AI Strategies to Boost Sales For Small Businesses

Running a small or medium-sized business (SMB) can be both exciting and overwhelming. Getting customers is the number one priority for any entrepreneur, and now with the power of artificial intelligence (AI), you can reach your sales goals and still have time at the end of the day. AI can help by acting like a personal assistant, automating tasks and giving real-time insights to make things better, faster, and easier. With 75% of SMBs investing in AI, it’s clear that AI is more than just a tech trend; it’s your foolproof strategy for success. 

The secret to making AI work for you is using it strategically at every step of the sales process. Whether it’s finding new leads, building stronger customer connections, or sealing the deal, there are practical AI strategies designed to make each stage more effective. With the right approach, those small wins can add up to big business success. Ready to take your sales to the next level? Let’s get started.

What we’ll cover:

1. Leverage AI-vetted leads to boost sales efforts
2. Boost engagement with AI-enhanced emails
3. Automate your email marketing campaigns with AI
4. Cut tedious tasks in half and focus on what matters
5. Use customizable dashboards with AI-powered insights
6. Lean into AI-driven sales playbooks for smarter selling
7. Amplify your digital storefront with AI

1. Leverage AI-vetted leads to boost sales efforts

One of the hardest parts of sales is figuring out which leads to focus on, but AI has been making big strides. Quickly spot leads and opportunities that matter most with AI lead scoring. It works like a GPS, guiding you to the best opportunities, saving you loads of time. 

You can prioritize potential customers by analyzing data from various sources like website visits, email clicks, and social media engagement, assigning each lead a score based on how likely they are to become a customer. For instance, a lead who visits your pricing page multiple times or adds items to their cart gets a higher score. This way, sales teams can focus on the leads with the most potential. Starter Suite makes this process even better by using AI to help you focus on the leads that truly matter. Here’s how it works:

• Lead scoring: Scores leads based on behavior, like visiting key pages or engaging with content.
• Predictive insights: Flags the leads most likely to convert with AI-driven recommendations.
• Data enrichment: Adds valuable details from external sources to paint a clearer picture.
• Lead prioritization: Helps you focus on the leads most likely to take action.
• Real-time alerts: Lets you know the moment a lead meets key criteria.
• Behavior tracking: Updates lead details in real-time based on their actions.
• AI integration: Enhances lead qualification with advanced tools to save time and effort.

2. Boost engagement with AI-enhanced emails 

Writing the perfect email can be tricky, but AI can make it easier than you think. It analyzes customer behavior and crafts personalized messages that truly connect with customers. With tools like AI for sales, you can easily generate multiple versions of emails tailored to different segments, with personalized subject lines and customized product recommendations that resonate with customers. 

It also makes testing your email engagement easy. Experimenting with different subject lines, layouts, or calls-to-action, and using real-time insights, can help refine the overall approach. The real magic of AI is how it transforms emails into personal, meaningful messages that show your customers you care. This mindful approach boosts open rates and delivers better results.

3. Automate your email marketing campaigns with AI 

Everyone’s inbox is floodedthese days. So, how do you make sure your emails don’t get lost in the noise? The answer lies in AI automation tools that help you set up smart, automated email campaigns to take care of themselves. Timing is everything when it comes to email automation. It’s not just about what you say, but when you say it. 

AI analyzes user behavior and sends emails at the perfect moment. For example, if someone browses your website, or shows interest in a specific product, an automated follow-up can be sent to them at that opportune time, where you could never time it that way.

And, AI learns over time. It picks up on patterns, so it knows when your audience is most likely to open and engage with your emails. It can also figure out the perfect balance when it comes to how often to send each email, making sure not to overwhelm your customers with too many messages. 

With the help of tools like Agentforce, you can take it a step further by analyzing customer data to suggest what they might need next, like AI-backed recommendations after a recent purchase. This ensures your emails are timely, personalized, and relevant, giving you a better chance of engaging your customers at the perfect moment.

4. Cut tedious tasks in half and focus on what matters

AI automates time-consuming tasks like data entry, follow-ups, and customer tracking, letting your team focus on closing deals and building relationships. It helps make workflows smoother, reduces human error, and ensures that your team’s skills are put to the right use. By automating routine tasks, your sales team can dedicate more time to what they do best — building your growing business. Here are some ways automation can help:

• Automatically capture and track leads from various sources.
• Assign leads based on predefined rules.
• Keep contact information up-to-date with automatic updates.
• Sync contacts with email and calendar systems.
• Automatically update opportunity stages and statuses.
• Generate and send follow-up emails to prospects.
• Set up automatic reminders for follow-up tasks and meetings.
• Send notifications for upcoming deadlines and appointments.
• Automatically log emails sent and received from prospects.
• Use templates to send standardized emails quickly.
• Automate the movement of deals through the sales pipeline.
• Provide alerts for stalled opportunities.

5. Use customizable dashboards with AI-powered insights

The best sales strategies are built on data. aAnd, AI delivers insights when you need them most. Customizable dashboards and real-time reporting help you track performance and make informed decisions for a successful sales season. Create and schedule automatic reports to keep the team informed, and generate real-time dashboards for key performance indicators (KPIs). Here are some of the AI-powered reporting capabilities you should have: 

• Interactivity: Build interactive dashboards to visualize key metrics and KPIs using a variety of chart types such as bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, and gauges. Customize the layout and appearance to match your branding and preferences.
• Real-time data: Access real-time data in your dashboards for quick, informed decisions. Refresh dashboards on demand or set them to refresh automatically at regular intervals.
• Data visualization: Utilize advanced tools to create compelling and easy-to-understand visual representations of your data. Highlight trends, patterns, and outliers to drive actionable insights.
• Analytics snapshots: Capture and store historical data from reports and dashboards to track changes over time and analyze trends.
• Point-and-click analytics: Use a user-friendly interface to create and customize reports and dashboards without needing to write code.

AI-powered dashboards help you track performance and spot trends by converting raw data into actionable strategies. Real-time insights help businesses quickly adapt to changing trends and stay on track with sales goals. Similarly, tracking sales by product category can reveal top-performing products, helping the team focus on growth opportunities.

6. Lean into AI-driven sales playbooks for smarter selling

A sales playbook is like a cheat sheet for the sales team, keeping everyone on the same page, offering strategies, scripts, and practical tips. It simplifies how you connect with prospects and stay consistent. 

With AI-powered sales playbooks, things get even better. These playbooks adjust as customer behavior changes, offering real-time guidance to keep your sales efforts on track. For instance, if customer preferences shift, the playbook updates strategies to match. This flexibility keeps your sales efforts on track, even during the busiest times. 

And, of course, you can do all things through Agentforce for sales, now. Help your sales team scale effortlessly by nurturing leads 24/7, coaching reps, automating quotes, and personalizing interactions with accurate, trusted responses.

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7. Amplify your online storefront with AI

Running an online store becomes a lot simpler with AI tools that take care of the hard work and make the experience better for both you and your customers.

AI can suggest personalized products, send gentle reminders to shoppers who left items in their carts, and even adjust prices in real time to offer the best deals. Smart search features help customers find what they’re looking for, making their shopping experience faster and more enjoyable. This saves you time and increases customer engagement — driving more sales.

Commerce for small business makes all of this possible with easy-to-use features like a storefront builder, automated email marketing, and smooth checkout and payment processing. It connects marketing, sales, and customer service, simplifying your workflow and giving you insights that enhance the customer experience. With real-time analytics, customization options, and integrated tools, it helps you grow your business across all your sales channels.

Maximize small business sales with smart AI strategies

AI for small business sales doesn’t have to be complicated, you just need the right tools. With features like personalized email automation, AI-driven sales playbooks, and streamlined workflows, you can optimize your operations and build stronger connections with your customers. 

Whether it’s identifying high-value leads or crafting content that speaks directly to your audience, AI helps you stay ahead of the competition. With Starter Suite, you’ll have everything you need to elevate your sales strategy and achieve even more. Ready to take your sales to the next level? Get started for free, today.