{"id":28598,"date":"2023-01-09T05:21:46","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T05:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/09\/3-ways-artificial-intelligence-can-jumpstart-business-development\/"},"modified":"2023-01-09T05:21:46","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T05:21:46","slug":"3-ways-artificial-intelligence-can-jumpstart-business-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/09\/3-ways-artificial-intelligence-can-jumpstart-business-development\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways Artificial Intelligence Can Jumpstart Business Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is probably already a trusted tool in your marketing department. Already in surveys conducted by Salesforce in 2019, 61% of marketers already use some form of AI, and 27% planned to implement it in 2019.\u00a0 In 2023, it is everwhere. The enthusiasm for the use of AI in business isn\u2019t just because it\u2019s a \u201cshiny new toy\u201d; it\u2019s because AI offers \u201csmarter inbound,\u201d increasing conversion rates through predictive analytics, personalization and much more.<\/p>\n

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But what happens once all those leads are generated by the marketing team? Does the sales team use the same sophisticated technology? Probably not\u2014Gartner\u2019s data suggests that only about 30% of all B2B companies will implement AI for at least one of their primary sales functions next year. That figure means that most B2B organizations will be missing rich opportunities for revolutionizing their business development. Here\u2019s a look at three ways your sales and business development team can benefit through \u201csmarter outbound.\u201d<\/p>\n

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#1. Increased Time for Closing Sales<\/h2>\n

Think about how much your team spends on non-value-adding tasks like entering information into your CRM. Even the back-and-forth emailing sometimes required to schedule a meeting takes time that your team could use for closing deals. But your team could have an AI-powered \u201cassistant\u201d handle the calendar, while another robot could automatically enter client interactions into the CRM in real-time. These are relatively simple functions that could be almost entirely automated, giving your team more time to engage with leads and customers.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, more sophisticated outbound activities can also be automated, such as initial outreach through email or various social networks. AI-powered tools now even provide the personalization that once required a human touch. This frees your team to engage more meaningfully with prospects who respond to that first AI-initiated contact.<\/p>\n

#2. Improved Engagement with Prospects and Clients<\/h2>\n

Today\u2019s customers have come to expect highly personalized interactions. A recent Salesforce survey revealed that up to 65% of B2B buyers were likely to change brands if they felt they were not getting personalized attention. And we aren\u2019t just talking about putting a prospect\u2019s name at the top of a bulk email. We\u2019re talking about delivering relevant, engaging content that fits that person\u2019s industry, expressed interests and business challenges. This might sound daunting, especially if your business development team is swamped with leads.<\/p>\n

Enter AI algorithms. First, they can offer prescriptive insight into which leads are more promising and why. No longer will your sales team have to rely on incomplete information or their gut feelings about a prospect. Nor will they spend time on leads who are unlikely to make a purchase (nurturing these leads can be automated\u2014more about that in an upcoming post). Furthermore, these algorithms can provide personalized recommendations for communicating with these prospects and customers.<\/p>\n

#3. Increased Visibility for Performance Management and Sales Forecasting<\/h2>\n

Sales managers often struggle to meaningfully monitor and evaluate the progress of their business development teams. And according to CIO Insight, about 85% of organizations struggle to forecast sales accurately. Both of these challenges are essentially visibility issues because they boil down to having inadequate access to the right data: performance management requires real-time data on pending and closed sales. In contrast, accurate sales forecasts are often based on dozens of additional data points from a wide variety of both internal and external sources.<\/p>\n

Using data from your CRM and other sources, AI algorithms can build a real-time dashboard that offers managers valuable insight into the team\u2019s performance, including deals close to the finish line and those that might be faltering. AI can then help you get more accurate sales forecasts by pairing that real-time data with historical sales data and current industry trends\u2014which can then be coupled with predictive analytics to address future conditions.<\/p>\n

Tips for Introducing AI to Your\u00a0 Business Development Processes<\/h2>\n