In my opinion, using AI to simplify the selling process is the best use of the technology as it relates to sales.
And, my opinion is based largely on research from Gartner.
In 2023, they released an article where they listed their #1 use case for AI in sales being "Seller Role Simplification".
This was my main focus for using AI in 2024 and continues to be what I focus on.
Why?
It’s no secret that sales today is different.
And that can mean a lot of things, for a lot of companies, across various industries.
But in general, it's become more complex and time consuming.
And many companies have studied sales reps to understand how they spend their time.
Sales Reps Spend Less Than a Third of Their Time Selling
Salesforce isn't the only one to do a study on this topic.
Along with HubSpot, Oracle, Gartner, and more - they all find that the average sales rep spends about 1/3 of their time selling (28 - 36%).
Of course this depends on company, industry, role, and individual seller. But I think we can all agree that there are more non-selling activities required today then ever before.
Sellers Are Overwhelmed with Tasks
The fact is that today, most sellers are simply overwhelmed.
And according to Gartner, 75% of reps say they cant complete all of the tasks assigned to them and maintain the quality of their work at the same time.
This needs to change!
The Overload of Sales Technology
On top of drowning in non-selling and administrative tasks, sellers are drowning in technology.
And that is coming from someone who sells technology...
I took a look at the 20 different software programs laid out on the right side of the image above.
I use 16 of these tools on almost a daily basis. Along with more tools on top of that...
And according to Salesforce, 66% of reps say they are drowning in tools.
This is important because sellers who feel overwhelmed by technology are 43% less likely to hit their quota.
Using AI to Simplify Sales, Not Complicate It
We need to use technology to SIMPLIFY the sales process. Not make it more complex.
I can effectively use 15 - 20 tools daily because I've been able to integrate them together and set up automations that push the data from one program to the other.
What exactly is "Seller Role Simplification"?
This could mean so many different things it can be hard to narrow down.
But as a whole, think of using AI to automate or streamline activities that may be essential to the sales function, but are often seen as administrative.
- Updating a CRM
- Data-Capture & Reporting
- Low Value or Repetitive Tasks
Think of anything that you are doing in your role as a sales rep or sales leader that requires a lot of your time or effort.
And then think, do you really need to be the one doing it?
Or do you need to be doing 100% of it?
Could AI or technology be used to delegate this tasks or at least a portion of it?
Finding these bottlenecks and solving them is Seller Role Simplification.
What stage are you in?
When it comes to using technology, every company and every individual comes in with a different level of comfort and experience.
Let's be honest, it can be intimidating or overwhelming learning new technology.
Especially if it is different than what we are used to.
So we need to identify where we are in our journey of "Sales Tech Maturity"
Many of us are still in Stage 0 doing everything manually, and that's okay!
We all have to start somewhere. And that is the key. Starting.
Ask Yourself This
👉 What is something I spend a lot of time on?
👉 Could I use AI or technology to make this more efficient or replace this process entirely?
