5 Simple Ways AI Automation Can Drive Your Sales

You have an amazing product, a solid action plan, and a room full of great sales reps. And despite all that, there is that nagging feeling you could have done better — score more deals, sell more proactively, charm more customers.

And you know what? Perhaps you could have. With an AI automation tool eliminating manual tasks.

Businesses are always on the lookout for new ways to enhance workforce productivity, putting real pressure on their sales teams. And while B2B sales transformation is making progress, there’s one part of your average sales manager’s routine that often gets ignored — document processing.

Why Document Processing Hinders Your Sales

According to Forbes, salespeople spend 35.2% of their time on actually selling something. 65% of their day is devoted to activities that have little to do with winning customers for your company. Gartner has even more shocking data, saying that only 18% of a typical rep’s time is spent on selling.

The statistics show that most of this time sales managers have to waste on administrative tasks, including manual processing of documents. For organizations, paperwork is indeed a hidden pitfall. Just look at what excessive hassle does to your sales in the long run:

• The productivity of your sales reps takes a significant hit as they are busy with invoices, not customers.
• Customer-related activities are put in jeopardy. Instead of forging new connections and strengthening relationships, your sales managers need to process data from countless documents.
• You literally give your competitors the upper hands. Businesses who have already integrated sales proposal automation software into their internal processes are free to engage with customers on a more personal level — and at a much faster pace.

The good news is you can easily delegate this administrative task to a solution like Graip.AI. Let’s explore the ways in which AI can drive your sales in more detail.

Way #1. AI Processes Documents Flawlessly

Let’s start with the obvious: even the best employee can make mistakes.

It’s easy to make a typo when you’re in a hurry, feel tired, or have to handle a PDF file of poor quality. At the same time, even a small misprint can slow down the deal, especially if we’re talking about a quota or agreement.

In this case, enlisting AI will help you create an error-free process by digesting high volumes of documents in different formats like pdf, xls, txt, doc, csv, images. All you have to do is to upload the file, and the system will do the rest.

Way #2. AI Automation Tools Help You Get Rid of Manual Tasks

As we mentioned before, lots of your sales team’s time is wasted on repetitive, boring tasks. Employees have to power through the activities that sap their energy. Boredom and an endless sea of documents pave the way to work dissatisfaction and burnout.

Research by Udemy suggests that 43% of workers feel bored at their work. At the same time, a person dissatisfied with his current job is x2 more likely to leave it for another role.

Empowering your employees with an AI solution is a smart move that will help you avoid turnover risks.

By automating manual tasks up to 85% away with Graip.AI, you help your sales managers follow their calling and feel happier about what they do. And satisfied employees will do their best to create an amazing customer experience for prospects and get more deals closed.

Way #3. Intelligent Document Processing Reduces Operational Costs

Have you ever thought how much money is spent on manual document processing?

The estimations vary. For instance, the research by Sterling Commerce states that the average cost of processing an individual invoice is between $12 and $30. Willie Greer, founder of The Product Analyst, says that prices may be up to $21 for an invoice. The total amount depends on several factors:

• Time spent on the invoice processing and reviewing
• Time spent on fixing possible mistakes in the document
• Billable hours of an individual creating this invoice
• Invoice storing and shipping costs

Nevertheless, manual document processing isn’t cheap. Now let’s consider how much paperwork is generated by the sales department in your company — and how many hours your employees spend on handling them.

This is why it’s better to “outsource” document processing to robots. At the end of the day, AI will cut down operational costs.

Way #4. AI Helps Sales Managers Score More Wins

Do you know who gets more sales wins?

The one who replies first.

The truth is that the quality of leads has its expiration date. According to study by Harvard Business Review found out that the average first response time of a company in the United States is 42 hours. Sales reps can’t immediately jump on a call with a prospect because they have other duties to attend to.

To accelerate the first response time, B2B companies should start integrating AI-driven solutions into their internal routine. By releasing your sales managers from tedious tasks, you’ll be able to process leads far more rapidly.

Way #5. AI Enables Sales Reps to Focus on Customers

The greatest irony of AI technologies is that we used to believe they remove the human aspect from the workplace. In reality, it’s the opposite.

AI (when used properly) makes business more human by replacing routine assignments. This is particularly evident in sales.

Personal selling and face-to-face meetings are important parts of a sales manager’s success. By being more personal with prospects and customers, salespeople can identify their individual needs and, therefore, provide them with the best custom-tailored experience when demonstrating your product and services. However, they often have to reduce the number of personal contacts due to the administrative workload on their plate.

In this context, B2B AI solutions can become game-changers. They allow your sales reps to spend more time doing what they know best — communicating with customers, getting to know them, and approaching them with a customized offer, not a set of dry, standard words.

The Bottom Line

Time is of the essence.

To emerge victorious, your sales team should be focused not on paperwork, but on establishing strong connections with prospects and customers.

Get in touch

If you’d love to delegate document processing to an AI-driven solution, consider exploring Graip.AI in a free 15-minute session with one of our representatives.