Selling Power asked sales technology industry experts the following question:
Their expert insight is below.
“Sales is a fundamental driver of our economy but, ultimately, it’s about picking up the phone and engaging with a customer to address needs. Data-driven AI must play a larger role in sales to ensure reps are better informed with intelligent engagement of customers.”
“The power of AI is that it can make your life easier while also making you better at your job. For sales leaders, that means having an accurate forecast at the tips of your fingers. For sales reps, it means having an AI assistant keep you focused on the high-priority deals, not the loudest prospects.”
“Thanks to digitalization with sales, we have no shortage of sales-related data – sales activity, contact information, and more. AI captures and understands this vast amount of complex data and provides actionable insights, like when a deal is at risk or why star reps are outperforming. AI isn’t the future; it’s here now.”
“Start with AI that improves sales productivity: automated activity logging, intelligent search, contact upkeep. That’s the lowest hanging fruit with immediate revenue impact. Then, as a long-term investment, look for a data-driven platform with AI at its core that will improve with time.”
“In B2B sales, a trusted relationship is everything. We are seeing a sea change where leaders are using AI-fueled social selling tools to build trust with buyers and deliver personalization at scale. This enables sales to share relevant content to build a personal brand, instead of making marketing noise that undermines credibility.”
“Top revenue leaders need to lead from the front with AI. AI should be their team’s compass to cut through messy, incorrect CRM data and weak sales execution tools. It should align CFOs, CROs, managers, reps, and supporting go-to-market teams towards a shared True North of revenue acceleration.”
"Nearly 2/3 of reps’ time is spent on non-revenue-generating activities. Content management tools with AI-powered search allow sellers to quickly find relevant content that’s been effective in similar situations. This optimizes sellers’ time and ensures they’re relying on content that’ll enrich buyer conversations and aid in the sales cycle."
“There is no practical one-size-fits-all approach to coaching sales professionals. The challenge remains to be the number of styles and nuances that may present themselves in a given sales interaction. In the absence of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s impossible to scale an effective coaching methodology that takes into account how to optimize engagement levels regardless of tenure and experience in real time. That’s the power AI offers within our platform.”