunities. 

Sales is just one of many areas where AI has surged over the past few years. According to Salesforce, sales organizations have reported a 76 percent increase in AI usage since 2019. Additionally, more than half of high-performing sales organizations reported using AI to improve customer experience and internal processes. 

A study from McKinsey found that a third of sales tasks can be automated with AI, making sales one of the most promising industries for emerging AI technology.

Integrating AI in sales processes

Sales professionals surveyed agree that understanding customers’ needs, forecasting opportunities and prioritizing leads are some of their top reasons for using AI in their work.

Here are some of the sales tasks that can be optimized or automated with AI:

Prospect research: With so much data available, it can be overwhelming to find the meaningful information that will lead you to a qualified client. AI can help you filter through that data and analyze trends, demographics and behavior to narrow your search and clarify your outreach. And, according to McKinsey, using AI to connect with prospects has helped sales professionals increase leads and appointments by 50 percent.

Content creation and transcription: AI tools like Chat GPT can help draft emails, transcribe meetings and find important keywords or areas of text in notes.

Follow-up automation: The average sales person spends about half of their day emailing, entering data and scheduling calls. Now, all of those tasks can be partially or entirely automated using AI, which frees up sales teams to spend more time connecting with prospects. 

Pipeline assessment: The data tells us that the vast majority of sales only happen after five to 12 points of contact. AI software can assess that outreach, identify problems or opportunities in emails or phone calls, and offer follow-up suggestions based on your interactions.

Using AI to support the sales process

AI can offer significant support for your sales process. The key is to identify the areas of your day that feel like a drain of time or resources, and try to incorporate AI tools to help offload some of that work. 

You should also look at your top business goals, as a salesperson and a company. If improving the quality of leads is important, look for AI tools that will help you with lead scoring. Or, if you find that prospects are getting lost or held up in the pipeline, using AI could assess your outreach and find the areas that might not be performing well.

Should you add more tools to your tech stack?

You might be thinking, “This all sounds great – but at what cost?” Or, “Our tech stack is already a mile long. Do we really want to add more software solutions?”

These are valid concerns, especially when it feels like managing these tools adds more time and stress to your day. 

But if you are looking for ways to incorporate more AI assistance, consider performing a tech stack audit. Assess all the tools you’re using right now, and think about what they cost and how well they’re really working for your team. Gauge any pain points and determine if an AI solution could integrate with your essential software, and make sense as an investment.

Is AI a threat to sales jobs?

Some sales professionals are hesitant to incorporate AI solutions because of concerns that it could diminish or eliminate sales roles. But in most cases, companies want to use AI to empower – not replace – their salespeople. 

Nearly 80 percent of sales professionals agree that AI helps them spend more time on what matters most in their job – offering a human connection. In fact, AI solutions help free up over two hours of their day to focus more on selling. 

As we tap into new and better ways to use AI at work, we find new opportunities to support sales teams in this competitive, ever-evolving landscape.