Salesforce, a provider of customer relationship, marketing, and sales solutions, has added artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to its Sales Cloud platform. The new AI tools will lessen the number of hours sales team members must spend on manual tasks, thus increasing the time available for sales-oriented tasks. 

Salesforce has been researching and building its AI capabilities for years, first launching AI tools in 2016. This most recent addition of generative AI to the Sales Cloud platform continues the company’s longtime implementation of AI across its many solutions. Generative AI uses models and algorithms to produce a wide variety of content to help sales teams function better. 

The Importance of Generative AI

Generative AI is critical to helping organizations reach their sales goals, Salesforce says. Its recent State of Sales report showed that sales representatives spend more than 70 percent of their time on administrative and other non-sales tasks. Because reps lose so much time with these tasks, only 28 percent believe they’ll meet their quotas.

The company says the innovations connect data in real-time to support sellers throughout the sales journey. “This means that sales teams can shift their attention from processes to connecting with people, giving them more time to focus on what they do best, selling,” said Ketan Karkhanis, executive vice president and general manager of Sales Cloud.

Salesforce provides solutions for various industries, including education, consumer goods, media, financial services, automotive, healthcare, and nonprofits. The company also offers a variety of customer operations, services, and sales solutions for manufacturers. Its partner Cloudstreet has implemented several B2B stores for manufacturers in the industrial, IT services, and consumer goods sectors, for example.

Salesforce had previously implemented some AI tools within Sales Cloud. The new generative AI tools further enhance the platform and can transform sales teams, Salesforce says. Salesforce also added AI capabilities to its Service Cloud applications earlier this year. Before that, Salesforce added AI to Commerce Cloud and Marketing Cloud.

The New AI Tools

The Sales Cloud software encompasses a full suite of sales team tools. Many of the new features are available in the Sales Cloud Unlimited Edition+. Highlights of the innovations include Einstein Copilot, automated call summaries and sales e-mails, enhanced prospecting tools, process intelligence tools, and an extension for the Google Chrome browser.

Einstein Copilot

The just-launched Einstein Copilot for Sales uses AI technology to automate prospect research and the updating of customer relationship information. It will also help sales representatives leverage external and internal customer data to prepare more efficiently for meetings with current and potential clients. Users can access the tool from anywhere, including mobile phones, according to Salesforce.

Sales E-Mail

The new Sales E-mail tool uses AI to generate personalized e-mails from CRM data automatically. The tool can automatically produce e-mails that can be used as introductions, follow-up notes, or meeting invitations. The e-mails also reflect the company’s tone and style.

Call Summaries

Another AI tool, Quickly, extracts vital data and summarizes sales calls. It identifies customer sentiments and the next steps to help keep the sales cycle moving forward. The tool also allows for editing and sharing with colleagues via Slack or e-mail. 

Prospecting Tools

A new Automated Prospecting tool facilitates the creation of prospect lists. The tool, powered by Salesforce Data Cloud, pulls from internal and external data. It creates lists based on specific metrics such as buyer intent signals and customer/product fit. The tool can help sales teams prioritize their time, spending the most time with the best prospects. Automated Prospecting is not currently available in Sales Cloud Unlimited Edition+. Instead, customers can access it via a pilot program. 

Process Intelligence

The Process Intelligence feature in Sales Cloud will allow the sales operations staff to develop better performance indicators (KPIs), such as attrition metrics. The better KPIs will improve sales team productivity, Salesforce says. 

Chrome Extension

The new tools also include a Sales Cloud Everywhere extension for Google Chrome browsers. The extension improves the efficiency of Internet research by matching data on websites with additional company data already in Salesforce and automatically adding new companies to account lists, Salesforce says. It allows users to customize their workspace layouts to see the data that is most helpful to them. It also automates data updates and allows reps to access to-do lists and other information within Google Chrome. It can also automatically generate and send e-mails from Chrome. 

The Customer Company

Salesforce was a pioneering Software as a Service (SaaS) company. It began in 1999 when its four founders created a cloud-based CRM system. The following year, the company created its 1-1-1 philanthropy model. The model commits 1 percent of the company’s equity, technology, and staff time to improving education, equality, and the environment. By 2022, the 1-1-1 model had provided $240 million in grants, 3.5 million hours of community service, and product donations for more than 39,000 nonprofits and educational institutions.

The company began to branch out into other sales team solutions in the mid-2000s and earned fastest-growing company honors from both Forbes and Fortune. It launched Service Cloud in 2009 and became a Fortune 500 company in 2015. It has undertaken several acquisitions to grow its product base. For example, it acquired the ecommerce platform Demandware and introduced Commerce Cloud in 2016. It acquired Slack in 2021.

The company also has consistently ranked as one of the top companies to work for. It achieved Net Zero across its entire value chain in 2021. 

CloudStreet

CloudStreet was founded in 2016 in Houston. It is a registered Salesforce partner and participates in the 1-1-1 model. Its partners, Mark Lum and “Chitiz” Agarwal, have more than 30 years of combined experience with Salesforce solutions.