Artificial Intelligence has ceased to be merely a familiar technological advancement of the future. Instead, AI has become the fundamental tool that enables vital changes within an organization, from the operators to the final decision-makers. More recently, sales leadership has been one of the areas gaining the most from AI advancements. As organizations continue grappling with the increasing complexity and competitiveness of the business environment, IT sales are being propelled by AI and Generative AI, which are solving problems and providing sales leaders with new technologies on how to interact with customers, run queues, and make management decisions based on metrics.
Initially, the main task of artificial intelligence was the mechanization of monotonous actions. At present, however, it has matured into providing actionable insights, forecasts, and suggestions. In a recent Salesforce report, 52% of IT sales leaders deploy AI technology for enhanced productivity, with a further 85% predicting that it will form a core part of their strategies within the next five years. Companies that apply AI to their business report an increase in conversions of 10 to 15% and a growth of 5 to 10% in the rate of client retention.
Managing complex sales pipelines and client contracts is a constant headache for IT sales leaders. Failing to remember a renewal date or a milestone shoots a company in the foot, resulting in incoming revenue loss and, in the future, an opportunity loss as well. AI-based applications like Salesforce Einstein, Microsoft Dynamics, and HubSpot bring in real-time alerts for such cases, along with reminders for renewals and milestones. They allow sales teams to pursue customers and improve chances for retention as well as upsells. A Salesforce global report showed that the participating companies that had AI integrated within the sales cycle saw their pipeline accuracy increase by 50%.
A case in point here is Schneider Electric, a global energy management and automation leader, that implemented Salesforce’s Sales Cloud and Service Cloud as part of its “One Schneider” strategy to unify its systems and create a 360-degree view of customers. The company enhanced its CRM with AI-powered CRM Analytics and Einstein Discovery, which analyze data from multiple sources, including IoT, to identify sales opportunities and predict conversion likelihood. This AI-driven approach helped Schneider Electric reduce its sales cycle time by 30%, ensuring that global sales teams focus on the most promising leads.
It is equally important to ensure active scanning of new customer data. The most sophisticated tools, such as Perplexity AI and TextCortex, are now crucial tools. Unlike conventional analytical resources, Perplexity and several other resources combine offline and online information to create a picture of the target audience’s behavioral activities and tendencies at the moment. This allows sales teams to access such data whenever there is a change in clientele’s needs or interests, making interaction with such clients more helpful and more focused. This function is most effective with highly developing industries or highly dynamic clients.
Tools of Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, CoPilot, or Google Bard, have also been of great use in ensuring that communication is effective and, above all, personalized. Enterprise sales teams can use these tools to automate the generation of personalized proposals, along with any follow-up and marketing copy that will appeal to their clients in no time. This level of automation ensures that interactions with clients remain relevant and personal, with no substantial input of manual effort, thereby easing the burden of responding to the increasing demands of customers in terms of their expectations for the degree of personalization and speed. The application of such tools is seen globally in many different fields, such as industry and finance, where there is increasing pressure to provide clients with tailored services and fast feedback.
Another common challenge is the degradation of knowledge, particularly during team transitions or onboarding new hires. AI-powered tools like Gong.io and Chorus capture and analyze sales conversations, while IBM Watson organizes and stores insights from past client interactions. These platforms reduce reliance on “tribal knowledge,” aid new hires in getting up to speed quickly, and ensure that best practices are documented and shared across the team. With teams often dispersed across different regions, these tools are crucial for maintaining consistency and knowledge continuity in global sales operations.
For example, Iron Mountain, a global leader in storage and information management, used Gong to reduce new-hire ramp time by 3 months and improve sales effectiveness. By leveraging Gong’s AI-driven insights, the company provided data-backed coaching and visibility into sales calls, helping new reps quickly identify the best practices and improve their performance. As a result, 60% of new reps hit their key metrics within five months, compared to just 9% before Gong, leading to a 148% improvement in performance. Gong’s call tracking and coaching features enabled more efficient onboarding and faster ramp-up, even in a fully remote environment.
As we have seen, therefore, both AI and Generative AI are transforming the IT sales landscape as they allow leaders to more efficiently manage their pipelines, enhance their customer interactions, and protect crucial information. They enable sales leaders to tackle the challenges of modern, fast-paced, global markets effectively. They can remain in touch with customers, be aware of the latest trends and strategies, and be prepared for expansion. As AI evolves further, it has been predicted that AI will complement sales functions with increasing significance, and it is likely to become an important success factor for IT sales leaders globally.
Reference:
https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/generative-ai-statistics/#h-salespeople-say-generative-ai-will-help-sell-more-efficiently
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-value-of-getting-personalization-right-or-wrong-is-multiplying
https://www.salesforce.com/resources/customer-stories/schneider-electric-harness-powerful-customer-insights/
https://www.gong.io/case-studies/ascending-the-peak-how-gong-helped-new-hires-at-iron-mountain-hit-their-ramp-targets/
Author:
Harsh Agarwal,
Senior Manager – Business Development
Recent Posts
