Artificial Intelligence is a technology that many companies, such as Deepmind, have been fervently working to perfect in the past few years.
Sooner or later, it seems, AI is going to be a real part of our lives. It will go far beyond Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, or Microsoft’s Cortana. One day we will be talking to computer programs the same way we talk to each other today.
Before that, though, AI programs will be taking care of certain processes. According to Shelly Kramer, CEO of V3 Broadsuite, in an article for Futurum, AI could handle cold calling processes that have long been a nuisance for B2B sales people:
The sales process is a process. It’s repeatable. As such, it’s a prime target for the introduction of AI into the process. Think about software that can mine LinkedIn connections, send intros, ask for meetings, follow up, follow up, follow up, schedule meetings, and prepare notes for the sales rep handling the meeting before handing off. AI as part of your prospecting and sales process can do everything your entry level salesperson can do, and then some. What’s more, AI can use data from thousands of data points and then decide which leads are the hottest, and most likely to close, putting those leads in front of the sales team first. AI can make everything about the sales process more precise, more data-driven, and more efficient. What’s not to like?
In every industry, technology has taken the brunt of the most mundane and repetitive work. That goes all the way back to the printing press taking over for scribes.
So why wouldn’t it make sense for technology to take over at least the cold calling process of sales? This would give sales members more time to develop specific pitches to companies that are already further along in the process. Not to mention spending more time nurturing potential customers, learning the product better to better sell it, and more.
Years ago I worked in a position where I had to make cold calls. A vast majority of my day was spent in phone calls that ended while I was still speaking, and nothing was gained from those calls. If artificial intelligence can come anywhere close to being able to speak to cold prospects then it’s a no brainer to utilize that technology. Even if it’s only through digital means like e-mail or social media messaging, artificial intelligence can help sales members better identify customers that will ultimately spend.
But who gets the commission?
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