Few people would debate that, in our personal and professional lives, artificial intelligence (AI) is only scratching the surface of possibilities. Then there’s the little matter of what exactly constitutes AI. For years, we have been using technology tools that have intuitive functions and predictive features that some may argue are a flavor of AI.
We’re not here to advocate one way or another. What we are here to do is talk about some of the AI-esque tools that sales departments are utilizing to not only improve their approach to client communications, but also ferret out what prospects’ needs align with your company’s product and service menu.
There are other exciting applications, many of which will revolve around interpreting data/customer input. Plus, we’re sure that developers are either coming up with, or have already produced, applications that take into account verticals, geographies and other data to further simplify the prospect-hunting process. And it’s not just about making the rep’s life easier, but if we can add hours back to their week’s load, that means they should be able to cover a wider territory. With sales folks being difficult to come by, this is no small consideration.
This week’s look at our State of the Industry report on sales provides just a few examples of how AI is being brandished by office dealers. As it becomes more prevalent, predictive and intuitive technology will enable you, the dealer, and your clients to do more with less. And that is the quickest path to profitability.
Multi-Purpose Tools
Some dealers, such as LDI Connect of Jericho, New York, are leveraging AI to generate vertical market opportunities and looking beyond its database. From strategic hires that can yield the most value to forecasting sales performance, the Long Island dealer is bullish on cultivating more applications, notes Jay Feldman, senior vice president, client management and strategy.
“We hope AI will play a larger role in defining new tasks within the sales organization, but mostly within the sales process,” he said. “We can increase the speed to processing whether it’s a marketing campaign or being able to process an order effectively. That way, we can give time back to our sales organization and also time back to the administrators, so they can process an order effectively, get it delivered, billed, funded and so forth, and then ultimately pay out to a sales rep.”
Dawn Abbuhl was able to jump on the AI bandwagon earlier than most. In addition to being a technology aficionado, the president of Repeat Business Systems in Albany, New York, has a friend who owns a firm that helps clients use AI to maximize their business performance, whether it’s for marketing, HR or other departments.
“I love to try new things,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s a perfect fit for everything, but I always keep an open mind and give it a shot,” she said. “We use it for contracts to proposals, marketing, data mining and anything we can think of. It’s so easy and fun.”
AI has also come to the rescue in non-work applications. Abbuhl sits on the board of directors for a company that was searching for a name to call their new signature event. She asked AI to come up with 25 names for the event, based on certain criteria. After identifying the top three names, she used them as the basis to refine her request and produce 25 more options.
“It’s really a toy,” she added.
Tie-straightener
While account reps have the ability to forge strong relationships by using plain-spoken language, there’s nothing wrong with adding a little polish to the pitch. Lance Redler, CRO for Charleston, South Carolina-based Levifi, directed his team to run email correspondence through ChatGPT to ensure the messaging adheres to minimum grammar standards.
“Sales reps generally don’t come out of English PhD programs, so it’s been helpful to take more of a professional approach,” he said. “With marketing, we rely on Kaseya software, which has some AI features built in that have helped us tremendously with our collaterals. Plus, Xerox is building AI tools into its AltaLink C8200s for automating tasks and increasing productivity.
“We’re also looking for ways that we can monetize AI, as we have a large managed IT base. We do a tremendous amount of virtual server hosting, which uses AI algorithms.”
Some dealers are still making their way down the AI path in assessing ways it can bring value to the sales process, such as Applied Business Concepts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Scott Bonck, vice president of sales, notes his company is investigating how AI can produce account recaps by capturing the conversation with clients, to be added to Applied Business Concepts’ CRM or database.
“It’s something we’re looking at for the future,” he said. “But I’m really quite surprised with what I’ve seen.”
