Ask a sales rep how they spend a typical workday, and you’ll realize they spend more than half of their day on tasks other than selling!

That’s because administrative work like answering inquiries and following up with clients consumes the most part of their day and leaves them with little to no time to actually close big deals.

Being a startup, you can’t afford that kind of inefficiency now, can you? In this case, an AI sales agent should be your best bet.

Read this blog to learn everything that you need to know about AI sales agents!

What is an AI Sales Agent?

Simply put, an AI sales agent is like a virtual assistant for your sales team that will take care of different tasks related to sales. 

Don’t confuse it with a chatbot - it is a lot smarter and more efficient because it is powered by artificial intelligence and has natural language processing capabilities.

It can nurture leads, analyze high volumes of data, interact with customers, answer questions, book meetings, and even offer personalized recommendations.

That leaves your sales team with only one job to do, the job they are actually hired to do - closing deals!

Types of AI Sales Agents

While you’ll encounter a variety of AI sales agents when you set out on a hunt for an AI sales system, we can generally classify them into two broad categories:

1. Autonomous Agents

Just as the name suggests, autonomous agents are capable of working on their own without needing constant human intervention. 

They’ll make decisions and take actions based on the information you provide them with using their intelligent reasoning capability.

The best part about having an autonomous agent is that you don’t even have to be there to ensure things run smoothly. 

It will do the job perfectly on its own, so your human team can focus on other significant tasks.

2. Assistive Agents

These agents are designed to be a co-pilot. They will help you carry out certain tasks on your behalf while also thinking and acting on their own. 

Assistive agents can also take necessary actions based on what they know about a situation and give you valuable suggestions along the way.

For example, have you heard of AI roleplays for sales onboarding? Well, you could use the assistive agent to act as a virtual sales coach. 

Your salespeople could test their skills with it, and the agent will respond with real-time feedback on their performance and suggest areas for improvement.

Of course, no AI agent can replace humans. These tools are simply here for assistance. They take care of routine, mundane tasks so your sales reps can do their job more productively.

How Do AI Sales Agents Work?

AI sales agents completely change the way the sales team works by automating many tasks. 

As a result, salespeople become more efficient as it allows them to focus all their efforts on what actually matters.

Let’s take a look at how an AI sales agent works:

1. Data Collection

Before you approach a customer, you need to know their purchase history, interests, and their online browsing behaviour. 

An AI sales agent can collect all this information from different sources and create a comprehensive customer profile for you. 

This way, when you reach out, you’ll be more likely to present an offer that the customer would actually be interested in.

2. Lead Scoring

Not all leads are equal. Some customers are more likely to buy than others. 

AI sales agents help by scoring these leads based on certain factors. For example, let’s say two people signed up for your newsletter. 

One regularly reads your emails and visits your site, while the other only signed up once and hasn’t opened any emails. 

The AI will recognize that the first person is a better lead and help prioritize them for follow-up. 

3. Engagement Automation

Once the AI knows who the leads are, it can even reach out to them on behalf of the sales team. 

Imagine a potential customer is interested in a headphone set you’re selling. The AI can send them a personalized message, like:

“

Hi [Name], 

I noticed you were checking out our latest headphone sets. I’d love to help you out in finding the perfect one for your needs!

” 

Does this message feel personal? Absolutely. Why? Because it’s based on what the customer has already shown interest in. Plus, it’s timely! 

AI sales agents ensure your customers always receive relevant information right on time, or as they say, strike the iron while it’s hot!

4. Performance Analysis

An AI sales agent is also powered to track the progress of your outreach. 

For instance, it can check how many customers clicked on a link, how many engaged with your posts, or how many booked a consultation with the sales reps. 

Based on this data, the agent can then create a complete report for you to see and adjust your approach accordingly.

How Can an AI Sales Agent Help Your Startup?

While even large-scale enterprises can benefit from having an AI sales agent on their team, these agents are specifically more helpful for startups.

Here are four reasons why:

1. Improved Sales Efficiency

Considering how a sales AI agent effortlessly automates monotonous tasks, it’s no wonder your startup will witness a hike in sales efficiency. 

Since you’re already operating on a limited workforce, your sales rep will no longer have to worry about:

• Answering repetitive questions
• Responding to missed follow-up calls
• Or even sorting through enormous amounts of data. 

Even though these tasks appear to be seemingly mundane, they take up a lot of time. 

The ability of an AI sales agent to perform these actions perfectly is one of the key differences between AI agents and automation.

2. Higher Conversion Rates

AI agents can create well-rounded customer profiles in half the time (or even less) than a human representative. 

Agents have smart algorithms to dig deep into consumer behaviour and buying patterns, so you will almost always hit the nail on the head.

Not to forget that AI agents can also send out personalized messages to your potential customers. 

When people receive personal messages, they are more inclined to do business with you because you make them feel seen.

3. Saves Costs

Even though the initial cost of investing in an AI sales agent may look hefty, it’s a deal too good to pass in the long run. 

Startups are usually restricted due to budget, which is why it makes perfect sense for them to get an AI sales agent. 

This way, the agent will be in charge of all the tasks that can be easily automated, and you won’t have to keep compensating human workers on a monthly or project basis. 

4. Highly Scalable

What usually happens when the workload starts increasing? You hire more people. 

But with an AI sales agent in your team, you won’t have to do that. These AI systems are capable of handling higher workloads without burning out. 

This would allow you to focus on growing and maximizing your profits rather than investing in bringing new resources into your startup. 

It’s truly a long-term solution because the future of AI agents looks as bright as it can get.

FAQs

What is an AI sales agent?

An AI sales agent is a system that can guide your customers through the sales funnel and take care of basic sales-related tasks. 

They perform all autonomous tasks easily, thanks to their advanced capabilities, allowing the sales representatives to focus on tasks that require human input.

How does AI help in sales?

AI can help in sales by analyzing and organizing large amounts of data, prioritizing leads, reaching out to potential customers, answering questions, following up, and a lot more. 

How to use AI to sell products?

You can sell your products with AI by analyzing customer data, identifying potential leads, tailoring marketing campaigns, creating targeted content, and predicting customer behaviour. 

Use Valet, the Perfect AI Sales Agent for Your Business

AI sales agents have made it a lot easier to nurture leads, automate outreach, and increase conversions without the usual time-consuming tasks. 

It’s particularly beneficial for startups who are looking to grow without increasing overhead costs. 

Valet by Opps.ai is the perfect AI-powered solution for budding businesses looking to streamline their outreach. 

It has a vast database of 174 million + records. Hence, you can always count on Valet to identify and connect with your ideal customers. 

Sign up at Opps.ai now and start making connections that will grow your business!