BUSINESS OPERATIONS
By Derek McCallum
How to use Artificial Intelligence in Sales
F
rom self-driving cars to manufacturing robots and virtual assistants, the AI revolution is firmly underway. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, 84 percent of U.S. business executives believe it will be “necessary” to implement AI at scale within the next three years. What’s more, PwC estimates that the global AI market will grow by an astounding $70 billion in the next year alone. Businesses large and small can benefit from incorporating AI into their processes and workflows. Yet among all teams and departments, sales perhaps stand to gain the most from adopting AI technologies. Careful, considerate use of the right AI sales techniques can transform your sales team, making your salespeople dramatically more productive and profitable.
What is AI in sales? Artificial intelligence in sales is the use of AI and machine learning techniques to improve the performance of your sales teams. Sales techniques such as product recommendation engines and predictive lead scoring are already based on AI techniques. However, sales teams may be using these tools haphazardly, without extracting the most benefit or without being a part of a larger AI-enabled strategy. Derek McCallum is Co-Founder and Chief Data Officer for IronFocus, a data services company providing companies with insight into their marketing, sales, and customer retention strategies. He is the idea guy for difficult business situations and forms solutions based on data and facts rather than emotion or beliefs. For more information, visit ironfocus.com 40 | THE STEEL ERECTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
AI for sales wholeheartedly embraces the concept of using artificial intelligence and machine learning, taking your sales team to the next level. In a 2018 Salesforce survey, sales leaders predicted that sales teams’ use of AI would increase faster than any other technology, with an estimated two-year growth rate of 155 percent. The survey also found that by 2020, 54 percent of sales leaders expect to be using AI technology. This comes as no surprise when you consider that high-performing sales teams are 4.9 times more likely than underperformers to already be using AI.
4 ways to use artificial intelligence in sales Nearly everyone is in agreement that using artificial intelligence for sales is a good idea, but what does AI for sales actually look like in practice? Below, we’ll discuss four ways to integrate AI into your sales processes.
