Artificial intelligence is having a profound effect on the workload for many sales professionals, but improper setup could have a severe negative implications, new research has warned.
A Salesforce report, based on a survey of 5,500 sales professionals including 400 from the UK and Ireland, looked at trends and challenges within the industry as well as the impact of AI tool deployments, finding four in five (79%) of sales teams are either experimenting with, or have fully implemented, AI technologies, and many are reaping the rewards.
It added a vast majority (83%) of the teams using AI experienced revenue growth in the past year, but only 66% of those not using AI saw an increase in revenue, indicating that artificial intelligence had improved productivity and efficiency.
Sales teams are benefiting from AI
The report revealed that three in five (59%) UK&I sales reps do not expect to meet their quotas this year, however it’s a marked improvement over the four in five (78%) in a similar position last year.
Outside of Salesforce’s work, other studies have highlighted that companies are failing to fully benefit from AI for a variety of reasons, including a disconnect between worker and management sentiment and poor data foundations.
Salesforce found that UK&I sales reps spend a staggering three-quarters (71%) of their time on non-selling tasks, like admin work and meeting prep, which prevents them from engaging with customers, completing sales, and driving revenue.
To overcome obstacles, some companies have started to introduce training programs, enhanced their data security, and streamlined their tech stacks, however UK companies appear to be falling behind.
Sales Cloud SMO Amber Armstrong summarized why companies should focus on effective deployments: “AI is no longer a nice to have – it’s a must.”
Looking ahead, it’s clear that companies that fail to keep up with artificial intelligence risk being left behind, but rapid adoption without proper planning and preparation could be just as detrimental.
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