Key takeaways
Artificial intelligence (AI) is streamlining the sales process by helping teams analyze customer data, automate tasks, and optimize sales strategies. If your business wants to stay ahead of the game in an increasingly competitive market, AI for sales is a must-have tool in any utility belt.
What are some of the AI-powered tools at a sales team’s disposal in 2024?
Also read: 5 Outbound Sales Strategies to Increase Revenue
| Company | Type of Software | Key AI Features | Free Trial Available? | Learn More |
| HubSpot Content Assistant | CRM | Data cleansing; email data capture; SEO; adaptive testing; data imports | No | Visit HubSpot Content Assistant |
| BQE Core Suite | CRM | Sales pipeline management; lead scoring; analytics; customizable APIs | Yes | Visit BQE Core Suite |
| Salesforce Sales Cloud Einstein | CRM | Lead scoring; opportunity scoring; account insights; activity capture; forecasting; recommendations | No | Salesforce Sales Cloud Einstein |
| Forethought | Customer Support Generative AI | Natural language processing; sentiment analysis; personalization; contextual understanding | Yes | Visit Forethought |
| Conversica Revenue Digital Assistant | Lead Engagement | Conversational AI; Integration with CRM systems; real-time analytics and reporting; lead engagement; lead qualification; meeting scheduling | No | Visit Conversica Revenue Digital Assistant |
AI sales tools
HubSpot Content Assistant: Best for content versatility
Pros
Cons
Data cleansing, also known as data scrubbing, identifies, corrects or removes inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and errors from a dataset.Email data capture technology collects and stores information about individuals for marketing or communication purposes by adding potential clients or customers to an email list.SEO suggestions generated by the ChatSpot tools in Hubspot’s content assistant scan your and competitor websites to automatically generate opportunities for optimization. Adaptive testing saves time and resources by optimizing marketing campaigns, product pricing, or other business processes. Easy imports seamlessly draws in contact information from spreadsheets, documents, or other media.
Included with HubSpot subscription.
We chose HubSpot Content Assistant as the best AI software for content versatility for several compelling reasons.
First and foremost, its ability to generate a wide array of content types—from blog posts and social media captions to email content and landing page copy—makes it a one-stop-shop for diverse content needs. This is further amplified by its seamless integration with HubSpot’s comprehensive marketing ecosystem, allowing for a unified content strategy.
Additionally, its built-in SEO tools and data-driven reporting features offer a holistic approach to content creation and optimization.
Hubspot has integrated ChatSpot tools into a content assistant designed to streamline day-to-day tasks.
Content assistant tools natively integrate with HubSpot products so users can shift between manual and AI content creation. Using ChatGPT technology, the content assistant can generate copy for a variety of content types including blog posts, landing pages, marketing emails, and more.
A key feature for sales teams, the content assistant automatically captures and transcribes conversations, giving users the context they need to close deals faster.
Forethought AI: Best for data integration
Pros
Cons
Automated ticket resolution: Forethought’s Solve feature uses generative AI to automatically answer high volumes of common support tickets.
Intelligent triage: The platform can predict, prioritize, and route support tickets to the appropriate teams, enhancing first-response times.
Agent assistance: Forethought Assist empowers agents with relevant knowledge and ready-made responses, increasing agent productivity.
Customer insights: The Discover feature provides proactive customer experience insights and recommends workflows and content to maximize ROI.
Sentiment and intent analysis: Forethought Triage enriches cases with sentiment and intent data, allowing for more nuanced customer interactions.
Multi-industry support: The platform is versatile enough to serve various industries like E-commerce, SaaS, and FinTech.
Included in Forethought subscription.
Forethought uses advanced natural language processing algorithms to understand customer inquiries and generate relevant responses, streamlining the support ticket lifecycle on one generative AI platform.
The platform can automate answers to common questions across any channel with generative AI, a feature known as omnichannel support. This lowers support costs while providing top-tier service in every customer interaction.
By leveraging customer data, behavior, and history, Forethought’s AI can help sales teams deliver tailored recommendations and solutions aligned with customer tasks. As with all AI sales tools, Forethought automates repetitive tasks such as data entry and follow-up emails, freeing up sales teams to focus on high-value tasks. Forethought can also integrate with Zendesk, Salesforce, and other support platforms.
BQE CORE Suite: Best for AI-powered analytics
Pros
Cons
Project management: Real-time insights help keep projects on time and on budget.
Accounting integration: Fully integrates business accounting with project accounting for a comprehensive financial view.
Automated reporting: Provides automated, actionable reports for data-driven decision-making.
Time and expense tracking: Centralizes time and expense tracking to improve cash flow and automate manual processes.
Billing and invoicing: Streamlines billing and invoicing processes for quicker payments.
Payment processing: Accepts ACH and credit card payments, increasing security and reducing time spent on manual tasks.
Contact BQE for a customized quote
BQE CORE Suite has the ability to seamlessly integrate business and project accounting, providing a holistic financial view that is crucial for sales strategies. Its automated reporting feature is a game-changer, offering actionable, data-driven insights that can significantly impact decision-making in real-time. This level of analytics streamlines the sales and provides a competitive edge in understanding customer behavior and market trends.
Designed with professional service firms like those in the architecture, engineering, and accounting space, BQE CORE Suite is a cloud-based management software that incorporates AI for sales.
The sales pipeline management feature helps users visualize their sales pipeline and identify opportunities for improvement. It analyzes historical data to predict future sales and identifies potential roadblocks. The sales forecasting feature uses the historical data to predict future sales revenue allowing users to make better informed decisions regarding staffing, resource allocation, and business strategy.
Machine learning algorithms provide lead scoring by assigning a specific score or grade to each lead based on their behavior, engagement, and other factors. Sales analytics provide real-time insights into sales performance and revenue trends. The suite’s proposal automation feature uses AI to generate custom proposals based on customer data and preferences, helping users save time and improve the accuracy of their proposals.
BQE CORE software also integrates with many software applications and offers customizable APIs for other solutions.
Salesforce Sales Cloud Einstein: Best for lead scoring
Pros
Cons
Einstein Lead Scoring analyzes factors such as lead source, industry, and engagement to prioritize leads by automatically scoring them based on their likelihood to buy. Similar to Einstein lead scoring, Einstein Opportunity Scoring analyzes data to predict the likelihood of an opportunity closing successfully.
Real-time updates on sales representatives’ accounts are available via the Einstein accounts Insights feature. News articles or changes in the business are automatically updated by the tool, enabling reps to stay informed and engaged with their customers as well as identify potential upsell or cross-sell opportunities.
The Einstein Activity Capture tool automatically logs emails, events, and other activities to Salesforce, reducing the manual data entry workload for sales reps. It also helps keep the CRM up to date and provides a comprehensive view of customer interactions.
By analyzing historical data, Einstein Forecasting generates predictions on key metrics such as revenue, deal closure rates, and more.
Einstein Recommendations help sales representatives decide next best actions based on a comprehensive analysis of customer data.
$50/user/month
Einstein’s AI-driven lead scoring algorithm is unparalleled in its ability to sift through vast amounts of data to prioritize leads.
This saves time and significantly enhances the efficiency of sales teams by allowing them to focus on high-value prospects. The platform’s predictive analytics further enrich this feature by providing actionable insights into each lead, thereby fine-tuning sales strategies.
Its seamless integration with the Salesforce ecosystem ensures that the lead scoring process is not an isolated function but part of a comprehensive sales strategy.
As part of Salesforce’s cloud suite, Sales Cloud Einstein is an AI-powered enhancement of the core Sales Cloud solution, adding advanced features and insights that help sales teams improve overall performance.
Think of it as the tech-savvy member of your sales team who never sleeps. It uses AI to help you figure out which leads are worth your time and even suggests the next steps to close a deal. It’s particularly good for companies that have a lot of data but not enough time to sift through it all. While it’s feature-rich, it can be a bit overwhelming for newcomers and might require some investment in training.
Conversica Revenue Digital Assistant: Best for automated customer engagement
Pros
Cons
Automated customer engagement: Conversica handles initial customer interactions, freeing up human agents for more complex tasks.
Multi-channel support: The platform can engage customers through email, SMS, and web chat.
Data-driven insights: Conversica analyzes customer behavior to provide straightforward metrics that can guide decision-making.
CRM integration: The platform can sync with existing CRM systems, making it easier to manage customer data.
Scalability: Conversica can handle increasing customer interactions as your business grows.
Personalization: The system can tailor conversations based on customer data, making interactions more relevant.
Subscription pricing starting at $2,999/company/month.
Contact Conversica for a customized quote.
The reason for Conversica’s inclusion is simple: it does the heavy lifting of initial customer interactions across multiple channels, allowing human agents to focus on more nuanced tasks. This isn’t just about saving time; it’s about making every interaction count. Conversica’s AI is adept at analyzing customer behavior, which means the conversations it automates are frequent and meaningful. Add to this its seamless integration capabilities with existing CRM systems, and you’ve got a tool that not only engages customers but also fits effortlessly into your existing tech stack.
Conversica’s AI-driven Revenue Digital Assistant is a conversational platform designed to automate and enhance customer engagement throughout the sales cycle. Using GPT technology, the digital assistant’s draw is its ability to mimic the natural flow of human conversation.
Sales teams can often miss out on leads due to lack of time. Conversica AI can seek out more leads without putting pressure solely on busy sales reps.
Conversica also offers many of the features available in other AI sales tools, including:
- Integration with CRM systems
- Real-time analytics and reporting
- Lead engagement
- Lead qualification
- Meeting scheduling
How to future-proof a digital-first sales team with AI
A swiss army knife
Sales can be a challenging and complex activity for any business. From training to lead generation, every step of the process requires a slightly different approach; not every solution requires a hammer. Fortunately, AI is a swiss army knife that provides elegant and efficient solutions to every challenge encountered throughout the sales pipeline.
Looking for the latest in CRM solutions? Check out our CRM Software Buyer’s Guide.
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FAQs
What is AI for sales?
AI for sales is the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to automate and enhance various aspects of the sales from lead generation to closing a deal.
How can AI improve sales?
AI can improve sales for businesses by automating tasks, sorting structured and unstructured data, providing data-driven insights, communicating with potential clients, generating and qualifying leads. AI can enhance customer engagement on a large scale, leading to more effective communication and higher conversion rates.
