By February 2023, three months after its launch, ChatGPT had already gained over 100 million monthly active users. And the world quickly moved from ChatGPT fever to a ChatGPT scare. 

Even Google, a tech behemoth, went into panic mode and declared a “Code Red” for ChatGPT’s threat to its business. If this is any indication, ChatGPT is impacting every industry, organisation, and department — including sales teams.

You don’t have to panic. Your organisation may already be using ChatGPT for one purpose or another. We all know it can produce a coherent, contextually apt, and linguistically robust conversation or written piece. 

But can ChatGPT make your sales process better and multiply your sales team’s efficiency? And if it can, how? Those are the questions we’ll answer in this post, and we’ll discuss everything you need to know to stay on top in ChatGPT world.

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How will ChatGPT revolutionise the sales landscape?

ChatGPT’s impact on sales is still unfolding. But so far, we’ve been able to learn one or two practical applications of ChatGPT in sales.

We share some of those applications below.

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1. 24/7 customer service 

ChatGPT is incredibly smart and a far cry from the chatbots that have been in existence before. Currently there are three types of chatbots on the market: AI chatbots like ChatGPT, prebuilt chatbots that rely on a library of scripts, and hybrid chatbots that combine both — Serviceform’s chatbot for websites is a free example of the latter.

It can be at the forefront of your customer service. Imagine having a team member that manages thousands of queries simultaneously without breaking a sweat, 24/7. It handles routine customer queries, books appointments, and directs complex issues to human agents, freeing your sales team to focus on closing deals.

2. Lead qualification

ChatGPT sorts the wheat from the chaff during the sales prospecting process. It sifts through hundreds of leads, initiates preliminary conversations, and qualifies prospects based on preset parameters. With this AI tool, your sales team can concentrate on high-quality leads, boosting their productivity and conversion rates.

3. Personalised communication

Despite being software, ChatGPT delivers personalisation that makes your prospects feel seen and valued. It tailors responses based on customer data, creating unique, personalised experiences that drive engagement and conversions.

Now, you might be wondering — is this the end of the road for sales teams? Should we pack up and let AI take over? The answer is a resounding NO!

ChatGPT, powerful as it is, is a tool — and any sales tool is only as good as the hand that wields it. It lacks the human touch: empathy, intuition, and emotional intelligence, attributes critical to sales success. Therefore, the key to winning in 2023 lies in harnessing ChatGPT's power to augment your abilities, not replace them.

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Using ChatGPT for sales: How your sales team can come out winning

Since we can all agree that ChatGPT has become inevitable if you don’t want to fall behind in sales productivity, the next question is: How can you get your sales teams on board?

In this section, we’ll go over four distinct ways your sales team can ride the wave of ChatGPT in sales and come out winning.

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1. Understand AI

Fear of the unknown is the biggest roadblock to embracing change, but ChatGPT and all other AI tools are here to stay. If anything, they’re just getting started.

You are either one of the early adopters or one of the laggards who will be swept away. We don’t want you to be the latter.

This is why understanding what AI is and what it can do is the first step to leveraging its power. Take the time to learn about ChatGPT, its capabilities, and its limitations. Once you do this, you’ve embraced change, and the possibilities are endless.

As more companies tap into its potential to find business solutions, you won’t be left behind. Take Gong.io, for example. They recently launched an AI tool that analyses business conversations to determine which types of engagements yield the highest number of sales and why.

This empowers users to focus on more of what’s working. Now imagine what would happen if your competitor adopted this before you did.

This is why you need to keep abreast of developments in the AI world so that you can always have a competitive advantage.

2. Upskill

While ChatGPT outperforms humans in a number of hard skills, it falls short in others.

So, in addition to your high-level technical sales abilities and knowledge of how to use ChatGPT, you also need to learn some soft skills to supplement your technical knowledge.

Skills like complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence will be the currency of the future. 

Three great institutions — Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation, and the Stanford Research Center — all concluded that 85 percent of job success comes from having well-developed soft skills and people skills, while just 15% of job success comes from technical skills and knowledge.

With the emergence of ChatGPT, there’s never been a time when soft skills were more important.

When we speak of soft skills, here are some examples of what we’re referring to:

• Effective communication
• Teamwork
• Presentation
• Networking
• Negotiation
• Conflict resolution

And other hard skills, like delivering a sales pitch or running a product demo, are still just as important today as they were last year.

3. Incorporate ChatGPT strategically

Don’t deploy ChatGPT just because it’s the next big thing. The first step is to identify areas in your sales process where it can add the most value. Perhaps it’s handling routine queries or qualifying leads. Use it to streamline and automate these tasks, freeing your sales team to focus on closing deals.

Here are some possible ways you can incorporate ChatGPT into your sales efforts:

• Chatbots: You can integrate ChatGPT into your chatbot tool and deploy it across all your customer interaction channels. This will make for a great conversational AI chatbot.
• Third-party integrations: Many companies are already building ChatGPT-supported solutions for sales teams. For example, this company recently introduced a ChatGPT-powered WhatsApp AI sales assistant.
• API: You can use OpenAI to build a custom solution that helps your sales process. This fashion brand, Zalando, is building a ChatGPT virtual assistant.

4. Human touch

Leverage the human aspect. Machines lack the personal touch and emotional understanding that a human agent brings. Emphasise these traits in your sales approach to deliver experiences that a machine cannot replicate.

Customers have stated clearly that they only care about the ‘humanness’ of their interaction with a company, not whether it was with a bot or a human. As such, your goal should be to have your salespeople collaborate with ChatGPT to provide the best customer experience possible. Serviceform's product suite, for example, helps businesses today get the most out of ChatGPT by combining a human touch with conversion and customer service automation.

Final thoughts

ChatGPT is a game-changer and can transform your sales department in a powerful way. But remember, sales is and will always remain a profoundly human endeavour. 

The winners in 2024 and beyond will be those who understand this and those who manage to leverage the power of ChatGPT while preserving the irreplaceable human element in their sales process.

So, embrace this new AI revolution. Understand it, adapt to it, and use it as a tool to enhance your productivity and reach. That's how you come out winning.

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About the author:

Ramin Assemi is a B2B SaaS marketer with 10+ years of experience. He led Close CRM’s content marketing to millions of views and hundreds of thousands of leads. When he's not writing, he can be found exploring the beaches of Thailand, indulging in his lifelong passion for reading, and building sandcastles with his daughter.