For the leaders of tomorrow, sales is no longer about managing people, but also managing AI. Monitoring AI-generated insights and analytics, integrating automation into sales workflows, and keeping a pulse on data security and ethical application are among some of the key parameters of successful AI use in sales.
With customers now expecting fast and efficient action, sales are rapidly transforming. As an analysis from Harvard Business Review puts it, decision-making in sales for a competitive edge now needs to be reflexive, not just reflective. That means taking immediate action based on informed decisions.
For sales teams to stay ahead, they need to ditch old habits and look to adopt AI-friendly skills to maximize how they’re using these tools to drive revenue and personalization at scale.
It’s No Longer About the ‘Hustle’
Priorities in the workplace are shifting as a result of the presence of AI, and sales processes are no exception. The leading VPs and CROs are ditching busywork, like manually cleaning up CRM data or attending unnecessary meetings. Instead, they’re homing in on emerging priorities from accelerated change, which include personalization and adaptability.
Now, sales teams are moving away from old habits. Traditionally, sales were characterized by endless calls with current and potential clients, writing up individual emails by hand, and cross-referencing every action with every single lead in the database. Businesses can no longer cling to those old habits, especially given that traditional sales and marketing methods are causing an eye-watering $2 trillion in wasted costs and lost revenue potential.
They’re turning to AI to automate time-consuming, low-priority tasks for stronger business outcomes. CRM data entry and syncing, response handling for product or service queries, calendar management, and follow-ups are now being increasingly automated. In fact, according to a survey from HubSpot, automation is helping sales teams win back two hours of their day that are otherwise eaten up by these tasks.
The new version of hustling means investing more time in the more meaningful, human aspects of sales: Handling nuanced negotiations, closing deals and building trust with new and existing customers.
Automation Changes Sales Leaders’ Responsibilities
Integrating AI requires careful oversight from the human side, and this shouldn’t just be left to the IT department. Sales leaders who also learn how to manage automation as well as people are set to have a competitive edge and more agility. They’re not only in the know about AI’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but also where it can be best applied and how it can be managed in their operations for the highest business outcomes.
For a long time, skills like prompt design, model modification, and data literacy have been dismissed as “purely technical.” However, they’re now becoming increasingly relevant to business leaders. Those who reap the most revenue and benefits of AI are also well-versed with how it works and should be deployed. Let’s take a look at those in greater detail for sales:
- Designing strong prompts so that AI models yield strong outputs. For instance, a sales team automating email follow-ups needs to ensure their AI tool knows the context, purpose, personal details and tone to produce consistently engaging and informative emails.
- Fine-tuning models to keep up with evolving strategies and business needs. A firm might introduce a new service to align with shifting markets, meaning that sales teams need to revamp AI outputs to include and possibly prioritize outreach accordingly.
- Understanding data literacy to manage data effectively and continuously optimize AI performance. A VP of sales who fails to spot gaps in data ends up leaning on biased AI insights, so their revenue forecast reports are inaccurate. A common example of data problems is duplicates, so a sales team could be forecasting more business opportunities because of duplicate leads.
AI isn’t just a tool on the sidelines; it’s now evolving into an integral part of streamlined and speedy sales. Successful automation needs careful oversight and close attention to detail of the variables that make or break how it performs.
