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How Automation and AI Are Transforming the Sales Landscape

By Indira Carino

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way businesses operate and sell their products and services. With social distancing and remote work becoming the new normal, sales teams have had to adapt to virtual selling. This shift to virtual selling has highlighted the need for sales organisations to leverage the latest sales technology to improve their sales process and connect with customers effectively.

Sales is evolving rapidly; according to The Future of Sales report by Gartner, it is shaped by three capabilities: hyper-automation, digital scalability, and artificial intelligence (AI). These three technologies are driving a permanent transformation of organisations' sales strategies and processes, moving from a seller-centric to a buyer-centric orientation and from analogue sales processes to hyper-automated, digital-first customer engagement.

Hyperautomation is the implementation of complementary tools that automate and augment business processes, freeing sales professionals to focus on high-value tasks like relationship building and customer engagement. Digital scalability allows sales organisations to scale their operations digitally using new skills and digital tools to become digital-first sellers, and AI is shifting these sales organisations from highly analogue decision-making to automated algorithm-based decision-making, enabling a better understanding of customers' needs and preferences.

To stay competitive in today's market, sales leaders must adapt to the new age of selling, which means prioritising digital sales channels over traditional sales methods. By incorporating automation and AI into their sales strategies, sales teams can streamline processes and improve productivity, allowing sales professionals to focus on building relationships with customers. This shift in focus can drive conversions and ultimately lead to greater success in the digital-first sales approach.

Three key ways that automation and AI can revolutionise your sales productivity:

  1. By utilizing automation tools, sales professionals can effectively delegate time-consuming administrative tasks such as managing inboxes, scheduling calendars, organizing contacts, and sending emails. This allows for more focused attention on cultivating meaningful relationships with customers, ultimately boosting productivity.

  2. Sales professionals can use AI tools to capture and analyse crucial information from meetings and customer calls, allowing them to focus on what truly matters. This includes note-taking, meeting summaries, live transcripts, and call recordings, which can provide valuable insights and improve customer engagement.

  3. AI can help maximise your team's potential by providing training opportunities that unlock higher growth potential. For example, with AI coaching, sales professionals can improve their email and outreach strategies, learn from top-performing sales calls through recordings and replays, and even delegate selling tasks to AI, focusing on website conversions. By leveraging AI technology, sales teams can optimise their efforts and achieve tremendous success in their digital-first sales approach.

While less than 40% of sales teams currently use AI in their processes, automation and AI will become increasingly crucial for staying ahead of the competition as sales continues to evolve. To embrace the new age of tech and unlock the full potential of their sales organizations, companies must incorporate automation and AI into their sales strategies and processes.

If you're interested in learning more about how automation and AI can revolutionize your sales productivity, we're here to help. Contact us today to explore the possibilities and discover how we can support your sales team in staying ahead of the competition and unlocking their true potential.

Tags: grow better, B2B, Marketing & Sales, AI, technology

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