{"id":1513,"date":"2023-10-15T21:17:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-15T21:17:13","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-06-20T10:02:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T18:02:00","slug":"using-ai-to-augment-your-sales-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/startups\/blog\/using-ai-to-augment-your-sales-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Using AI to augment your sales process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Steli Efti<\/a> is the CEO and co-founder of Close<\/a>, a CRM with built-in sales automation features for startups and SMBs. Close is a trusted partner<\/a> of Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, providing our startups with their 1st month free and an 80% discount on any Close subscription plan for 12 months. Steli is a Y Combinator alum and an advisor to startups and entrepreneurs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial Intelligence (AI) is disrupting every area of business – it’s built into chatbots, sales reports, and even tools to help salespeople write better emails. By 2027, the AI market is expected to be valued at a staggering $407 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, there are a whole lot of folks using AI in their sales process without understanding how it works or how to use it thoughtfully. One of our biggest takeaways from integrating AI into our own sales process<\/a> at Close has been just how risky it can be to develop an over-reliance on these tools\u2014no matter how great they seem at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, they\u2019re still just tools that can\u2019t replace the human elements of building real relationships with the people you\u2019re selling to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sales is about building relationships, and over-reliance on AI removes the human aspect of sales \u2014 which can be devastating to startups looking to gain an edge in the market. Here are a few of the biggest wrenches an over-reliance on AI tools can throw into your well-oiled sales process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any other tool that\u2019s added to your sales tech stack, AI needs to be used thoughtfully and carefully by those choosing how<\/em> these tools are implemented with the goal of advancing your go-to-market strategy<\/a>. Start by setting a clear, actionable goal you want to achieve with the help of AI. Maybe you want to increase outreach, send nurture emails faster, or follow up with 2X the number of customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have a goal (and find an AI tool to help you reach that goal), make sure you understand how each particular tool works and what type of data it needs in order to be effective. Ask yourself questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t just ask ChatGPT to write a sales email. Instead, tell it what company you work for, who you\u2019re reaching out to, what industry your prospect is in, and any additional intel you have on prospects to help write a truly great sales email. If you don\u2019t like the first result, refine your prompt, instruct the AI more clearly, and try again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, make sure AI is part<\/em> of your sales process, not your entire sales process. This means taking AI outputs (whether that is a sales report or a cold email) and making them your own. Depending on what you\u2019re using AI for, that might mean personalizing your email or validating your sales reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The future of sales isn\u2019t people vs. AI; it’s salespeople who understand how to use AI well versus all those folks who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAI in sales: mistakes that make you less effective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to keep your sales process human (while using AI)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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