The launch of ChatGPT put generative AI (GenAI) on everyone’s radar and now our world at work is changing. Morgan Stanley predicts GenAI technologies will affect a quarter of all occupations today, rising to 44% within three years. As a result, IBM says about 40% of the workforce will need to reskill to effectively harness AI technologies.
When it comes to the world of sales, GenAI is making a pronounced impact. Research by SugarCRM reveals 80% of sales and marketing leaders will use AI, including GenAI, to maximise the value of their CRM in the next five years. Complementing this, McKinsey research shows companies that do invest in AI are seeing a revenue uplift of 3 to 15% and a sales ROI uplift of 10 to 20% so far.
The bottom line is, GenAI is here to stay and sales teams are poised to benefit from increased adoption. Used effectively, GenAI enables sales teams to do more of what they are meant to do – sell.
Using GenAI can reduce administrative load, increase personalised selling, create optimised pricing, address customer concerns and lengthen lifecycles.
Those that don’t work to integrate AI into their business operations will see themselves at a competitive disadvantage with reduced efficiencies and missed opportunities.
So, how can you start integrating GenAI into your sales function?
Steps can be as simple as using GenAI to help write emails, input data and create proposals. More sophisticated use involves using GenAI alongside other systems like CRMs to pull and analyse data for tailored recommendations.
Here are 5 ways you can use GenAI to improve selling.
5 ways you can use GenAI to improve sellingÂ
1. Take over administrative tasks
Your best sales reps usually have specific skills they hone in on whether it be amazing presentations, perfectly written emails, or an excellent phone manner.Â
GenAI can help your entire sales team lift their game by helping create emails, proposals and pitch decks to the same high standard, every time.
When it comes to phone calls, GenAI can help write scripts and create guidelines to discuss specific customer objections.
Not sure where to start? Start small, use a tool like ChatGPT to finesse an email, or write the perfect opening for a proposal.
More than this, GenAI integrated into your CRM can automate busywork like inputting customer data, creating manual tasks for other reps and organising meetings.
Reducing administrative tasks will give your sellers more time to actively sell, a dream scenario for every sales leader.Â
2. Deliver more personalised experiences Â
GenAI can help deliver the personalisation needed to elevate customer service, and nurture leads to build the depth of relationship required to close deals.
Reps can use data to create personalised and original content that resonates with each lead or segment. For example, you may have a segment of customers who prefer to short emails with specific information about one product use case.
A targeted approach boosts engagement and conversion rates. Conversation transcripts can also be analysed to identify opportunities the sales team may not have thought of or had time to consider.
3. Addressing customer queries
GenAI can help address customer queries in a number of ways. First, GenAI powered chatbots can interact with prospects right at the early stage of their journey.
Reps can use GenAI-powered search functions from their CRM to offer fast responses to customer concerns from finding the perfect case study to send to answering a technical question.
Once a customer converts, GenAI-powered helpdesks can help customers troubleshoot issues, sometimes proactively, to help reduce churn.Â
4. Optimise competitive pricing
Price optimisation can be difficult for sales teams to get right. Many reps operate solely on instinct without the time or resources to back decisions with data.
GenAI can help ensure prices are designed to drive sales and revenue. It can perform data analysis to identify customer patterns that affect the price point for a product or service.
Fast competitor research that assesses market share, pricing strategy, and product positioning can also be conducted.
GenAI can pull data from around your business to create predictive analytics that forecast the effect of different pricing strategies on sales and revenues. Analysis of data from various sources can be used to adjust prices in real time based on market conditions and customer behaviors.Â
5. Lengthening customer lifecycles
Across the funnel, GenAI is poised to help sales teams optimise their processes to drive productivity. It can identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks and suggest ways to address them.
Beyond the initial sale, GenAI can help with ongoing relationships with customers. Customer data can be assessed to determine when and how to communicate with existing customers and which customers to approach regarding upsell opportunities. This is important since it tends to be easier to sell to existing customers than to bring in new ones.
When it comes to closing, GenAI can identify the best negotiation strategies and approaches to improve the likelihood of a conversion.
AI-driven sales strategies Â
Technology-backed sales processes can help sellers be more proactive and less reactive. Using AI correctly can help sales teams reduce administrative load and use data to send more effective recommendations about products and services leading to higher ROI.
If you’re interested in learning more about sales transformation download our whitepaper, CRO Update: AI and Digital Sales Transformation.Â
