The unique abilities of AI to make people more productive, such as by drafting otherwise tedious emails, have been expounded on endlessly. What remains to be seen are the long-term strategies for using AI that increase revenue and business outcomes.
Companies that realize those possibilities will set themselves apart—especially as the volatile economy makes revenue less predictable.
Forecasting and deal management are big focuses for revenue leaders, even more so in today's economy, as B2B sellers face tighter budgets and increased scrutiny on every deal. According to a Gartner report, however, most sales leaders aren't confident in their forecasts, and the challenge every leader wants to overcome is knowing how to close that gap.
The missing piece of the puzzle is talent optimization.
New developments in sales enablement can help sellers improve in the field using training platforms, content, and coaching. Revenue leaders can now combine insights from this new type of enablement with RevOps products, including call insights and data from digital sales rooms, to better understand where the seller needs to improve.
Although RevOps goes beyond sales, sales enablement is a key element of the revenue pillar. AI is unlocking new possibilities for efficiency, agility, and sustained growth. AI is integrated into the entire revenue generation process—from sales to customer success and beyond—and that will only increase.
Changing Sales Enablement
Sales coaching, onboarding, and enablement are all part of a bigger RevOps picture. In the current economic landscape, businesses are cutting their budgets; and, as a result, buyers are scrutinizing deals more closely.
The buyer-seller dynamic has shifted, and effective onboarding and training programs are the key to closing the gap and meeting revenue goals.
The role of AI in sales enablement has grown significantly. AI is now being used to create personalized training programs, analyze sales calls, and facilitate realistic roleplays to enhance sales teams' skills. Conversation intelligence, a subset of AI, decodes and optimizes communication.
Another area where AI is empowering sellers is with self-enablement tools.
Self-enablement, where sellers can monitor their own progress, benefits the most from new AI tools, such as AI-driven call scoring that provides real-time feedback. Sellers can use that capability to enhance their performance evaluation, providing a more nuanced understanding of strengths and areas for improvement.
Bringing together these enablement metrics with seller-specific insights gleaned from training or content usage and buyer insights from their interactions with content or sellers helps build a more complete view of what the seller is doing in the field from a deal perspective. That level of AI-driven sales coaching contributes to more effective and adaptable sales teams.
As the buyer-seller dynamic continues to evolve, the more flexible and trained your sales team is, the more successful they will be at meeting your revenue goals.
Using AI for Revenue Productivity
AI usage extends beyond internal processes; it can also enhance buyer enablement and customer success. AI can provide insights into customer behavior, market trends, and sales performance.
Advanced algorithms analyze buyer behavior, preferences, and interactions, enabling sellers to tailor their approaches dynamically. The shift toward more data-driven interactions enhances the buyer experience, fostering stronger relationships and increasing the likelihood of successful conversions. Using AI to monitor unstructured data sources, such as online customer reviews offers a path to making impactful product updates and anticipating customer needs.
Automation is a cornerstone of AI's impact on RevOps. Routine and time-consuming tasks are automated, allowing human resources to focus on strategic initiatives.
AI tools can handle data entry, drafting call notes, and other repetitive processes, allowing sales reps to operate with increased efficiency and productivity. Managers, who are challenged with managing multiple reps at once, can create more individualized and effective training programs.
Those practices are becoming more common as companies identify the wealth of data at their fingertips and are able to use AI to gather and analyze the data more efficiently. Companies can improve their revenue operations in the near future through better sales training, buyer enablement, and customer relationship management.
As organizations embrace the AI boom, they position themselves for sustained growth and adaptability. By understanding the interconnected roles of coaching, onboarding, and enablement within the larger revenue ecosystem, businesses can harness the power of AI to optimize productivity and foster meaningful buyer relationships in an unpredictable marketplace.
* * *
AI stands at the forefront of sales enablement, reshaping how organizations approach revenue productivity.
Organizations that embrace and leverage AI in their enablement strategies—from predictive analytics and personalized customer engagement to AI-driven sales enablement and automation—are better positioned to thrive in the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of revenue productivity.
More Resources on RevOps and Sales Enablement
The Importance of Revenue Operations in Your Organization: Jen Spencer on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]
10 Guiding Principles of Sales Enablement, Inspired by 'Nicolas Cage: Good or Bad?'
