But what about B2B? While your salad order might not seem like a sales pitch, the principles are the same: understanding what the customer wants, delivering it efficiently, and making the whole experience seamless.
Over the next five years, AI will do more than just make sales easier. It’s going to completely change the way we think about sales goals. So forget just meeting quotas - we’re going to be talking about how AI can help you:
- Give your sales teams a huge boost
- Get your processes smoothed out
- Unlock peak performance
AI for sales teams: Unlock peak performance to go from good to great
Just like a personal trainer can help you reach your fitness goals, AI tools can help your sales teams reach their full potential. And who doesn’t want to go from good to great? Here are our three must-haves to boost your team’s performance:
Streamline sales workflows
Sellers bogged down with repetitive tasks like data entry or scheduling aren’t doing what they do best. The right tools can automate all of that so your reps can focus on what’s important: building relationships and closing deals.
Tools to consider:
1. Zapier
You’ve probably already heard of how Zapier connects your different apps so they can share data automatically. According to a study from the University of California, Irvine, tool switching can cost you an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to refocus after an interruption!
2. Outreach
Automate email sequences and follow-ups with Outreach so your team can nurture leads instead of spending hours in their inboxes. Your sales reps spend an average of 21% of their day on email-related activities, so having a tool to take over frees them up.
3. Dooly
Let Dooly automate note-taking and data entry for your sellers. It integrates with your CRM and automatically updates records based on your conversations and meetings.
Enhanced sales training
Give your sales team a coach without someone constantly looking over their shoulders. These AI tools can listen to every sales call and give sellers personalized feedback to make sure they’re ready to smash it on the next call.
Tools to consider:
4. Gong
With Gong’s call recording software, you can transcribe and analyze calls for insights. Now that you know what’s working and what’s not, you can adjust your approach accordingly.
5. Salesforce Salescloud Einstein
Salesforce Einstein is a suite of AI-powered tools integrated into its platform. This tool provides coaching tips based on CRM data to help your team improve its performance over time.
6. Second Nature
Give your reps a safe and free environment to practice sales conversations with Second Nature. The tool creates realistic AI simulations so your sellers can test any and every scenario, including talking to a virtual pitch partner.
Collaborative sales environments
Sales isn’t a solo sport. Sales representatives need to stay connected with each other and their customers to share information and collaborate more effectively. From communication to digital sales rooms, your reps need these AI tools to ensure sales is a team sport.
Tools to consider:
7. Slack
More than just a messaging app, Slack can integrate with your existing tools to create a central communication hub for your team. To make things even more efficient, be sure to take advantage of integrations between your CRM and Slack.
8. Guru
This tool acts as a knowledge base for your team by storing product information, sales scripts, and best practices in one place. Guru’s AI-powered enterprise wiki makes it easy for your sellers to find what they need when they need it.
9. emlen
You can’t be surprised that we’re mentioning our solution here. emlen’s digital sales room solution helps your sales team understand the content that’s working best and where your buyers are getting stuck on their journey.
With in-depth analytics to track content engagement and buyer behavior, emlen helps sellers share the right content at the right time. Now, you can connect your sales team and buyers in one collaborative space to make decisions efficiently.
When you use these AI tools and strategies, you’re not looking to replace human sales reps with robots (at least, not yet). Instead, it’s about giving your team support and the advantage to reach new heights beyond their quotas.
Having the right tools is great, but giving your sellers the knowledge and insights to make the best decisions is also essential. AI-powered sales intelligence helps transform raw data into actionable strategies to do precisely that.
AI-powered sales intelligence for smarter decision-making
Ever wanted a personal data analyst on your sales team who can sift through mountains of information just to discover those hidden gems?
Well, that’s what AI can do. While not entirely a crystal ball, these tools can predict customer behavior, identify trends, and pinpoint the most valuable opportunity.
Here’s how sales intelligence tools do that:
Data-driven insights
Don’t bog your reps down with analyzing overwhelming amounts of data. Aggregating from sources like your CRM, website analytics, social media, and even external databases doesn’t need to be their only job. AI tools can reveal customer preferences, pain points, and buying behavior so your sales team is ready to go.
Tools to consider:
10. emlen
emlen’s customers, Babbel and Bookwire, use our solution to learn how their content performs and how buyers engage with it. With the information, they can use their resources to produce more compelling content instead of content that never gets opened.
For Babbel, this meant a significant engagement, leading to more personalized and effective interactions with prospects. Bookwire, on the other hand, was able to streamline its content delivery process, helping it better understand buyer behavior. These AI-driven insights helped them exceed goals by focusing on what truly works.
11. Clari
Clari is a powerful revenue operations platform that helps sales teams forecast revenue more accurately. With its AI insights, you get a real-time view of your pipeline’s health, at-risk deals identification, and information on the most promising opportunities so deals close on time.
12. People.ai
People.ai automatically captures all sales activities (like emails, meetings, and calls) and uses the data to give your team performance and customer engagement insights. By analyzing these interactions, People.ai helps teams identify whether strategies are working. With the data, teams can gain more effective sales processes and higher conversion rates.
Predictive analytics for better targeting
Cut out all the guesswork and focus on the leads most likely to buy. With AI-powered predictive analytics, that’s precisely what you can do. These advanced models sift through mountains of data–from past customer behavior to the latest market trends–to identify leads most likely to convert.
Tools to consider:
13. 6sense
6sense is an AI-powered platform to help you identify and target high-intent prospects. It analyzes buying signals and behavioral data so your sales team can prioritize the right leads with a personalized approach.
14. InsideSales
Want to know which leads are most likely to convert? InsideSales uses predictive analytics to prioritize leads so your sellers can focus on the most promising prospects. By analyzing data from your CRM systems, emails, or even external sources, this tool can predict the likelihood of closing.
15. Salesforce Sales AI and Einstein Copilot
Integrated directly into your Salesforce CRM, this AI duo helps your team sell faster and smarter. With predictive insights from Einstein Copilot, your reps get a clear picture of the leads to focus on to increase their chances of closing deals and exceeding their quotas.
When you weave predictive analytics into your sales strategy, you’re not just aiming to meet quotas–you’re setting your team up to go beyond them.
Personalized sales strategies
Imagine walking into a store where every item on display is exactly what you’ve been looking for. That’s the kind of experience AI can create for your prospects–but in the context of B2B sales.
With AI-driven personalization, you’re not just in the dark about what your customers want. You know. By analyzing everything from past interactions to browsing behavior, AI tailors your pitches, offers, and content to match each prospect’s unique needs and preferences.
Tools to consider:
16. Adobe Sensei
Adobe Sensei takes personalization to the next level by analyzing customer data to deliver spot-on content and offers. Whether crafting the perfect email or suggesting the ideal product, Sensei ensures every interaction feels tailored to the individual, helping you build stronger connections.
17. Crystal
Crystal analyzes a prospect’s personality and communication style, allowing your reps to tailor their messaging to resonate with them. Whether it’s choosing the right tone or the perfect pitch, Crystal helps your team connect on a more personal level, making every interaction count.
18. Zoho CRM with Zia
Zia, an AI assistant, helps personalize interactions by analyzing customer behavior. It will suggest the best time to contact leads, identify the most relevant content to share, and even suggest the right approach. Zia makes it easier for your sales team to craft messages that hit home to boost engagement and conversion rates.
When you integrate this AI-powered personalization into your sales strategy, you’re not just engaging prospects–you’re building sustainable relationships. And in sales, that’s the key to turning conversations into conversions.
The rise of intelligent sales assistants to boost productivity
Too many sales reps across all sectors and industries are bogged down by routine tasks, which means they’re not spending time on selling.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Your sellers can have their own AI-powered personal assistants that handle everything from answering basic inquiries to crafting personalized content.
Virtual sales representatives
AI chatbots are stepping in as virtual sales representatives, taking on routine tasks like:
- Answering common questions
- Scheduling meetings
- Lead qualification
This means your sellers can focus on high-value activities like building relationships and closing deals.
Tools to consider:
19. Intercom
Intercom’s AI chatbots engage with website visitors and answer questions in real-time. They can also help schedule meetings or route inquiries to the appropriate salesperson, ensuring no lead gets lost.
20. Drift (by Salesloft)
Want an AI-powered chatbot that manages everything from qualifying leads to booking meetings directly into sellers’ calendars? Drift has you covered. It’s like having a virtual assistant that never sleeps, ensuring prospects are always engaged and moving forward.
Augmented sales coaching
Learning on the job with AI? That’s what AI tools for augmented sales coaching do. Your sellers can improve from call-to-call with AI that can listen in, analyze the conversation, and provide instant suggestions on overcoming objections or closing the deal.
Tools to consider:
21. Chorus.ai (by Zoominfo)
Whether it’s highlighting key moments or providing tips on handling objections, Chorus.ai turns every call into a learning opportunity. The tool records and analyzes the calls, offering insights and feedback to help your reps improve their performance.
22. ExecVision
ExecVision is another powerful tool that transcribes and analyzes calls, offering actionable insights to help your sellers improve. It also allows team managers to review those calls to provide targeted coaching to make sure every rep is constantly leveling up.
Automated sales content generation
Crafting personalized emails, proposals, and presentations can eat up a lot of time. AI-powered tools can help generate these materials quickly and accurately, customized to each prospect’s needs. Now, your sales team can spend less time on the paperwork.
Tools to consider:
23. Automizy
Do you want to create personalized email campaigns that resonate with your audience? Whether you’re reaching out to new leads or nurturing existing ones, Automizy helps you create emails that get opened and drive action.
24. Proposify
Proposify helps sales teams create customer proposals quickly and easily. With built-in templates and AI-driven suggestions, your team can personalize documents to fit each prospect without spending hours on formatting and content creation.
Intelligent sales assistants aren’t about replacing your sales team. They’re about empowering them. When you integrate intelligent sales assistants into your sales strategy, you’ll be boosting productivity and transforming the way your team works.
AI for sales teams: Unlocking peak performance to go from good to great
If your sellers are stuck doing repetitive tasks, they’re not performing at their peak. Here’s how to use AI in a way that can unlock a whole new level of efficiency and skill.
Streamlined sales workflows
Manual data entry? Follow-up scheduling? That’s busy work, not sales work. Let AI automate these repetitive tasks, so your team isn’t bogged down. We’ll break down everything you need to get started.
Automate CRM updates
Tools like Zapier or Dooly can automatically update CRM data after calls and meetings. Your sellers won’t need to waste time manually inputting details.
Set triggers so that as soon as a meeting ends, the notes, follow-up actions, and even new deal stages are logged without lifting a finger.
Scheduling made simple
Implement AI-powered scheduling assistants like Clara or X.ai to automatically find and schedule the best times for meetings with your leads.
No more back-and-forth emails just to lock in a time. This small change will save your team hours per week!
When you automate these tasks, you’re removing friction from your sales process so your reps can focus their energy on tasks that actually move the needle.
Enhanced sales training
Training your sales team isn’t just about endless workshops or shadowing. It’s about creating realistic, hands-on learning experiences.
AI simulations and role-playing activities gives your sellers the chance to practice in a risk-free environment to develop skills they can apply immediately.
AI simulations
Platforms like Second Nature create interactive AI-powered role-play sessions that simulate actual sales calls. Your reps can practice their pitch with a virtual “prospect” who reacts in real-time.
Now, your reps can try different approaches and get immediate feedback on what works.
Personalized coaching from AI insights
Tools like Wingman by Clari provide AI-driven analysis of your sales calls to give your sellers insights on where they can improve (such as better objection handling or tone of voice refinement).
Instead of offering general advice, Wingman delivers personalized coaching tips based on specific moments in each call so your team can consistently hone their skills based on actual performance data.
With these tools, your sales team can practice, refine, and enhance their techniques to prepare them for whatever comes next.
Collaborative sales environments
Sales isn’t a solo effort. Your sales team needs to collaborate not just with each other but with prospects and other stakeholders. AI-powered platforms can help ease communication and information sharing, both internally and externally.
Content collaboration
With emlen’s digital sales rooms (or, as we call them, collaborative spaces), your team can work together more effectively with prospects by sharing relevant content in one centralized space.
This ensures all stakeholders can access the most current information at the right time. The bonus? emlen also tracks how prospects interact with the content, giving your reps data-driven insights on what resonates and where your content falls flat.
Internal collaboration improvement with Slack + CRM integrations
Integrating Slack with your CRM lets your team streamline internal communication and ensure everyone has the latest deal updates.
Whether sharing insights from a recent call or collaborating on a proposal, these platforms keep the whole team aligned and responsive.
You’re not just implementing AI for the sake of it. You want to make a difference and help your sales team work smarter, not harder.
When you use tools to foster internal and external collaboration and communication, you’ll create a more unified and effective sales team that can act quickly and decisively.
AI in sales: Ethical considerations and challenges
With rapid adoption of AI, there are also ethical challenges that companies like yours need to address head-on. We’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, and it’s crucial that we use AI responsibly.
Here are some of the key ethical challenges you’ll face and how to address them successfully.
Data privacy concerns: Transparency and trust
One of the things businesses should be concerned with is how AI in sales collects and uses data. Customers are more aware of privacy issues than ever before and expect transparency from the companies they engage with. Missteps can quickly erode trust or even land you in hot water legally.
Here’s how to address this…
Step 1: Transparent data collection
Be upfront about what data you’re collecting and why. Your privacy policy shouldn’t be buried in the hidden corners of your navigation or legal jargon. Make it easy for prospects and customers to understand the data you’re gathering, whether it’s website activity or email interactions.
Step 2: Obtain informed consent
Always get clear, informed consent from your customers before collecting their data. They need to understand how their data will be used and offer them easy ways to opt out. Consent shouldn’t be a one-time event, either. Regularly check in and reaffirm permission, especially if your use of their data evolves.
Step 3: Data protection practices
Strong encryption and regular security audits should be non-negotiable. Limit access to sensitive data only to those who need it.
Your team needs to understand the importance of handling customer information securely. These best practices not only protect your prospects and customers but also shield your company from potential breaches.
Bias in AI algorithms: Ensuring fairness
AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on. And if that data is biased, the outputs will be too. Sales teams using AI to score leads or recommend actions could unknowingly reinforce discriminatory patterns if they don’t ensure fairness in their algorithms.
The best way to avoid bias is to train AI on datasets representing a diverse range of demographics, behaviors, and buying patterns. Your AI should be able to make recommendations for different kinds of prospects without defaulting to stereotypical patterns.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:
- Audit your current CRM data: Look at your existing customer data. Is it representative of the full spectrum of customers you serve or want to serve? Look at the demographics of your leads and clients: Age, gender, industry, company size, and more. If you notice certain groups are underrepresented, consciously target a more diverse set of prospects.
- Use external data sources: Don’t just rely on your CRM data. External data sources can help diversify your AI training datasets. For example, tap into third-party data providers or social media platforms to enrich your data and bring in prospective customers from different industries, regions, or buyer personas you traditionally don’t engage with.
- Segment and balance your data: It’s essential to segment your data using different factors like company size or location. Make sure each segment is balanced. For example, if 80% of your data is from small businesses in the tech industry, AI might skew its recommendations towards that group. Balancing segments ensures that AI effectively targets large enterprises and small SaaS startups.
- Diversify your sales outreach: When you have a diverse pool of prospects entering your sales funnel, the collected data will naturally reflect a broader range of behaviors and customer profiles. This is vital when it comes to training your AI to make unbiased recommendations.
- Regularly update your data: Markets and customer behaviors change, so ensure your data is current and accurate. Set up a routine to regularly cleanse and update your data sources, removing outdated entries and enriching your CRM with fresh insights.
- Cross-functional collaboration: If applicable, work closely with your data science or AI teams so they’re aware of any potential gaps or biases in your sales data. When you collaborate closely, you can identify areas where data may be off and make corrections during the data collection and model training processes.
This method ensures you’re working with diverse AI models with balanced data, so it can deliver fairer and more accurate recommendations regardless of who your prospects are.
Keep it personal with a human touch
While AI can automate and enhance many aspects of your sales processes, nothing will ever replace the value of human connection.
The challenge is balancing automation with authentic, personal interactions to build trust and loyalty with your prospects and customers.
Blend automation with personalization
As we discussed before, AI can help take those repetitive tasks off your hands. So, while AI schedules follow-ups or crafts emails, your team has time to truly personalize interactions.
AI should be thought of as a framework, not a replacement for real conversations. Whatever the tool has created, your reps should constantly adjust the tone and language to make it all feel more natural and engaging.
Looking ahead: The future of sales with AI
As AI continues to shape the world of sales, you’ll need to adopt a proactive approach to the ethical challenges that come with it. When your business prioritizes data privacy, eliminates bias, and preserves the human element, you establish yourself as a trusted partner.
Be agile and start investing in AI tools and upskilling your sales team to create an environment where experimentation is encouraged.
AI has the power to transform your sales process, pushing performance far beyond quotas. When you embrace AI in sales as a growth tool, you’ll unlock new levels of efficiency, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
Now, your business and sales teams are poised to lead the charge into the future of sales that is smarter, faster, and more personalized.
Don’t just read about the future of sales when you can experience it firsthand. Explore emlen’s AI-powered platform with our interactive product tour to see how we can help you smash your sales goals.
