Stop Guessing Where AI Fits: Use This Strategic AI Implementation Guide
From Overwhelmed to Organized: The Best AI Starting Point for Your Business
Start Where It Matters Most
Hey there, sales innovator!
Ever catch yourself thinking:
- "Everyone's talking about AI, but where do I actually start?"
- "Which tasks should I automate first?"
- "How do I know if AI is even helping?"
You are not alone. The top 3 questions I get from sales reps are:
- How do I learn AI...but for sales? (addressed in first few articles)
- Where do I start with AI?
- What do I do first or what tools are best top use?
Today, we're solving the biggest AI implementation challenge: knowing exactly where to start. The idea is to get a ROI, you know the word we talk about with our customers, well, we need that here for our business.
Stat of the Week:
"72% of sales reps fail with AI because they start in the wrong place. The other 28%? They follow a systematic approach and see 3X productivity gains."
Sales Innovation Index, 2024
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This Week in AI Sales:
- Developing Your Strategic AI Implementation Plan
- Quick Wins That Actually Move Revenue
- Measuring What Works
- Sales is All About Trust - Building Trust with AI
Let's. Get. Strategic. - while we dive deep
The Strategic Implementation Framework:
Sales Reps - If you are not already thinking like a CEO, it is time to run your territory as a if you are the CEO of your patch. Before downloading another AI tool to test, answer these questions below and implement AI where you will get the most bang for your buck:
Step 1: Start With The Simple Stuff
The biggest mistake? Trying to boil the ocean. Instead, let's find your bottlenecks:
Quick Bottleneck Audit:
Ask yourself:
- What time-consuming tasks do you repeat daily?
- Where do you waste the most time?
- What causes the longest delays?
Take this list and attack these areas first, but go slowly. There is a very good chance that you will get back an enormous amount of time that can be repurposed to spend with your clients. With the intent to win more business.
Step 2: Check Your Pipeline Health
Review Early Pipeline First:
- Is your pipeline 3-5X quota?
- How many qualified meetings per week?
- What's your conversion rate stage-by-stage?
If you're not hitting these early pipeline numbers, then your late pipeline numbers won't matter. Focus AI here next.
Pipeline Generation (PG) is typically a 5 step process (which we will address very soon in the newsletter). Consider using AI to improve the appropriate step that is lagging:
- Research for Names → Identify prospects.
- Create Personalized Outreach → Craft tailored engagement.
- Lead Generation → Attract and initiate contact.
- Lead Qualification → Focus on high-value prospects.
- Lead Nurturing & Meeting Scheduling → Build trust and advance leads.
- Lead Qualification into Opportunity → Convert leads to actionable opportunities.
Step 3: Mid & Late-Stage Deal Check
Look for these red flags:
- Deals stalling at certain stage
- Evaluate Why - Weak value props
- Loss due to Negotiation struggles
- Lost deals you should've won
Pro Tip: Start where the money is closest or where you have had the most fallout.
Step 4: The Process Audit (Takes Longer)
Map out each sales stage and/or your entire sales cycle:
- Lead Generation
- Qualification
- Discovery
- Proposal
- Closing
- Onboarding
Review the processes for inefficiencies, delays or gaps. Have AI support those gaps so that the process flows better.
For instance, if you are failing to determine the pain or doing a poor job at discovery. I recommend that you add in something like Perplexity AI which can help you do an hours worth of customer research in 15 seconds.
Step 5: Attack the "Hate List"
Be honest - what do you hate doing that you avoid or do a poor job?
- Manual CRM updates?
- Writing cold emails?
- Meeting scheduling?
- Follow-up sequences?
These are the next set of wins that can really free you from the things you don't like doing. We will be discussed all of these over time and I will have training on each of these tactics in the AI Sales Revolution Course, which will be launching soon.
Your AI Success Metrics
Remember, you need to think like a CEO. Run your business like a CEO. Even within a large company, you will make the choice of what activities to do daily, where to invest time, etc.
When it comes to AI, we need to think about the impact AI is having on your sales processes, selling time and ultimately total sales. This is where you look at the ROI on the AI processes you are using.
Daily Metrics for AI:
- Active Selling Hours
- Prospects Researched
- Personalized Touches
- Meaningful Conversations
Weekly Metrics:
- Pipeline Velocity
- New Opportunity Value
- Time Saved via AI
- Response Rate Improvement
Monthly Impact:
- Qualified Pipeline Increase per month
- Average Deal Size Change
- Sales Cycle Reduction
- Total Sales Increase / month over month
- ROI on AI Tools
AI Tool of the Week: Lavender AI
Transform Your Email Game: Because Email Sucks
What It Does: Lavender is like having an expert email coach watching over your shoulder. It analyzes your emails in real-time and helps you write messages that actually get responses.
Key Features:
- Real-time email scoring
- Personality insights about your recipient
- Writing enhancement suggestions
- Best time to send recommendations
- LinkedIn integration for personalization
- One-click research about your prospect
The Numbers That Matter:
- Average 42% increase in response rates
- Cuts email writing time by 37%
- Provides instant insights vs. 15-minute manual research
Why Sales Pros Love It:
- Instant feedback while you write
- Personalization prompts based on LinkedIn
- Shows you the best time to send for each recipient
- Tracks what's working (and what's not)
Quick AI Implementation Checklist
- Day 1: Complete bottleneck audit
- Day 2: Audit that pipe
- Day 3: List your "hate tasks"
- Day 4: Choose one task to automate
- Day 5: Implement and measure
- Day 6: Scale what works or move on to the next area
What You Learned Today:
- Start Where It Hurts: Your biggest pain point is your best starting point
- The Power of Process: A systematic approach beats random AI implementation and leads to ROI
- Metrics Matter: What you measure determines what improves
- Quick Wins First: Build momentum with visible victories
Don't let AI leave you in the dust. Supercharge your sales skills now!
Your Action Items For This Week:
- Identify your biggest time-wasters
- Pick ONE area to implement AI
- Measure the impact
- Share your wins with the community or your teammates
Remember: Start small, measure impact, scale success.
Next Week: Advanced AI Prompts for Each Sales Stage
Explore More:
- AI Sales Starter Kit (Coming Soon)
- AI Sales Accelerator (Coming Soon)
- AI Sales Revolution (Coming Soon)
That is all of this week but keep pushing forward
See you next week,
Steve
PS - Let me know if there are topics you would like me to cover!