Modern society has been completely revolutionized in a very short time thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence. AI is a complex field that is, ultimately, an umbrella term for machine learning, computer vision, cognitive computing, deep learning, neural networks, and natural language.
Though this might sound like something that would require a tech genius to understand, the truth is that AI ultimately can help to complete tasks that have historically always required the input and effort of humans.
Since the emergence of AI has come on so quickly, the truth is that there is a tremendous amount of potential here for brands that are looking to boost their sales. According to a recent study from Salesforce, for example, only 37% of sales organizations are leveraging the power of AI and machine learning as a part of their sales strategies.
This means you can access a significant and powerful competitive edge by incorporating the power of AI into your sales process. When it comes to partner enablement, product coaching, and closing more deals, the right AI software can be a complete game changer.
Sales AI: A Primer
Sales processes can be optimized and simplified through the use of artificial intelligence. Thanks to software tools with algorithms trained to process large datasets, teams and channel partners can sell more efficiently and save time.
There are many different ways that AI algorithms can apply data and learn from that data. These include performing automated tasks, performing decision-making functions, predicting the behavior of customers and channel partners, using historical and current data to make suggestions, and intelligently interacting with humans.
Many tasks within the sales process can pull sales reps and channel partners away from the active task of selling your products and services. This is why AI in sales is such a big deal– by helping to streamline automated tasks, make the product coaching process more efficient, predict behaviors of key players in the sales process, and more, channel partners and reps alike can spend more time selling and have more success closing when they do.
There are several essential functions in the sales process that AI can assist with. These include adapting quickly to buyer needs, offering personalization opportunities, giving access to real-time data, and gathering information from several channels.
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Incorporating AI into your sales process can provide tremendous benefits that increase sales. These include:
- Increased efficiency: According to a study from the consulting firm Deloitte, 33% of teams that adopted AI in their sales process made their organizational processes significantly more efficient.
- Eliminating administrative tasks: One study by McKinsey found that existing sales technology, including artificial intelligence, can easily automate 30% of regular sales tasks.
- Increasing sales rep and partner satisfaction: Morale for both your sales reps and your channel partners can be increased through the use of AI. According to a survey from Deloitte in 2022, 82% of respondents said that AI would help to boost their job satisfaction and performance.
- Allowing accurate sales planning and forecasting: From all of the pieces of information that can be uncovered using sales analytics tools, more than half of salespeople believe that sales forecasts are the most valuable. The sales planning process can be significantly enhanced in a number of different ways through AI and automation, including utilizing the ability of AI to implement predictive intelligence.
How AI Can Improve Partner Enablement, Product Coaching, and Closing
AI sales tools have the power to completely transform the way that your partners sell your products.
For example, a sales rep or a partner would historically have to manually search for the proper materials to help them sell a product and close on that sale. This, of course, takes time and leaves plenty of room for oversights and errors. Through the introduction of AI tools, channel partners can easily access the right materials for any given scenario.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways that your sales partner enablement process can be improved by integrating AI solutions.
Creating Better Coaching Strategies
Throughout the sales process, there are a number of crucial steps that can be analyzed and improved. When you do this manually, though, it requires resources that could be better allocated elsewhere.
Through the use of Sales AI software, improvements can be automatically suggested thanks to the ability to analyze a massive amount of sales activity and data. With the power to sift through tons of information quickly, incredibly useful insights that might have otherwise gone unnoticed can be uncovered.
Building Guidance and Playbooks For Your Channel Partners
One of the truly incredible things about AI and its ability to boost sales is the way that artificial intelligence and human intelligence can be combined to create smarter, more effective engagements with buyers. Sales strategies can be more quickly updated thanks to the ability to identify customer pain points and needs as well as analyze sales activities.
As you’re able to quickly adapt your sales methods with the help of AI, you can then build proven playbooks that can be used in your channel partner onboarding process. Using real-world data, you can create materials that will guide your reps as they seek to produce better and better results over time.
Providing Access to the Right Sales Materials Instantaneously
As we mentioned earlier, another game changer when it comes to incorporating AI into your sales process is the fact that it can help your partners surface the right content at the right time. Pitching a product or service to a customer is a delicate process, which can be disrupted by even the smallest hiccup or incorrectly timing information sharing.
Determining which materials should be shared at which stage in the sales cycle has always been a bit of an art. You don’t want to overwhelm people with too much information or make things appear too complicated early on in the process. At the same time, you don’t want to withhold information that could have otherwise helped to close a sale.
With the help of the right AI tools, your channel partners can easily discern which materials should be shared at what time. By analyzing customer behavior, AI software can use its massive collection of data to anticipate which content will help move a customer to the next sales funnel stage. While every customer is unique and each sales scenario is different, the overall result will most certainly be more closed deals.
Personalizing Partner Journeys
You can also use AI to help create a more effective and efficient partner experience. Partner journeys can now be personalized thanks to AI, allowing you to segment partners based on their preferences, interests, and needs.
Some available AI software can analyze partner data in order to provide key insights about channel partners, including their experience, expertise, and knowledge. Rather than providing a blanket experience to all partners regardless of their circumstances, you can now help your partners reach their targets and goals more effectively and efficiently by providing a personalized experience.
For instance, artificial intelligence can help improve performance and productivity by recommending certification courses and training that align with your partners’ particular skill sets. It can even help design promotions and marketing campaigns specifically personalized to partner groups. Both preferences and behaviors of partners can be predicted using AI through the analysis of partner data. This means that partner engagement and loyalty can be boosted through tailored promotions.
Automating Repetitive Tasks
We all know that time is the most valuable resource. Organizations can benefit greatly through the implementation of AI software in sales, having more time to focus on strategic tasks and activities through the automation of repetitive tasks.
For instance, partner performance and progress can be tracked using AI, allowing you access to real-time insights. This information lets your brand determine where partner enablement programs can be adjusted and improved for increased performance.
Providing Real-Time Support to Partners
With the use of AI, partners can receive real-time support that helps them close more sales. Any problems that crop up can be solved efficiently and quickly thanks to AI’s ability to provide instant feedback, guidance, and recommendations.
For example, let’s say that one of your channel partners is having a difficult time closing a deal with one of their customers. They can then turn to the power of artificial intelligence software to help them get guidance instantaneously about how they could potentially deal with the situation.
Introducing Mentor AI
When you are using channel partners to sell complex products and services, providing access to real-time information can significantly impact their ability to close deals. Thanks to an exclusive partnership with EyeLevel AI, a pioneer in the AI industry, Level 6 is proud to introduce our Mentor AI sales assistant, which delivers real-time product coaching by leveraging your proprietary data.
Many things really make Mentor AI stand out against other Sales AI products. Thanks to our total freedom regarding Large Language Models, we can seamlessly swap LLMs (and even LLM providers) in just a few minutes. Mentor AI can stay current with the endlessly evolving world of Large Language Models.
Beyond that, our proprietary AI solution can import a wide range of file types before processing them to ensure optimal indexing. If you’re worried about the potential for errors without a human touch, you’ll also be glad to know that our solutions allow for seamless evaluation and remediation in real-time. With the added ability for human refinement, this tool can truly revolutionize your sales.
How Mentor AI Works
Through the use of Mentor AI, your sales professional will be able to enter a dedicated environment where they can learn absolutely everything they need to know about your product. Rather than asking your sales team and channel partners to memorize facts and figures about your offerings, they can receive real-time coaching. This means that their ability to offer fine-tuned solutions immediately is truly revolutionized.
In the old days, channel partners would have to painstakingly search through sales literature to find the best possible solutions for customers. Thanks to Mentor AI, salespeople can easily narrow down the possible solutions they can offer practically instantaneously.
When you work with Mentor AI, you don’t have to worry about converting data files in a time-consuming process. Able to ingest many of the most common file formats, this powerful tool can incorporate every piece of information about your products and services. Beyond that, it even has the ability to connect these products to your current pricing and inventory.
If all that isn’t enough, Mentor AI also includes 24/7/365 virtual sales assistants. This means that expert advice is now available anytime, anywhere, and every single chat can be monitored and remediated at the corporate level. This means that the system will inherently become more powerful and effective as time goes on.
Are you wondering what you can do to help drive your channel partners to success? Make sure you check out our definitive guide to motivating channel partners in 2023.
Ready to Learn More About How AI Can Help Boost Your Sales?
When you’re teamed up with channel partners to sell your products and services, the relationship you maintain with your channel partners is absolutely key for boosting sales. At the same time, putting an endless number of human hours towards managing and training your channel partners can be time-consuming and costly, to say the least.
With the help of Mentor AI, your channel partners can receive all of the information they need instantaneously to receive real-time product coaching and enter a dedicated environment for them to learn everything there is to know about your product. They can also have access to the right pieces of sales literature and content in real-time, ensuring that no unnecessary obstacles are created during the sales process.
Are you ready to learn more about how AI can help you and your channel partners close more deals? You can contact us today to learn more about Mentor AI.
As always, if you ever have any questions about anything we discuss in our articles, please feel free to let us know, and we’ll gladly assist you however we can.
Claudine is the Chief Relationship Officer at Level 6. She holds a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology. Her experience includes working as a certified conflict mediator for the United States Postal Service, a human performance analyst for Accenture, an Academic Dean, and a College Director. She is currently an adjunct Professor of Psychology at Southern New Hampshire University. With over 20 years of experience, she joined Level 6 to guide clients seeking effective ways to change behavior and, ultimately, their bottom line.
