Picture the sales landscape as an ancient forest, where the wisdom of time-honored practices intertwines with a novel, electric undercurrent poised to spark a revolution. Embracing change is the key to staying competitive. Gene Slade, CEO and Founder of Lead Ninja System and Lead Ninja AI — primarily serving the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical industries — shared some exciting insights during a recent conversation.
“I’ve been up late at night because of this new project,” he said. “Until about three AM this morning, I was too excited about it — so well, just might as well jump right in and let you know what’s going on!”
Last month, Slade’s company secured one of only 100 licenses available in the country for a conversational AI. His journey into AI can serve as valuable advice for anyone hesitant about embracing this technology. Let’s dive in.
AI’s Role in Sales Transformation
Slade’s experience with AI provides key takeaways for those considering its implementation. He sees AI as a game-changer in the sales industry, starting with its role in outbound call scheduling. He offers this advice to sales professionals:
“The first thing we will use it for is to book outbound calls,” he said. “A client might have 5,000 customers. They might only have 500 of them on an agreement where they go out and tune up their air conditioning system or heat in a year.”
Slade’s advice is clear: Since AI streamlines tasks, making the process more efficient and cost-effective, it should be a no-brainer for any contractor or agency seeking to scale quickly.
“From testing, we’re seeing that it’s twice as effective as a human being from a conversion standpoint. It’s about one-fifth of the cost of a regular human being. So it’s about 10 times more effective if you will,” he went on.
One of the most important pieces of advice from Slade is the reliability of AI. He pointed out, “It doesn’t get sick. It doesn’t call in… It just doesn’t quit, and when a client gets upset, it actually gets softer and more empathetic with them.”
Conversational AI’s Intelligence
Slade’s insights into AI’s conversational capabilities offer practical advice for sales professionals. He explained, “We program it to go ahead and dial out to these people, and it literally has a conversation with them. It’s intelligent enough to transition and do stuff on its own.”
According to Slade, AI can adapt and learn, making it a valuable asset in sales.
“For last night’s tests, we didn’t program it with a price. My wife asked it, ‘How much is a tune-up?’ and it went into the Webiverse, I’m gonna call it, and pulled 75 bucks out of its back pocket, which was perfectly acceptable to us and booked the call for the next day.”
This ability to handle changing circumstances is a golden piece of clear benefit for anyone who knows the trials and tribulations of teaching a sales team a new product or service.
“I was trying to throw a curveball and changed times on it as it was setting an appointment with me,” Slade shared. “And it changed times, no problem. Then I asked it to text me, and then I changed the time again, and it just picked up with it. Every single call that it takes is smarter than the call before.”
Slade highlighted AI’s learning capabilities as a crucial aspect of its potential. He said, “I can load 500 recorded telephone conversations into it, and it will learn what the best protocol is. If you struggle with the load of training your sales team or doing sales yourself, this is a complete game changer.”
A Solution for Contractors
Slade’s insights extend to the pain points of contractors in sales. “Contractors have a really, really challenging time with marketing,” he noted. “They also have a difficult time finding people to do outbound calling, train them, and hold them accountable. It’s a massive pain point for them.”
Slade’s solution-oriented thinking is that AI offers a cost-effective solution for call volume issues. “For like 27 cents a minute while it’s talking to their clients, a contractor or an agency can have exactly what they want being set on their behalf. It can do a live call transfer to a human being. It can send them financing paperwork.”
In conclusion, Slade’s journey into AI is a testament to the benefits of embracing this technology in sales. His insights provide valuable insight for those who may be hesitant to incorporate AI into their sales routine. With AI, you can increase efficiency, adaptability, and client satisfaction, ensuring that every sales call is a step toward success.
