Conversational AI In Sales Automation— A Hybrid State Of Modern Business
“There are plenty of reasons why you should be using conversational AI in sales automations, especially for the inbound sales calls.”
Bots are the new black. They’re taking over our phones, social media feeds, and customer service channels. You can even get them to text you news updates or set reminders about the things that matter most to you.
There are plenty of reasons why you should be using voice bots, more popularly referred to as conversational AI, in your sales automation. They help increase engagement rates, boost user experience, and provide 24/7 support to your customers.
However, despite the vast benefits they promise, how do you know if you’re getting value for money when implementing a bot? This blog will help you understand conversational AI in sales automation.
What Is Sales Automation?
Sales automation is the act of automating routine tasks in your sales process. It’s a compelling concept that has been around for decades but has only recently begun to get the attention it deserves.
Moreover, voice bots improve marketing, sales, and customer service. They help personalize customer relationships, speed up customer queries, and improve customer experience.
Conversational AI in sales automation can help you generate leads, keep track of your leads, automate the sales process, and collect payments. It enables you to remove manual steps from your sales process and increase productivity, efficiency, and profitability. Additionally, conversational AI can be used to handle high-volume interactions, freeing up sales representatives to focus on more complex and high-value interactions
What Is Conversational AI?
AI is growing more prevalent these days. Not only in business but in other industries as well. Moreover, its prominence has increased so much that it is now possible to have human-like conversations with machines. This is referred to as conversational AI.
Unlike traditional chatbots, Conversational AI enables humans and computers to have a human-like conversation in real-time.
It is important to note that the slang of artificial intelligence is a group of technologies such as natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, deep learning, and underlying awareness.
Facts And Stats Of Business Adopting Conversational AI for Sales Automation
Sales automation has grown in popularity over the past few years, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. Here are some facts to help you understand why this is happening – the facts and figures that support sales automation.
- More than 30% of sales activities can be automated. (McKinsey)
- Companies that use high-level automation in their sales processes generate approximately 16 percent more leads than those without low-level or no automation. (Hinge Research)
- Artificial intelligence in sales will increase by 139% between 2020 and 2023. (Salesforce)
- The automation of lead-to-sales is expected to grow by 115 percent between 2020 and 2023. (Salesforce)
- 61% of companies using automation reported more than sales targets. (HubSpot)
How Conversational AI Voice Bots Can Help in Sales Automation
Bots are the future of business communication with customers. They will often eliminate the need for most mobile apps, websites, and even mobile devices.
Conversational AI technology is jumping into the consumer world quickly. It is expected to grow from $4.2 billion in 2019 to $15.7 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 30.2%.
Here are seven ways you can use conversational AI in sales automation:
1. Prospect Leads and Schedule Meeting
The rise of intelligent digital assistants like Siri, Cortana, Google Assistant, and Alexa has made AI feel familiar for everyone. But now, businesses are moving beyond intelligent assistants and using AI to prospect leads, schedule meetings, and get real-time updates from a business operations dashboard.
By interacting with prospects via voice on platforms like Facebook Messenger, IVR, telephony, etc., voice bots can help you screen for potential customers and nurture them.
Once the prospect has shown interest, the voice bot can guide the user to the following process or schedule a call with a human agent. Since conversational AI can be easily integrated into the CRM system and other appointment booking systems, the AI virtual assistant can automatically update the record and book an appointment.
2. Confirms Appointments and Send Reminders
Conversational AI voice bots require a communication channel, i.e., you must integrate it into IVR, telephony, or other communication mediums. This not only automates the calling process but also helps your sales representatives sync all the details on their calendars. Thus, they can schedule calls, confirm appointments, and set reminders.
Hence, sales reps can conduct human interactions effectively while making robust customer relationships.
3. Follow-up Prospects
Conversational AI voice bots are an exciting tool to help you follow up on prospects. As more businesses look for AI sales automation, conversational AI voice bots quickly become a popular option.
These voice bots have a feature that allows them to call you recurrently. With this feature, the prospect will be contacted based on the time set by the company. Such frequent interactions enable bots to collect relevant information and help sales reps to nurture and convert leads through the sales funnel.
4. Increased Efficiency
One of the key benefits of using conversational AI in sales automation is increased efficiency. By automating repetitive tasks, such as data entry and follow-up tasks, sales teams can focus on more important, high-value activities like closing deals. Additionally, conversational AI can be used to handle high-volume interactions, freeing up sales representatives to focus on more complex and high-value interactions.
5. Improved Customer Engagement
Another major benefit of conversational AI in sales automation is improved customer engagement. By using AI to match the right salesperson to the right customer based on their interests and needs, companies can provide a more personalized and relevant experience for their customers. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, which in turn can drive revenue growth.
6. Promote New Products
Because of the conversational nature of voice bots, it becomes easier to communicate with customers personally. The voice bot for the product helps them understand the product’s benefits and guides them through the purchasing process.
The conversational interface of these bots is where their power lies. They can interact with users at any time, which is why they are so powerful in marketing. These bots can talk at any time, not just during working hours. This will allow you to market your product whenever customers are most likely to buy it.
7. Collect Reviews
Consumers are getting more and more comfortable with conversational interfaces. And not just in the virtual assistants on our smartphones, but also in how they interact with businesses.
As AI sales automation evolves, it becomes an attractive option for collecting customer feedback. Instead of writing out a long customer review, people will find it easier and faster to speak out their thoughts and opinions to a voice bot. According to Landbot stats, 64% of consumers gave the business conversational AI bots high ratings or shared their feedback on social media. Now that’s a considerable number, isn’t it?
8. Omnichannel Experience
Sales automation AI constantly evolves and includes new channels to connect with potential customers while maintaining a consistent shopping experience. Whether email, social media, or chat, all interactions must run smoothly. Accenture shows that 83% of consumers agree to switch channels when interacting with businesses.
The implementation of AI bots eliminates the access time of customers via various channels and the communication with potential customers at each contact point while at the same time creating a comprehensive shopping experience.
9. Automate up-selling & cross-selling
Conversational AI takes this responsibility of the sales team and helps them better manage existing or complex customers.
Conversational AI can up-sell and cross-sell in a conversation based on user profiles and interactions and offer similar or additional products or services that may interest them based on their specifications and behavior.
Moreover, remarketing messages can be automatically sent to users’ inboxes with product recommendations tailored to them after the first call.
Automation in conversational AI voice bots leads companies to make significant improvements. Moreover, it can help you save time and money by simplifying the sales funnel and customer acquisition processes. Thus, conversational AI in sales automation is becoming an essential part of marketing automation and how it can help you increase sales.
Challenges and Considerations for Implementing Conversational AI in Sales Automation
The future of sales automation is bright, and conversational AI is at the forefront of this change. As natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) technologies evolve, we expect to see even more powerful and sophisticated AI-driven sales automation systems.
However, implementing conversational AI in sales automation has its challenges. Data security and privacy must be considered, and training and education are vital to ensure that sales teams are able to work effectively with the new technology. Additionally, it’s important to measure the success of an AI-driven sales automation strategy to ensure that it is meeting business objectives.
In summary, conversational AI in sales automation has the ability to transform how companies interact with customers and boost revenue growth. By automating repetitive tasks, personalizing the sales experience, and providing insights and analytics, conversational AI can help sales teams work more efficiently and effectively. As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities are endless.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does conversational AI improve sales automation?
Conversational AI improves sales automation by providing faster and more personalized interactions with customers, reducing the need for manual labor, and increasing efficiency and productivity.
How does conversational AI differ from traditional sales automation tools?
Conversational AI differs from traditional sales automation tools by providing more natural and personalized interactions with customers, rather than relying on pre-defined scripts and responses.
Can conversational AI be integrated with other sales automation tools and platforms?
Yes, conversational AI can be integrated with other sales automation tools and platforms, such as CRM software, to provide a seamless experience for sales teams and customers.