The human connection has always been important in B2B sales, and that’s not going to change. According to McKinsey & Company, organizations that add the human touch to digital sales consistently perform better than their peers.
But making those connections isn’t always easy.
B2B buyers have increasingly high (and ever-evolving) expectations for personalized experiences and content. On the other hand, sellers are often pulled in a million different directions, leaving them with little time to deliver the bespoke content and experiences buyers crave.
But that doesn’t mean sellers should throw in the towel.
With AI-guided selling, sales reps can effectively and efficiently navigate the complex world of B2B sales, meet each buyer’s expectations, and close more deals.
In this guide, we’ll explore AI in sales and what it means for modern sales teams. We’ll answer questions including:
- What is AI-guided selling?
- How does it work?
- What are the benefits?
- How can AI help sellers close more deals?
- What are some examples?
- When is the right time for my business to invest in it?
What is AI-guided selling?
Until recently, artificial intelligence (AI) was no more than an abstract concept for most people. But that’s all changed – fast.
More and more people are embracing AI to simplify and streamline many aspects of their personal and professional lives. Forrester predicts that generative AI will experience an average annual growth rate of 36% to 2030.
Generative AI will experience an annual growth rate of
As AI sales tools evolve, buyers’ and sellers’ engagement will be transformed. AI-guided selling is one way we’re already seeing this happen.
But what is AI-guided selling?
According to McKinsey & Company, 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from the companies they do business with. Generic sales presentations and content will no longer cut it.
According to McKinsey & Company,
Delivering personalized guidance and experiences to each buyer makes sense. But sellers only have so many hours in the day. That’s where AI selling comes in.
Guided selling, defined
As the name suggests, guided selling is a practice that guides reps through the sales cycle. Guided selling enables sales reps to tap into data to deliver outstanding experiences and personalized solutions that resonate with every buyer at every stage of the purchase journey.
Supercharging guided selling with the power of AI
AI-guided selling is the term that’s used when artificial intelligence (AI) is incorporated into guided selling.
Most revenue organizations have a ton of data about buyer interactions. AI aggregates and analyzes this data to help sales reps determine the next best action to take in a given deal.
Make no mistake: AI-guided selling isn’t a replacement for live sales reps. Instead, AI works hand-in-hand with sales reps to power outstanding experiences. AI does the legwork of analyzing data and making recommendations based on that data. That means sellers can spend less time guessing what step to take next, and more time building relationships that’ll lead to closed deals.
How does AI-guided selling work?
This kind of selling enables sales reps to deliver content and experiences that resonate with each buyer. But how exactly does it work?
As touched on earlier, most sales organizations have plenty of data available about buyer interactions. For example, when it comes to sales content, an organization might have historical data related to:
- Which sales content is used most often by sales reps
- At what stage in the sales cycle key assets are used
- How buyers engage (or don’t engage) with this content
- How this content impacts sales outcomes
Organizations may also have data about a specific buyer, such as their industry, size, competitors, market conditions, and behaviors.
What are the benefits of AI-guided selling?
Today, a growing number of sales organizations leverage AI-guided selling. This isn’t surprising, as guided selling benefits buyers and sellers alike.
AI-guided selling benefits B2B buyers
With AI-guided selling, sellers can deliver personalized, relevant experiences and solutions to buyers. Buyers aren’t wasting their time on irrelevant content and experiences. Instead, they’re working with a trusted partner who understands their challenges and delivers solutions.
AI-guided selling benefits B2B sellers
It also takes the guesswork out of selling. Rather than relying on gut feelings, sales reps can tap into data to determine what step to take next. With this approach, sales reps can better meet customers’ expectations for personalized experiences and solutions. That means they can close more deals faster.
Guided selling examples
We’ve explored what AI-guided selling is and how it works. But how exactly are revenue organizations using it?
Now, let’s take a look at some AI-guided selling examples.
Simplifying meeting prep
Accelerating follow-up
Recommending sales content
Personalized content at scale
Personalized enablement
Example #1: Simplifying meeting prep
Sales reps must be prepared for each call. Often, this requires reviewing notes and digging into data. But this takes a lot of time, and sales reps don’t have much to spare.
AI-guided selling helps simplify meeting preparation so sales reps can always show up ready to deliver value. For example, rather than listening to a call recording to jog their memory, a sales rep can use AI to ask a question like, “What pain points did this customer mention during our previous call?” AI can summarize these pain points and suggest the next step a sales rep should take.
Example #2: Accelerating follow up
Prompt follow-up is important. But for busy sales reps, it’s not always easy.
AI enables sales reps to follow up with prospects in real-time. For example, AI can help them generate follow-up messages based on an analysis of a recent sales call. AI can also suggest content relevant to a specific prospect’s needs.
When sales reps can follow up quickly, this can accelerate the sales cycle. In other words, they can close more deals faster.
Example #3: Recommending relevant sales content for any scenario
B2B buyers depend on sales content to make informed purchase decisions. But content must be relevant to the buyer’s needs. Otherwise, they’ll disengage.
It can be challenging (and time-consuming) for a rep to determine which piece of content will resonate with a buyer at a specific time. AI-guided selling can help.
AI analyzes data about the customer and historical data about content use and performance. Based on this analysis, AI suggests content that will resonate with the buyer and is proven to improve sales outcomes.
Example #4: Generating personalized communication at scale
In the world of sales, effective communication is key. Today, in the era of virtual selling, a lot of that communication happens electronically.
With AI-guided selling, sales reps can quickly and easily draft personalized communication to buyers. For example, if a seller shares a piece of sales content with a prospect, AI can generate a contextual email to go with the content.
#5: Delivering personalized enablement and coaching to boost lagging skills
In an ideal world, a sales rep would apply all of the skills they’ve learned while on sales calls. But often, there’s room for improvement.
Today, many organizations use conversation intelligence software, which leverages AI to record and analyze sales calls. After a sales call, a sales rep can receive real-time feedback on improving performance (and the deal’s outcome). AI may also suggest training or a piece of enablement to help the sales rep hone specific skills and boost long-term performance.
Now’s the time to invest in AI-guided selling
Modern B2B buyers demand personalized experiences, content, and solutions throughout the sales cycle. A generic approach will no longer cut it.
But meeting customers’ expectations takes a lot of time, which sales reps don’t have much of. Furthermore, determining what will or won’t resonate with each customer can take a lot of guesswork.
With AI-guided selling, your sales reps can deliver outstanding experiences that resonate with each buyer – no matter where they are on the purchase journey. That means your reps will be equipped to close more deals, and your revenue will grow.
AI-guided selling requires the right tools. Today, many of the world’s best revenue organizations rely on Mindtickle to drive success.
Mindtickle is an integrated revenue productivity platform that equips your teams with sales training, enablement, and call insights – all from one platform. Copilot from Mindtickle is a generative AI assistant that empowers your entire sales team to expertly navigate the sales cycle based on data, not hunches.
Copilot combines the power of your enablement and RevOps data with generative AI. With this winning combination, you can spend less time making sense of data and guessing what action to take next – and more time delighting customers and closing deals.
AI-Guided Selling with Mindtickle
Ready to see how Mindtickle’s Copilot can empower your entire team to navigate the sales cycle and close more deals?
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By Helen Waite
By Rahul Mathew