AI Transformation in Sales: Navigating the New Landscape for Asset Management Firms
Before AI, the B2B buyer journey was already changing with the arrival of digital technologies. In the past when looking to make a purchase, prospects would likely have reached out to a salesperson at the start of their journey. Now more and more are doing their own research online, and only pick up a phone or send an email to a salesperson when they are ready to buy. For many asset management firms that do not engage with prospects well before the point of purchase, the opportunity to sell may already be lost. And while there is a lot of hype around AI, it has the potential to further transform asset management sales.
Artificial intelligence has reached the point where it can carry out many tasks that used to be the sole responsibility of sales. The AI tools available today can organize, analyze, and create powerful insights from vast amounts of sales and marketing data, all in real time and then execute on those insights if required. Businesses no longer need to rely on hunches or guesswork to figure out the next best action to take. The prospect's intent to buy is no longer a mystery; AI can help figure it out and automatically execute the most appropriate step to take depending on what makes sense from a sales perspective. This can be a game changer at the prospecting stage of sales. Chatting with an asset management firm recently, they talked about the challenge and cost of trying to reach thousands of potential prospects and where to prioritize the efforts of their sales team. It seems for some; the answer lies in adding more salespeople. However, AI has the potential to do much of the “heavy lifting” associated with prospecting, freeing up the time of the sales team to focus on prospects who are ready to buy.
While AI can enable sales, it’s also at the same time placing marketing at a pivotal junction. Marketing teams using today’s AI-driven tools can take on many of the outreach tasks traditionally done by sales and business development teams. Combining data-driven insights with automation they can deliver personalised messaging at scale helping nurture prospects to a point where they are ready to talk to a salesperson.
AI is not poised to replace the human factor in making sales. In asset management, the human relationship between buyer and vendor is still key to a successful sale. That is certainly unlikely to change anytime soon, although the nature of the role is evolving. With marketing taking on more of the prospecting function and sales focusing on high-value prospects, the delineation between both functions is becoming more blurred fostering much greater alignment.
Sales teams need to stay agile and work with AI to add value rather than working against it. This requires reorienting selling approaches, acquiring new technical skills, and most importantly of all serving as champions for the integration of AI into their firm's wider sales strategy. Asset management firms that get this right will undoubtedly gain the competitive edge.