Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm, but businesses must sort the real benefits from the buzzwords. AI’s capabilities and advantages vary depending on the specific use case, and understanding these is key to seeing tangible results from the technology.
Sales is a unique field for AI. Human connections are central to effective sales operations, so employees must still do much of the heavy lifting. At the same time, AI sales tools like Janek Performance Group’s Jenius can help these workers reach their full potential. Here’s a closer look at how sales teams can benefit from AI.
5 Benefits of Using AI Sales Tools
1. Higher Efficiency
The most obvious advantage of any AI tool is that it saves time. Many employees spend much of their workday taking care of administrative or noncritical tasks that, while important, don’t directly lead to results. AI can handle these processes to streamline the day and give salespeople more face-to-face time with prospective buyers.
For example, Jenius provides immediate visibility into sales and performance data through natural language prompts. While it may seem like a small change, being able to pull up important information by asking a question instead of sifting through multiple windows saves considerable time in the long run. It also provides no-code tool-building functions so teams can develop proprietary sales apps without lengthy manual programming sessions.
These time savings are not about taking work away from employees. Rather, it’s about automating and streamlining the less important and engaging parts of the job so sales professionals can do what they do best and most enjoy.
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2. Better Conversion Rates
AI sales tools also typically lead to improved conversions when teams use them appropriately. These gains come from AI’s ability to highlight trends humans may miss to make it easier to see where and how selling techniques can improve.
Turning leads into customers requires an understanding of what people need, how to recognize those needs, and how to act on them. Because this is such a human field, it also means understanding your unique strengths as a salesperson to make the most of those innate talents. AI can help you uncover these details to drive more conversions.
Jenius does this through tailoring training and development steps to individual employees based on their past performance. It also simulates conversations so you can hone your skills without worrying about turning away a potential client if you make a mistake.
3. Lower Long-Term Costs
The higher conversion rates and efficiency of AI sales tools eventually lead to lower costs. Finances are a big concern with any new technology, with many teams hesitating to adopt AI because it means more upfront expenses. However, over time, AI’s improvements mean you ultimately save more money than you spend.
Many of these savings stem from spending less time on non-mission-critical tasks. Less wasted time means salespeople have more room in their schedules to make deals. That, paired with the better tactics they’ve developed from using AI training tools like Jenius, results in higher sales than what would otherwise be possible, making up for the cost of the AI solution.
AI can also reduce operational expenses by minimizing mistakes. Automating basic tasks and refining operations through AI-guided insights means less waste from errors, which further improves the return on investment (ROI).
4. Mitigated Talent Shortages
AI sales tools can also help sales teams overcome talent gaps. While concerns around AI-driven job loss abound, AI cannot replace human professionals in this field. When businesses use it correctly, it can even have the opposite effect — helping companies hire more people or stay productive when no one’s applying.
Training platforms like Jenius substantially reduce the time and resources it takes to onboard a new salesperson. Adapting educational resources to individuals’ unique needs also means you can hire people who may otherwise not qualify, as you can reliably give them the experience and knowledge they’ll need. As a result, you can grow your team faster and more cost-effectively.
In other cases, AI’s productivity benefits help smaller sales teams make a bigger impact without needing additional workers. Using AI this way means a lull in applications or an organization growing faster than new people entering the workforce, which won’t stand in the way of meeting sales targets.
5. Ongoing Optimization
Similarly, AI’s data analytics capabilities mean sales teams can embrace ongoing improvements. This field can change quickly, so effective sales workflows require a spirit of always looking for ways to get better or meet new challenges. AI enables such optimization by providing a deeper look at emerging trends.
Managers can use Jenius to get real-time feedback on employee performance to see where each worker can improve. Salespeople can get immediate responses to their questions or develop new skills without time-consuming research or trial and error. On a higher management level, department heads can review relevant metrics over time to recognize growth opportunities.
Adaptability requires an understanding of how things are changing, especially concerning where you are now in relation. AI tools like Jenius offer that insight as quickly as it becomes available, letting sales teams evolve as necessary to keep achieving more as their environment changes.
How to Choose an AI Sales Tool
In light of these benefits, any modern sales team should consider how AI can fit into its workflow. However, not every AI tool is equally beneficial for every business. Driving an acceptable ROI from this technology starts with recognizing the ideal option for your company.
AI sales tools come in many forms today, so making the right choice is largely a matter of finding one that suits your specific needs. Start by reviewing your current performance, goals, and workflows to see where you have the most room to grow. For example, if your salespeople often hit a wall in their progression after hiring or you spend a lot of time onboarding, a training solution like Jenius may be the optimal path forward.
Integrations with your existing tech stack also deserve attention. Sales professionals often use multiple apps for various tasks, so an AI platform will be most convenient when it connects to these other programs. Alternatively, look for a service that can take the place of several separate apps.
You should also consider ease of use. Some AI sales tools have advanced functionality but feature a steep learning curve, which will delay their ROI. By contrast, an easy-to-use, intuitive and no-code option will show bigger results in less time.
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Tips for Using AI Sales Tools Effectively
After choosing the right AI sales tool, teams must follow implementation best practices to use it to its full potential. The first step is to begin communicating with your employees ahead of deployment. Explain how workflows may change with the new system, and that everyone can expect some initial disruption as they learn how to use the AI solution.
As with many technologies, it’s often best to start small. Introduce AI to just a few employees or a singular workflow first and closely monitor the rollout to see how it worked well and where your approach could improve. Use what you learn in this pilot project to adjust your AI introduction to other workers or processes in the future.
Effective AI implementation also relies on data availability and quality. AI can only deliver relevant insights when it has enough reliable information to act on. Gather as much as you can from across your workflows and use an automated data cleansing process to get more out of your AI analytics.
Finally, remember that AI is not a replacement for human talent. You should never view it as an alternative to salespeople. Rather, look at it as a tool for your employees to get more out of their natural talents. This philosophy will ensure an ethical and more effective AI rollout.
Use AI to Transform Your Sales Department
Not capitalizing on AI could turn out to be a massive mistake as your competitors take advantage of it to optimize their workflows. See how Jenius can help you embrace ongoing optimization and improve your sales performance today to take your business into the digital age.
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