Article

Elevate Your Sales Pitch (& Other Parts of the Sales Process) Using AI

12 June 2023

Jake Dunlap

“If you want to ask really smart questions, have better conversations, use ChatGPT for better prep.”

How we did sales before (only six or so months ago) has changed.

And hopefully, over the next 6-8 weeks, as I talk about the different applications of AI, I’ll be able to either scare you into paying attention or to jumping into the deep end.

We’re boiling down to a world where you know what’s possible, and you’re choosing to pay attention or not, OR you don’t even know what’s possible.

So let me ask you, who will you be?

At this point, I feel like all anyone wants to talk about is how to use AI to write better sales emails… which, candidly, it’s still not great at. Now I know people love tools like Regie and Lavender, which is better than send-all emails, but there are so many more powerful applications of AI.

The main area that people are sleeping on? How AI can enhance areas of the sales process.

Today, I’m starting simple. How to use ChatGPT and AI to be your sales pitch generator.

- Introduction and prep
- Credibility
- Problem-solution matching
- Objections
- Call to action

There are two reasons why you should be doing this. (1) It will significantly decrease your prep time, and (2) if you ask smart questions and take time with your prompts, you will have a significantly better pitch.

And imagine you have 3-5 people in a room you need to prep for and prepare answers and counterpoints to their specific objections. ChatGPT is going to become your best friend. (Or Bard, if you’re a Bard fan.)

Recap: How to Get ChatGPT to be Your AI Sales Pitch Generator

The important bits

1:23 – Today, all anyone wants to talk about is how to use AI to write better sales emails – which it’s still not great at. It has so many other applications.
4:33 – What AI is really good at in the sales process is helping salespeople to prepare: prepare for a sales meeting or how to have a conversion.
6:08 – If you want to ask really smart questions, use ChatGPT for better prep.
8:45 – If I was a new rep in my career, I could get up to speed so much faster by using this.
10:02 – ChatPDF, get ready for this one, you can download someone’s quarterly earnings report and then use ChatPDF to query it. Or copy and paste in articles they wrote, etc. But think about these use cases to establish credibility.
12:12 – Use ChatGPT to explain what you do in the customer’s own words.
13:24 – One of my favorite use cases for the sales process is using AI to prep for objections.
15:50 – You have to be thoughtful about creating different threads on different topics (different personas, messaging in the middle of the funnel, really good recaps, etc).
18:24 – Taking the time to write a really good prompt is everything.
19:32 – Q&A: How are you using AI in your day-to-day as a CEO, and how do you see frontlines incorporating AI or ChatGPT in their day-to-day?
22:38 -Q&A: If I’m a sales manager, what’s the best way I should be using ChatGPT? I’ve dabbled here and there, but I can’t say it’s made me faster at my job at this point.

Introduction & Prep

Prompt: Generate an attention-grabbing opening statement or question to engage the VP’s interest in our financial services platform. Our platform offers advanced AI-powered analytics and automation tools for risk management and investment strategies. Highlight the competitive advantage of our platform’s real-time data analysis capabilities and its potential to improve decision-making and drive financial growth for their organization. Please make the opening statement concise, compelling, and focused on capturing their attention from the start.

You have a big meeting coming up. Maybe you’re meeting with someone several levels above you. Use ChatGPT to help you prepare for the meeting and help you prepare for the conversation.

One issue I have with ChatGPT is that it doesn’t always output a confident tone, and I have to tell it to be more direct (which is why I’m not too fond of AI for email), but it is really good at generating value props. You can make it specific to roles, industry, or the economic climate. Get as detailed as you need.

Use it to role-play and go deeper and deeper.

Credibility

Prompt: Provide information about [company] and its achievements that can enhance credibility for a financial services platform. Include notable clients, industry recognition, or partnerships.

Unfortunately, ChatGPT can’t search the web yet, and information only goes up to 2021. So for this step, you may have to feed it data. But there are tools and plugins you can pair with ChatGPT to make this even easier.

For example, ChatPDF, get ready for this one, you can download someone’s quarterly earnings report and then use ChatPDF to query it. Or copy and paste in articles they wrote. There are also link reader plugins you can try.

Image how quickly reps can get up to speed on a company or individual now.

Problem-Solution Matching

Prompt: Explain the common challenges or pain points that financial services organizations face today. Highlight the specific problems our platform can address.

If you know the common challenges, input them into ChatGPT and skip to the following prompt.

Prompt: Describe the key features and benefits of our financial services platform. Emphasize how it solves the challenges mentioned earlier and fulfills the VP’s needs.

This step allows you to better explain what you do in the customer’s own words. I can not tell you how many demos I sit on where it’s the same demo copied and pasted and irrelevant to me and my sub-industry.

Again, the information may only go up to 2021 at this point, but the jobs haven’t changed much, and I’ve found its persona-based information to be pretty good so far.

And remember, you’re role-playing. You can tell ChatGPT or another AI language model as your AI sales pitch generator that the economy is going down or in a bomb.

You can even train it to be a difficult customer.

Objections

Prompt: Anticipate potential objections or concerns that a VP might have about adopting a new financial services platform. Provide persuasive responses that address these objections and instill confidence.

This is one of my favorite use cases for using AI in the sales process.

You’re prepping for a meeting, and maybe you think you know what the objections will be. But having a conversation ahead of time with ChatGPT to think about these objections is going to be a game-changer.

Call to Action

Prompt: Craft a clear and compelling call to action for the VP that will encourage them to take the next step [such as scheduling a demo or meeting].

The last one I’ll leave you with is using ChatGPT for calls to action. What is a great way to end a meeting that will increase your likelihood of getting a second or third meeting?

ChatGPT is sometimes a little self-conscious, so you may have to tell it to be more confident and direct.

AI is the Future of Sales

AI is the future. You cannot afford in your career to keep the blinders on and not become proficient in these tools, especially if you’re in sales and marketing.

I focused more on the beginning of the sales process in this post and ai as your sales pitch generator, but you can use it all throughout the process.

For example, maybe you just had a meeting. You can then ask, “I just had the meeting. X just came up as a potential barrier. How can I address it in a follow-up email?”

Boom. Another prime use case.

I’ll leave you with one more piece of advice that you can start building now to make your future easier. Start creating different threads based on various topics that you want to train. Different buyer personas, messaging in the middle of the funnel, really good recaps, etc. As you start to build, you’ll get more and more ideas, and it will become essential to your day-to-day.