Artificial intelligence is now a topic of discussion in many companies. Current surveys clearly show that more and more companies are thinking about giving this innovative technology a chance and optimizing their processes. The projects are often located in manufacturing, but there is also a lot of potential for the area of sales.
Artificial intelligence can, as already reported, automate a large part of the sales processes and thus not only relieve employees, but also provide them with a valuable supplementary tool. According to a Salesforce study, more and more sales managers also see the relevance of AI for their area and are planning to use the technology in their area or in current and future projects.
Very few think that the thinking machines, as they are often symbolized, will replace the sales employee. Many sales departments see the charm of AI in the automation of tedious processes, which allows employees to concentrate on more important areas that contribute to growth and increased efficiency.
The opportunities that artificial intelligence creates on sales portals, for example, can be seen daily at Amazon and Netflix. Both use recommendation algorithms to offer their products or movies/series in a tailored and automated way. Adapted to the preferences and usage habits of the customers. This clearly shows how Sales could also take advantage of individualization and automation.
It even goes so far that current analyses by McKinsey in the Harvard Business Review assume that AI can create a value of 1.4 to 2.6 trillion US dollars in sales per year. In everyday sales, there are several fields where humans and machines can work closely together to generate the best experience for customers and employees.
The Personal Assistant in Sales
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One example is personal assistance for sales reps. The AI takes over partially administrative or error-intensive routine tasks, manages appointments and communication with the customer, and helps the salesperson continuously have an overview of all processes.
Chatbots also play a major role here, as they can easily perform certain tasks autonomously and are constantly learning.
Improving the sales process
Artificial intelligence can react faster and more individually to tasks than humans can usually do. Here, for example, AI can dynamically adjust prices based on customer behavior to establish the best possible pricing strategy. Similar to how Netflix suggests movies based on certain clusters and data, AI in Sales can adapt prices based on the highest probability of a sale.
Up-selling or cross-selling also becomes possible in the process, as the additional products suggested perfectly fit the needs of the particular customer.
Focusing on the customer
Sales staff cannot take care of all customers at the same time. At the same time, today’s consumers expect individualized and customized sales advice. AI tools can help here. Whether through chatbots, recommendation mechanisms or simply a well thought-out empathy strategy – AI can enormously increase customer loyalty and satisfaction and thus also make new predictions about how the customer relationship might develop in the long term.
These are just a few examples that show how artificial intelligence can currently and in the future complement classic sales processes and how sales employees can benefit from AI as a supporter and as a tool in the long term.
