Customers have made it clear that the old way of doing business is no longer enough. Instead of connecting directly with salespeople, many tend to reach out using digital channels to get answers to questions or make purchasing decisions. Sellers find themselves more in the role of a trusted advisor. That means sellers need tools that allow them to regroup and find other ways to make a difference for customers. That’s why Microsoft has worked to update its Dynamics 365 platform with generative AI for sales.
Challenges Sales Teams Face
Sales teams are constantly under pressure to deliver results while increasing efficiency. Customers also expect businesses to try and connect on a personal level. Managing all these expectations can feel overwhelming at times. Sellers must track leads, write emails, and collect data, leaving them less time to connect with prospects. Sales managers need relevant information to help them convert closed deals into best practices to help train team members.
Today’s customers are more informed than ever. The evolution of the buying process, including access to more online resources, allows customers to evaluate products and make decisions before talking with a salesperson. Sales reps also spend a lot of time managing issues unrelated to selling.
How Generative AI Boosts Dynamics 365 Sales
Microsoft 365 for Sales provides AI tools for teams looking to overcome roadblocks and achieve greater success. It puts everything into a single platform, giving salespeople a 360-degree view of customers. Next-generation AI embedded in the platform allows sellers to make sense of data and use it to their advantage. They can immediately surface critical information, create new content, and automate CMS tasks.
Sales leaders can see what’s working for teams and why. That’s critical for helping train new team members. The AI in dynamics sales summarizes data and provides managers with insights to help make better strategic decisions to help drive sales.
How Generative AI Benefits Sales Teams
One of the most underrated benefits of AI is its ability to generate information. Applying AI technology to the sales process creates more data, which refines and improves the algorithms driving automated workflows.
1. Improve Seller Focus
AI tools for sales gather information from sales records, giving sellers immediate access to data related to contacts, opportunities, and accounts. Tools like Context IQ help sales team members connect, share ideas, and collaborate on ways to close essential sales. It also facilitates direct collaborations with stakeholders by making it possible to conduct Teams Chats from within platforms like Dynamics 365 Sales.
Sellers also receive AI-suggested actions within their workflows. The AI recommendations allow sellers and managers to become proactive and increase their rate of successful deal closures. Dynamics 365 sales prioritizes different suggestions based on risk and how far along a customer might be in the sales funnel. It also highlights accounts that might be at risk.
Other AI tools for sales include conversation intelligence. It relies on data science and analytics to help sellers become more efficient. They can record calls and perform real-time analysis using key insights and actions generated during the call. Sellers also save time by generating automatic summaries once a call ends.
2. Increase Seller Productivity
As stated earlier, sellers spend a lot of time on things unrelated to actual sales. That includes manually typing in data to set up customer profiles and lead information. Steady leads are what keep businesses running. If a customer leaves a company, sellers can tap more resources and help replace that lost revenue.
Using AI for sales prospecting eliminates a lot of the manual work for sellers. It also cuts down on human errors, making data entry more accurate. You can use AI to set up customer profiles automatically. For example, Dynamics 365 for Sales can sync customer engagement data from Outlook and Teams.
Sellers can update sales information from other Microsoft ecosystems, eliminating duplicative work. Generative AI also enables capturing contact information from emails and meetings and then loading them into a Dynamics CRM platform. Sales associates can view key customer insights like previous activities, emails, and conferences. They can also save emails from Outlook into Dynamics Sales 365 to maintain a customer relationship history.
3. Offer Personalized Customer Engagement
Customers expect personalized interactions and quick answers to their questions. Generative AI for sales allows organizations to provide their customers with a seamless cross-channel experience. Sellers can incorporate relevant data into customer interactions and gain valuable insights.
AI tools embedded in platforms like Dynamic 365 Sales summarize news, interactions, and any relevant information related to customers. The technology analyzes past interactions and other data sources to give sellers comprehensive real-time insights. That way, a sales associate can go into a meeting having a clear picture of a client’s recent activities, needs, and expectations, which goes a long way toward enhancing conversations and building a stronger relationship.
Sellers can rely on AI tools for sales to prioritize follow-up actions after a customer interaction. That includes gathering key points and competitor mentions. Sellers can also tap into suggestions from calls and emails to address issues and find new opportunities. AI lets sellers focus more on the details that improve how customers perceive a company without increasing demands on a salesperson’s time.
Get Started with Generative AI
With tools like Copilot redefining productivity around business workflows, businesses are eager to find ways to use AI for sales prospecting and other sales needs. However, many organizations, especially those still working with on-premises applications, may struggle to incorporate AI-powered technologies.
That’s why it pays to partner with a company like Internet eBusiness Solutions (IES). Our team of Microsoft professionals understands every aspect of the Microsoft ecosystem. IES guides businesses through adopting AI-powered tools to boost sales and other areas of their organization. Learn more about how we can help by contacting one of our representatives.
