The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Sales

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Jan 30 2017

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Most of the prominent companies agree that Artificial Intelligence is the future for sales and marketing, as reported by Enrique Dans who wrote for Forbes recently. It shouldn’t come as a surprise when the tech giants are already researching and improving their proprietary AI products. Take Google, for example. It’s iconic “Google Brain” is a big deep learning research project that has been underway since 2011.  It has been instrumental in improving the company’s existing products such as image searching, Google assistant, etc. To showcase the power of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning the company has also provided many nifty AI experiments on their website for the users to interact with.

AI and Machine Learning are to penetrate every conceivable area of our lives, that’s for certain. And sales and marketing are no different. So, how is this going to happen? Before that, we must know what machine learning and artificial intelligence actually are.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence is exactly what it sounds like- the simulation of human intelligence by machines. We already have AI software such as the virtual assistants provided by Google and Apple in our smartphones. However, their level of AI is quite rudimentary. Improvements have been made consistently, and experts (80% of marketing leaders to be precise) believe that by 2020 AI will revolutionize marketing completely. In fact, Anand Kulkarni, Lead Genius co-founder is certain that “In just 10 years most salespeople’s jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence.”

So, Artificial Intelligence is going to change the marketing paradigm, or so it seems, but what does machine learning has to do with it?

What is Machine Learning?

The concept of “Machine Learning” is also self-explanatory. Machine learning applications can learn from the data it collects, and grow in terms of intelligence over time. For instance, an application can read emails and other text forms to get to read between the lines (literary devices such as sarcasm, irony, etc.), or how we can compliment or criticize others, by way of their tone, pauses, usages of the words, and the content itself.

AI and machine learning go hand in hand. Just like we, humans use our intelligence to learn and grow, an application can also use AI along with machine learning to collect data and improve their knowledge with time.

Empowering Your Sales Reps with an Intelligent CRM

It won’t be long before every business will have its own inbound sales assistant based on AI. This is mainly because software, especially if intelligent, can do a way better job at customer relationship management than an entire sales team. For starters, it will work non-stop and be ready to fire off a response to every prospect that responds or tries to approach your business. Your sales team, on the other hand, is only available during the work hours.

An AI-based sales assistant will also make it a lot easier to start off on the right foot with your leads, by providing accurate and relevant data about every prospect. Using AI based sales assistant, you can make a personalized sales pitch efficiently and improve conversion rate.

Natural Language Processing(NLP) and deep learning are two other essential components of a virtual sales assistant that can help identify only the relevant or important data from an entire database. For instance, NLP can read through lead conversations and responses, and assess their conversation likeliness. A typical CRM database can easily have hundreds, if not thousands of entries, but an NLP unit can filter it for you so that your sales team can focus on the “hot” leads or at least the ones that qualify.

Clodura has a powerful NLP module that tracks more than 100 data points of your prospects and collects personalized information by assessing their social patterns. With insights so deep you get to stay on top of your lead generation system without fail.

Smarter Follow-ups and Sales Automation

Software and computers have made it a lot easier to do business, as their automated versions have replaced manual jobs. Today, you can set up the software to generate an invoice automatically every month, or tell your virtual assistant to inform you when an important calendar event is close. Now you can enjoy automation in sales as well.

With a new-age virtual sales assistant, you can the process of lead follow-up to the next level. For instance, Clodura offers a smart email automation tool that allows you to schedule emails, set the frequency, track the status of sent emails, and a lot more, as a part of a single comprehensive package. You can also personalize your emails easily as it offers relevant content suggestions that you can add to your emails.

Reaching Your Customers At the Right Time, at the Right Place

When you want to improve the lead conversion rate, then every call and message play an important role. There is no point in contacting a lead ten times before they finally take your call, or respond to a message. Clodura’s smart dialers help you reach your prospects at a time when they are most likely to talk, at platforms they are most active.

The smart dialer analyses the calling history of every lead for a pattern and finds the best time for calling. It also monitors the online activities of your leads to identify their most preferred platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). This way you can hit the nail on the head, and improve conversion rate drastically.

Other than providing help with the time and platform, Clodura also offers customized pitch that ensures successful calls, and prospect nurturing.

Conclusion

It is only a matter of time when traditional cold-campaigns will become completely obsolete. Besides, when there are so many powerful technologies that can provide an impetus to a business in today’s competitive world, it will be foolhardy to stick to archaic methods. Times are changing rapidly, and if a business has to survive this “mega”  technological wave, it must adapt and embrace what technology has to offer.

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