In the world of B2B marketing and selling, everyone knows that artificial intelligence does an absolutely amazing job at:
- Analyzing and identifying patterns from seasonal buyer trends to personal style preferences
- Managing personalized marketing campaigns
- Minimizing the time revenue teams spend “turning the lever” on routine outreach, analysis, and account-based marketing (ABM) tasks
But what you might not know is that the number of B2B organizations using AI in their outreach is growing by the minute. Keep reading to learn more about AI adoption rates, the ROI that AI can help generate, and how it’s being used as a powerful tool in B2B sales growth.
1. 75% of B2B Sales Orgs Will Use Both AI and Traditional Sales Solutions by 2025
Last year, Gartner revealed that B2B organizations are already adapting to the need for hybrid AI/human selling solutions.
Gartner sees a strong move to what it calls “AI-guided” selling, where humans learn to interpret the customer and lead data that’s been collected and analyzed by AI. Humans can then take the best selling actions (which are recommended by the AI), or initiate an automated campaign run by the AI.
AI-guided selling strategies include:
- Tailoring content to optimize user engagement
- Personalizing messages and dashboard displays
- Indicating account trends that may prompt sales representatives to respond to with direct-contact strategies
AI can handle many of the routine elements of ABM and B2B sales. It also provides actionable insights for sales professionals who provide the human connection when it’s time to touch base or close a sale with a well-nurtured lead.
2. 87% of Current AI-Using Businesses Plan to Use AI for Sales Forecasting
According to Techsur, nearly 90% of businesses that use AI have specific plants to implement it for sales forecasting. Among the first sales applications of AI was sales-trend forecasting, or predicting which products required increased inventory before certain seasons and holidays. These days, B2B sales teams use AI predictive analytics to:
- Determine likely sales volumes
- Identify which products are likely to be in demand based on known circumstances
- Identify which leads or return customers are likely to convert
When it comes to meeting your quota and predicting the needs of your customers, AI-directed sales can seriously power your sales accomplishments and provide a clear direction for sales growth.
3. Most AI Adopters Experience a 30% to 50% Economic Benefit
According to a recent Deliotte survey, nearly 85% of companies adopt AI experience significant economic benefits. The study reported that AI applications in the sales department alone can increase revenue, streamline time and effort, and decrease overhead.
So what does Deloitte mean by “significant economic benefit”?
These companies report a 30% to 50% increase in either savings, sales, or both to provide net financial gain. AI can cut the need for overtime and even reduce the number of marketing SaaS platforms required to efficiently automate your campaigns and ABM management.
At the same time, AI allows your team to focus on those actions and campaigns that will make the most impact and achieve the the best results for selling.
4. Marketing AI Use Soars in Two Years, From 29% in 2018 to 84% in 2020
AI has become increasingly popular among marketing teams, both in consumer-facing and B2B applications. In 2018, only 29% of marketing teams had begun to use AI automation. The Salesforce State of Marketing Report found that this percentage grew by nearly 200% just two years later.
This means that more than four out of five Salesforce-surveyed businesses are using some form of advanced marketing automation and/or AI-guided sales. 6sense offers deep integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics to make it easier for teams to bring AI into their existing platforms.
5. AI Drives the Highest Revenue Growth When Applied To…
McKinsey surveyed customers about their use of AI and found certain sectors where AI provides the greatest impact on revenue. Some of the best use cases include:
- Optimizing inventory
- Honing your pricing and promotion strategies
- Analyzing customer service
- Enhancing sales strategies
- Predicting demand trends
6. AI Can Help Businesses Automate 69% of Their Data Processing
How much time does your sales team currently spend buried in data processing? Sales may focus on people, but B2B sales teams handle a great deal of data, which could be streamlined to their benefit.
A different McKinsey survey found that AI can significantly reduce the amount of time and work put into data processing by any team. Nearly 70% of your data processing — including sharing, manipulating, preparing, and distributing data — could be handled by an AI with consistent accuracy and lightning speed.
Ready to Enter the World of Revenue AI?
6sense’s platform brings AI power to the entire revenue team by capturing data about potential accounts, gathering intelligence about their activities, and then using that real-time information to power advanced marketing and laser-focused sales efforts. Sign up for a demo or dig into some of our customer stories to learn more.
