Where’s The Biggest AI Bang for Buck in Complex Sales?

AI tools are here to stay, as we all know, and they can be powerful allies for sales teams. But, as we all also know, not all sales teams are the same. Complex B2B sales require different approaches than transactional sales, and that means we need different AI tools. When used badly, AI and automation can generate friction, noise, and headaches. When used well, they can be a game changer.

So, where are the biggest gains to be had? How can we use AI to get the greatest leverage in a complex B2B setting?

Growing Existing Accounts

Growing existing accounts can be the most profitable work a sales team does. This work requires insight into each customer. AI is very good at surfacing information and, when well-prompted, insights from large amounts of data.

This can help your salespeople stay on top of what’s happening in a customer’s industry, such as new regulations that impact them, mergers and acquisitions, or disruptive new technologies.

Likewise, it can keep the team abreast of what’s happening within the customer’s own company, such as new projects, products, changes in leadership, or updates to their websites.

Contextual data and know-how boost the value of AI tools.

Salespeople can write prompts manually to seek out this information and find timely opportunities to expand the account. Or, at Membrain, we’re working on tools that will enable sales leadership and individuals to write automated prompts. These will serve up relevant information as it becomes available, delivering notifications within the salesperson’s workflow, so they can constantly have their finger on the pulse of their existing accounts.

Building Qualified Pipeline

Many AI tools have promised to make prospecting easier by sending out automated messages in bulk. This may be effective in industries where you can afford to alienate large numbers of potential customers. But in complex B2B sales, you can quickly poison your own well.

The best AI tools for complex B2B help you identify truly qualified prospects to connect with, and tailor communications to meet their needs. For instance, AI analysis can look at your successful sales and identify common features, then research “look-alike” companies in the broader market, to provide a rich source of potential leads. Instead of a laborious search by industry, size, financials, etc., you get a tailor-made list delivered in moments.

We’re working on tools that will do this automatically based on the data your salespeople are already providing. This will include automated sequences that are triggered by (for instance) a won deal, seek out additional companies with similar profiles, and serve up to the sales team.

Refining Your ICP

Historically, we’ve defined ICPs in somewhat rough ways. By size, geography, industry, or specific financial KPIs. With AI, it’s possible to quickly digest a great deal more information to profile who you actually win deals with based on much more detailed criteria.

For instance, it might identify clusters of ICP by non-traditional measures, suggesting a cluster of ICPs that are in a different industry but serve the same customers. This, too, is something we are ideating on how to embed inside of Membrain.

Human-Centered Automation

Automation can be powerful in context. An AI tool that composes an email on behalf of a salesperson can save a great deal of time and ensure that your company messaging and voice is consistent across communications. But, to be done well in a complex B2B sales environment, it must be done contextually and, at least for now, reviewed by humans.

Generic emails that are shot out to hundreds or thousands of people at once will not be effective tools for standing out from competitors and building trust. But an email that is enriched with detailed insight based on information unearthed by an AI tool, and then framed within company messaging and voice: That can win attention among potential customers.

It’s also important that we serve these automated sequences through the lens of humans who understand context. CFOs don’t need the same email as CEOs, who don’t need the same email as end users, and a champion at a company your salesperson has a warm relationship with does not need the same email as a stranger at a company you’ve never interacted with.

The Key is Context

The data lives in your system and on the Web. AI tools can consume, digest, and serve up information and insights from that data very quickly. Your humans and the structured ways you’ve built your systems provide the context that enables you to use it well. Together, these three things can power a complex B2B sales team that is unstoppable.