AI for sales
Sales AI tools help uncover potential revenue; can make sales teams more efficient; and can automate content, contracts and pitches. As this technology advances and companies find innovative uses for artificial intelligence sales tools, read the news and success stories of this ever-expanding technology sector.
Top Stories
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Feature
09 Nov 2022
AI-powered CRM platforms compared
CRM vendors can apply fundamental AI capabilities in various ways. Learn about the similarities and differences between AI functionality in the major CRM platforms. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Aug 2022
9 disadvantages of self-service options
Customer self-service platforms free up live agents for more complicated issues, but if organizations don't keep this software up to date, its disadvantages can frustrate users. Continue Reading
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News
02 Mar 2022
Salesforce releases Tableau CRM telco churn prediction AI
For telcos that use Communications Cloud, Salesforce adds an AI-powered tool that predicts customer churn, part of its vertical strategy in the wake of its Vlocity acquisition. Continue Reading
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News
26 Jan 2022
Salesforce expands CRM maps for sales-team territories
New patterns for selling -- salespeople travel less and use more digital channels to meet with customers -- drive new map features for Salesforce Sales Cloud. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Dec 2021
Content and collaboration advance from memex to metaverse
Since World War II, content collaboration techniques have evolved from rudimentary visions of information sharing to today's knowledge management tools for the hybrid workforce. Continue Reading
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News
04 Nov 2021
Salesforce expands consumer packaged goods cloud
Salesforce to add features next year that help consumer goods manufacturers plan, track and analyze effectiveness of promotional spending with retailers. Continue Reading
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News
01 Sep 2021
New features coming for Salesforce Sales Cloud
Salesforce adds CRM features to support remote-work models for sales teams born in the pandemic and continuing -- possibly permanently -- through 2022 and beyond. Continue Reading
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News
03 Aug 2021
Salesforce automation strategy sharpens with acquisition
The CX giant plans to fold RPA technology from an acquisition into some of its platforms. The move comes after Microsoft and other big tech firms bought RPA vendors. Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2021
Salesforce updates Sales Cloud for remote work
Salesforce created CRM tools for its own sales team's pandemic shift to remote work -- and is rolling out the ones it found most effective to all the platform's users. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
10 Mar 2021
How AIOps investment improves customer service, boosts ROI
Before reaping the benefits of AIOPs -- such as improved customer service and easier collection of customer data -- companies need to determine if it is a good fit. Continue Reading
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News
10 Feb 2021
Oracle CX updates focus on loyalty tech, B2B selling, service
Oracle releases Fusion Cloud Customer Experience suite updates that include tools for B2B selling, B2B customer service and loyalty programs connected to Oracle CDP data. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Dec 2020
Advanced upselling tactics, technologies expand bottom line
Upselling technologies that segment customers, predict buying habits, analyze emotions and target campaigns arm companies with the weapons to tap new revenue streams. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2020
Salesforce's AI-powered Einstein Call Coaching now available
Salesforce's Einstein Call Coaching has moved out of pilot testing, during which a steel building manufacturer saw a 60% reduction in time spent manually analyzing customer calls. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jul 2020
Accounts payable automation eliminates invoice backlog
Purple, a mattress company, struggled each week to manually process its myriad invoices and bills. It found relief in automated accounts payable software from a startup vendor. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Jul 2020
8 CX challenges facing organizations and how to address them
There are many barriers to effective CX initiatives, but most revolve around communication on both the consumer and enterprise sides of the equation. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Jun 2020
Here's how sales teams use AI to increase revenue
When a business incorporates AI into its sales processes, it may improve pricing optimization, contact analytics and forecasting, ultimately strengthening its sales department. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jun 2020
Salesforce collaboration gets mobile boost with new app
Salesforce integrates chat, text and video collaboration into a desktop interface and a new mobile app, Salesforce Anywhere. It tracks and logs conversations and transcribes videos. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jun 2020
10 ways to improve the customer experience today
Many organizations struggle with where and how to improve CX, as the focus shifts from CRM to customer experience. Here are 10 strategies to use for a successful journey. Continue Reading
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News
20 May 2020
RevOps strategy keeps B2B sales moving during pandemic
Revenue operations purports to orchestrate the technologies governing marketing and sales and measure their effectiveness. During the pandemic, the strategy is put to the test. Continue Reading
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News
19 May 2020
Pegasystems releases Ethical Bias Check to cut down on AI bias
Pegasystems has embedded a new tool to combat AI bias in its Pega Customer Decision Hub. The tool can alert users to potential biases before they deploy system changes. Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Apr 2020
What to expect from the Salesforce and Tableau integration
The Tableau integration with Salesforce has many users wondering how this will affect its approach to growth and development, and its place in the digital transformation marketplace. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Feb 2020
5 terms to know before creating a sales enablement strategy
Sales enablement is important for companies to drive efficiency, maintain customer satisfaction and stay organized. Sales enablement uses different tools and strategies to do this. Continue Reading
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Answer
13 Feb 2020
How does AI in sales improve staff performance?
AI can assist in many aspects of the sales process, including analyzing calls, making employees more productive and retaining talented representatives. Continue Reading
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News
12 Feb 2020
New leadership, new features for LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator adds features to create CRM contacts directly from LinkedIn, and content-tracking tools to see who's reading marketing materials salespeople send to customer leads. Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2019
Salesforce mobile app, Trailhead Go rebuilt for iOS
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Apple CEO Tim Cook take the Dreamforce stage as a rebuilt-for-iOS Salesforce Mobile, new Trailhead Go app and Swift-optimized mobile SDK debut. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Sep 2019
Upselling customers adds ROI gold to contact center channels
AI, analytics and customer service technologies can predict behavior and secure brand loyalty, but generating impulse buys adds a new ROI wrinkle to the evolving contact center. Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2019
Marketing, sales tighten in LinkedIn Sales Navigator features update
Lead lists and content-sharing features added to LinkedIn Sales Navigator give frontline salespeople more leads -- and more tools to engage them. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jun 2019
$15.7B Salesforce-Tableau acquisition a direct shot at Microsoft
By acquiring Tableau, Salesforce dramatically strengthened its BI and data visualization capabilities. The move boosts Salesforce's ability to compete with Microsoft. Continue Reading
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News
08 May 2019
Einstein Analytics for Financial Services enhances banking CX
Salesforce's new analytics tools for financial services follow AI advancements from IBM Watson and Acquia upgrading customer experiences in retail banking and wealth management. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Apr 2019
AI customer self-service platforms show analytical maturity
AI-enabled self-service platforms graduate from traditional customer support activities to more sophisticated methods of analyzing data on customer wants, needs and behavior. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Apr 2019
AI sales forecasting tools soothe sales-marketing rivalries
Sales forecasting vendors such as Clari extend reach into enterprise marketing, leveling the data and, with AI, solving an old problem: conflicting numbers on quarterly forecasts. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Mar 2019
The pros and cons of customer service AI
AI is growing deep roots into cloud-based support services, but there remains a question of whether it can provide the empathy and understanding that brand loyalty requires. Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2019
AWS DCX Competency vets cloud customer experience partners
The AWS Digital Customer Experience Competency for content management, e-commerce, service and marketing automation certifies partners for infrastructure and security to create cloud CX. Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2019
Adobe Experience Platform likely to get boost, Adoption Scoring debuts
Adobe Experience Platform (formerly Adobe Cloud Platform) focus of Summit, as analytics, AI and open-data initiatives with Microsoft and SAP converge. Continue Reading
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Answer
19 Mar 2019
3 ways the data scientist role benefits CX teams
CX teams don't traditionally include the data scientist role, but adding one can help derive more value from customer data than a CX analyst or canned analytics software can. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Mar 2019
5 sales enablement best practices to drive growth
Sales enablement consists of tools and processes that can help sales agents succeed in their roles, including training, resource availability and team involvement. Continue Reading
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Answer
05 Mar 2019
What are 4 essential social CRM strategies?
Social CRM continues to evolve, using additional social media channels and techniques such as social media mining, advertising and listening. Continue Reading
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Answer
25 Feb 2019
5 common customer support problems that affect CX
In customer support, common customer experience issues include lengthy hold times, scaling, failure to follow up, lack of human touch and a lack of personalization. Continue Reading
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Answer
21 Feb 2019
6 must-have roles on your customer experience team
Customer experience is the most important differentiator between enterprise competitors today, and CX teams are essential to ensuring customer loyalty and retention. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Feb 2019
CEO plots course for Televerde women's prison call centers
Working at a Televerde women's prison call center outpays many inmate jobs and sets agents up for careers on the outside. CEO Morag Lucey discusses how the company keeps current. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Feb 2019
Giving inmates a second chance as prison call center agents
Televerde staffs contact centers with incarcerated women, where they are paid the federal minimum wage. CEO Morag Lucey and COO Vince Barsolo discuss the model. Continue Reading
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Answer
30 Jan 2019
4 chatbot success metrics to bolster CX
Chatbot success can be measured using a number of metrics. Each helps improve the customer experience. Read on to learn which KPIs are beneficial for improving CX. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Nov 2018
8 tips for a successful Einstein artificial intelligence rollout
You'll fail a few times before you succeed with Einstein, Salesforce customers said at Dreamforce. Once you dial it in, though, success can follow. Here are eight ways to get there. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Nov 2018
Q&A with IBM Watson's call center AI tech lead
We sit down with IBM's contact center AI lead to talk about chatbots and their evolving role as human customers and support agents learn to coexist with them. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Oct 2018
How artificial intelligence in customer service improves CX
AI in customer service enables products and services companies to respond to consumers before the customer experience breaks down and negatively affects retention. Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2018
Salesforce AI users reveal pros and cons
Salesforce Einstein users shared their experiences with the AI tools, including the challenges of getting the C-suite to buy in. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jun 2018
AI for the enterprise transmitted directly from Mars
For marketing intelligence to explore new frontiers and achieve its ultimate goal, chief marketing officers may find their CRM applications were once developed by NASA and tested in space. Continue Reading
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Opinion
05 Jun 2018
AI for customer service at the peril of personal relations
AI tools in CRM help companies deliver hyper-personalized customer experiences but prevent customers from actually having personal interactions with service agents. Continue Reading
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Tip
02 May 2018
How Conversational Queries aims to ease using Einstein Analytics data
A new AI conversational feature from Salesforce lets users enter sales, service and marketing questions about timely customer data and build charts on their own in less time. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Mar 2018
'Digitize or Die': Embrace IoT digital transformation or perish
In his book, Schneider Electric's EcoXpert program global vice president decodes how IoT digital transformation strategies differentiate winners and losers. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Feb 2018
Customer service chatbots help reduce product returns
In previous years, Azumi Mobile was overwhelmed with customer calls after the holiday season as users attempted to return smartphones. This year, chatbots helped address that issue. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Feb 2018
Meet your friendly service agent -- The sales chatbot
AI chatbots enable companies to automate some sales and service tasks, but the combination of people and smart machines creates better outcomes than either one alone. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Jan 2018
Artificial intelligence technologies a boon for customer insights
AI can help companies shrink the gap between customer data and actionable insight by feeding intelligence into CRM, marketing automation and other operational tools. Here's how. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Jan 2018
Comparing Salesforce Einstein AI across the clouds
What do you get when you pay for Einstein features in the Salesforce Sales, Service and Marketing clouds? We put it all in one chart. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Dec 2017
Do customer service chatbots need to pass the Turing test?
Experts say organizations should focus on enhancing the customer experience with chatbots -- not so much on passing the legendary Turing test for artificial intelligence. Continue Reading
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Answer
02 Oct 2017
What features can users expect from Salesforce Einstein AI?
Expert Scott Robinson explains how Salesforce Einstein AI tools augment the vendor's CRM functionality, and how lessons learned from IBM Watson will affect the platform. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Jul 2017
The integration of CRM with cross-channel marketing breeds agility
Leading enterprises searching for ways to bring agility to the market need look no further than cross-channel marketing. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Apr 2017
Are businesses ready for AI applications?
As the amount of data grows exponentially and computing power strengthens, now is the time for business applications to get a boost from artificial intelligence. Continue Reading
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Tip
13 Sep 2016
Can Salesforce AI with Einstein catch the next AI wave?
Salesforce Einstein is the next installment of intelligent sales, marketing and service systems -- but this is one of numerous Salesforce acquisitions. How will it fare? Continue Reading