Go-to-market teams that adopt AI-powered sales automation can reap major benefits: research shows they spend more time with customers, drive higher customer satisfaction, and most importantly, boost sales by up to 10%.
But savvy sales leaders know AI isn’t a magic wand that can close deals for you. Instead, using AI effectively is about finding new opportunities and building deeper relationships, which ultimately lead to faster conversions.
Here’s how some of today’s top experts use AI to sidestep common challenges, encourage experimentation, enhance sales training, and create smarter prospecting lists.
The Upsides and Risks of AI
While AI accelerates and optimizes sales efforts, the human element of the sales process remains a crucial, irreplaceable part of the experience.
“AI will point you to the right people to call or show you intent data from companies engaging with your brand, but it’s still up to you to make those calls, engage authentically, and build relationships,” says Will Frattini, an enterprise account executive at ZoomInfo.
Here’s how AI can help:
1. Lead Scoring and Intent Analysis: AI ranks leads and identifies intent signals to prioritize the prospects most likely to convert.
2. Automated and Enriched Prospecting Lists: AI builds and updates prospecting lists in real-time, enriching them with accurate, actionable data.
3. Predictive and Personalized Outreach: AI uses data patterns to predict responsiveness and craft hyper-personalized messages for meaningful engagement.
4. Optimized Timing and Follow-Ups: AI determines the best times to contact prospects and automates timely follow-ups based on behavior tracking.
5. Market and Competitor Insights: AI provides insights on market trends and competitor activity to identify strategic opportunities for prospecting.
But relying too heavily on automation without a foundation of GTM intelligence and an expert personal touch can also backfire. Take email prospecting, for instance.
“It’s hit a wall,” warns Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy and co-author of The AI Edge. “You can’t just let AI send shallow, automated messages. People recognize robotic patterns, and once they do, they stop responding. AI can’t replace the human touch — it can only enhance it.”
The same advice applies in other channels as well.
Relying too heavily on AI-trained chatbots for customer inquiries, for example, can lead to frustration when bots fail to understand complex questions, driving prospects away instead of engaging them. And automated responses on social platforms can come across as impersonal or tone-deaf, damaging brand trust and alienating potential customers.
Experimentation & Adaptation: The Future of AI in Sales
To truly unlock its potential, you need to treat AI like a partner, constantly refining how you use it.
For example: A sales team using AI for lead scoring might start with basic parameters like industry and company size. Adding factors such as online engagement and purchase history allows reps to dramatically improve the accuracy of their rankings.
Similarly, a company using AI chatbots for customer interactions can refine responses by analyzing frequently asked questions and tailoring the bot to address specific customer pain points.
“If you give AI limited prompts, it will give you limited results. But if you engage it iteratively, and feed it more detailed data, AI can become an incredibly valuable partner,” says Anthony Iannarino, co-author of The AI Edge and CEO, B2B Sales Coach and Consultancy.
Just as you coach a team member to improve, AI systems need consistent training to provide better insights. For example, a company experimenting with predictive analytics might adjust its algorithms based on seasonal trends to help them fine-tune campaigns for peak effectiveness.
Continuous interaction and adjustment transforms AI from a basic tool into a strategic asset, driving superior outcomes over time.
Real-World Applications of AI in Sales Training
AI is also changing how we train. In the past, role-playing scenarios and real-time coaching were challenging to scale. But AI simulates real-world situations in ways sales teams have never seen.
For instance: AI-powered tools like Chorus analyze sales calls in real time, offering instant, actionable feedback on tone, pacing, and message clarity. A salesperson practicing a pitch might receive immediate suggestions to simplify jargon, slow their speech, or adjust their tone to sound more empathetic.
Other platforms help reps practice objection handling by simulating tough customer questions and offering targeted feedback to refine responses. These technologies also spot areas for improvement, such as overuse of filler words or missed opportunities to emphasize key benefits. This ensures reps are well-prepared for high-stakes interactions.
“We can now deploy role-play simulations with AI that give reps feedback on their tone, message clarity, and even confidence. It’s a game-changer — it speeds up onboarding and ensures salespeople are prepared for real conversations,” Blount says.
This innovation takes sales training to a new level. AI makes training more engaging, efficient, and impactful. Every rep has what they need to succeed faster than ever before.
Harnessing AI to Build Better Prospecting Lists
Building effective prospecting lists used to be a grueling manual task, but AI is flipping the script.
For example: ZoomInfo Copilot quickly identifies high-potential companies that are ready to engage with minimal input from sales reps. Rather than manually sorting through databases or using outdated lead lists, AI-fueled sales platforms can analyze real-time intent signals, such as recent funding rounds, leadership changes, or product launches.
“Instead of spending hours building lists manually, Copilot allows you to identify companies ready to engage with just a few clicks. The right technology ensures that sales reps focus their efforts where they matter most,” Frattini says.
With AI, reps can pinpoint high-value prospects faster and more accurately than ever.
Merging Data, AI, and Human Expertise
The power of AI doesn’t lie in the technology alone. It’s in how you merge it with go-to-market intelligence and human intuition. By combining AI’s speed and precision with human insight and quality data and signals, GTM teams can reach new levels of efficiency and effectiveness.
Ready to find out more about ZoomInfo Copilot’s next-generation AI sales capabilities? Get in touch today and see it in action.