AI use is on the rise, with 40% of Australian businesses already using AI to boost sales productivity by up to 50%. With operational costs and inflation putting pressure on margins, AI-powered tools are helping sales teams work smarter, not harder.
Whether you’re exploring automation or conversational AI, knowing the right tools to use and how to implement AI effectively into your sales teams is more important than ever.
We’ve got you covered. After reading this blog post, you should know:
AI in sales can refer to the use of any artificial intelligence technology in sales, such as machine learning, predictive analytics or natural language processing. It can automate and boost the efficiency of sales processes – for example, it can help sales teams:
One way to understand the impact of AI is to look at how it supports the entire sales funnel:
Applying AI at each stage, from identifying prospects to keeping your existing customers, can make your entire sales process more efficient.
AI can fundamentally change the way your sales team operates, giving your business measurable improvements in efficiency, revenue, and customer engagement. Let's break down some of the key benefits:
Sales reps spend a large part of their day on repetitive tasks such as updating records, scheduling follow-ups or sending emails. AI can automate a large portion of these tasks, giving your sales team time to focus on higher-value work. Amazon reports productivity gains from AI in sales of up to 86%, and implementing AI for routine data entry alone can save several hours per rep per week.
AI can analyse data (both historical and real-time) to determine which prospects are most likely to convert. This means sales teams can prioritise high-value leads and reduce time wasted on low-potential contacts.
AI can integrate with your CRM to assign lead scores based on engagement, previous interactions, demographic data, and purchase intent, boosting overall productivity by up to 50%.
More and more customers expect a personalised experience, with almost two-thirds (64%) of Australians expecting personalised experiences (in exchange for sharing their data) with brands. AI can deliver this.
AI for sales can analyse previous customer interactions and customer behaviour to help sales reps deliver the right message to the right prospect at the right time.
For example, MaxContact’s Conversational Voice AI can carry out two-way phone conversations, instantly understanding customer intent such as quote requests, appointment scheduling, or troubleshooting. Businesses using conversational AI report a 32% increase in operational efficiency and 29% improvement in customer engagement.
AI can analyse historical data, seasonality, and real-time market trends to predict deal closure probabilities.
AI tools can spot which deals might stall, and provide sales reps with the best actions to progress them. This can reduce missed opportunities and ensure that your sales team focuses on deals with the best ROI.
AI can boost operational efficiency across the board. It can optimise workflows, reduce repetitive mistakes, and streamline communication, which all work together to reduce costs (of up to 94%!)
With a good AI system, you can automate a large portion of routine sales interactions, which means you can grow your sales output without the added cost of hiring additional staff.
This can be extremely beneficial in today’s market, where rising costs for energy, wages and rent are putting strain on businesses.
Seasonal spike, marketing campaigns and new product launches can all cause surges in lead volume. This can be difficult to keep up with and prepare for. However, AI can handle this efficiently.
AI can enable your sales process to grow alongside your business without having to make sudden and costly proportional increases in headcount. Teams can manage hundreds of interactions (all at the same time) while maintaining consistent messaging and high service quality.
Australian firms are leading globally in AI adoption – 67% report general AI use, and 45% use Generative AI (GenAI). Businesses that implement AI early have the added benefit of speed, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making – and you don’t want to get left behind.
Chameleon had been using their previous supplier for several years. While generally satisfied, they faced a significant challenge when it came to billing. Their previous system and pricing model were too complicated to meet Chameleon’s unique business needs.
This is where we came in. We offered Chameleon a 30-day free trial of our AI system, allowing them to experience the platform and assess its suitability before committing. After just a few days, Chameleon confirmed that MaxContact offered a quality, reliable solution.
Read more about this case study here.
There are various types of AI you can implement into your sales processing. Here are just a few examples of the types of AI for sales available:
Conversational AI automates communication with leads and customers, whether it be through the phone, chat, or email. These AI-powered assistants use natural language processing (NLP) to understand customer intent and respond in a human-like way.
Unlike traditional chatbots, conversational AI systems can interpret tone, context, and sentiment. This can make interactions more personalised and natural.
Conversational AI can handle tasks such as:
This frees up sales reps to focus on high-value interactions that require strategy and emotional intelligence.
Predictive analytics uses data from previous sales cycles, customer interactions, and behavioural trends to forecast which leads are most likely to convert.
It can prioritise patterns such as web activity and purchase history to automatically score leads based on intent and how ready consumers are to buy. This means sales reps can focus their efforts on high-value prospects instead of spending time on unqualified leads.
It can be truly effective in lead scoring – companies using AI-driven lead scoring see up to a 50% increase in conversion rates.
Sales teams spend a lot of time forecasting, which makes it one of the most valuable AI use cases in the sector. AI can analyse historical sales data, customer behaviour, and market trends to predict future revenue and identify potential risks in your pipeline.
Sales forecasting & pipeline analytics tools can determine which deals are likely to close and when, which means you can easily amend your strategy, plan resources and set realistic targets. This is especially useful during seasonal peaks or economic fluctuations, where manual forecasting may be less reliable.
AI forecasting tools can also highlight patterns that even very skilled human analysts might not spot – for example, spotting that deals in a particular industry take 30% longer to close or that certain lead sources consistently deliver higher-value customers.
This is one that many sales experts are cautious about using. This is partly because in the earlier days of AI, AI message automation could be very robotic and impersonal. However, AI has evolved.
Today, AI-powered automation tools can write, personalise, and schedule sales emails or follow-ups at scale. These systems analyse audience data to determine the best times to reach out, what tone to use, and which messages drive engagement – for ultimate speed and personalisation. Rather than sending generic templates, AI can automatically tailor communications to match customer interests or stage in the buying journey.
This can save sales teams countless hours while maintaining consistent, on-brand communication.
Check out our top 5 steps to writing the best cold call sales scripts to ensure customer satisfaction.
CRM automation can automatically log interactions, update contact details, and track tasks. Instead of having to manually enter data, AI can automatically utilise customer data, pulling information from calls, emails, and interactions into one central hub.
This creates a single, accurate view of each lead and customer, which can help sales teams make more informed, data-driven decisions. AI can also alert reps when a prospect shows intent signals (such as visiting a pricing page or engaging on LinkedIn) so they can follow up at the right time.
For management teams, AI-driven CRM dashboards can give real-time insights into pipeline health, team performance, and deal progression.
Note – AI for sales isn’t one-size-fits-all. There is a wide range of tools to support different stages of the sales funnel. These tools can work together to create a faster and more profitable sales operation, from start to finish. Read on to find out how.
Ready to bring AI into your sales strategy? Here’s our step-by-step guide to make the transition smooth and impactful.
The first step is to map out your existing processes – you need to identify where automation and insights can have the biggest effect on performance.
You should:
Now you understand your current workflow, it's time to determine exactly what you hope to achieve by implementing AI into your system. Make your goals specific and measurable.
You should consider:
One size does not fit all - what works for one sales team may not work for another. The right tools for your sales team depend on where you want to make the biggest impact. Choose from:
MaxContact’s AI-powered dialler and predictive analytics tools are designed to optimise outreach and maximise contact rates across large-scale sales teams.
Avoid rolling out AI across your operations immediately. Instead, start small and test the technologies in one part of the funnel. Measure its impact and scale gradually depending on the results.
Some companies pilot AI lead scoring within one region or product line, and compare results against pre-AI performance metrics (such as conversion rates, call-to-close ratios, etc). Use these insights to refine prompts and improve training data. At MaxContact, we can ensure you implement our AI system the right way.
AI requires regular human input to stay effective. Make sure you consistently feed AI with data, from CRM logs to call transcriptions, to improve accuracy and personalisation.
Always keep humans in the loop – sales reps should review AI recommendations and provide feedback to ensure accuracy. Remember that the goal isn’t to replace your salespeople – it’s to help them sell smarter and faster.
If you’re ready to bring AI into your sales process, MaxContact’s Conversational Voice AI and predictive analytics tools can help you transform the way you engage with leads.
Our AI solutions have already helped sales teams achieve:
Book a free demo to see how AI for sales can help your business close more deals, boost productivity, and future-proof your operations.