Sales teams are proving they can be as adaptable and forward-thinking as athletes preparing for the 2024 Olympics. The latest Salesforce State of Sales report, surveyed by over 5,500 sales professionals, reveals that teams embracing AI are pulling ahead of the competition. Nearly four in five sales teams are either experimenting with or have fully implemented AI, leading to impressive gains in sales data quality, customer understanding, and personalized communication.
The Secret Competition: AI
Just like an athlete’s rigorous training regimen, AI is becoming a game-changer for sales teams. With 83% of sales teams using AI seeing revenue growth in the past year, compared to just 66% of those without it! Top benefits teams have seen are improved sales data accuracy, better understanding of customer needs, and more personalized interactions.
The Training Challenges: Overcoming AI Hurdles
Implementing AI isn’t easy. Many teams face hurdles like budget constraints, insufficient training, and data security concerns. It’s like getting ready for the Olympics without the right funding, coaching, or equipment. About a third of sales ops professionals worry about data accuracy and having enough human oversight to monitor AI outputs.
The Core: Trust and Data
Like we mentioned above, AI’s success hinges on trustworthy data. You could say it's the core of an athlete’s training diet. Leaders want to maximize the value of their data but worry about the security risks posed by generative AI. Seven out of ten sales pros are concerned about new security risks, and only 35% completely trust their organization’s data.
The Training Camp: Preparing for AI
Sales ops professionals are like the coaches of the AI game, ensuring their teams are ready to win. Over 50% of teams with full AI implementation have updated their tech stacks and enhanced data security measures. They’re also creating training programs to help sales reps use AI effectively. However, fewer than half are setting ethical use guidelines, a critical oversight considering the ethical concerns surrounding AI use.
The Finish Line
Sales teams that invest in AI are setting themselves up for gold-medal success, but they must overcome significant challenges to get there. Emphasizing data accuracy, security, and ethical use, along with thorough training, will be key to reaping AI’s full benefits. 🥇
This is part two of a four-part series summarizing the Salesforce State of Sales report. Visit our blog page for future posts.
By Anthony Trinh. Anthony is the Founder and Principal Salesforce Consultant at Efforceless.
About Efforceless
Efforceless helps business leaders scale their teams. Founded only by seasoned current and former Shopify, Google and Salesforce employees, we combine Revenue Operations with a polished Salesforce implementation, and as a result, our clients have the smartest Salesforce team working for them at less than the cost of one Salesforce hire. For more information about Efforceless’ Salesforce consulting services and solutions, visit: www.efforceless.com
About Salesforce
Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360° view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com