The jury is still out on just how much Americans are using generative AI.
Some research says that a massive slice of the public are frequently using it. For example, Salesforce’s AI survey that found 45 percent of the U.S. population uses generative AI.
Other sources, however, state that a large portion of the country is still completely unaware that generative AI tools like ChatGPT even exist, as noted by 42 percent of respondents in a 2023 Pew Research Center study.
Among those who are aware of and using generative AI, it seems highly likely that at least a handful of them probably work in tech. We might even venture to guess that they work in sales.
Built In Austin spoke to one sales leader who was eager to share how generative AI has impacted his sales team.
“Thanks to AI, we can identify trends and insights that inform us of real life events and issues, ensuring we stay ahead of design industry trends and demands,” said George Adeosun, North American business development representative lead for Canva.
Adeosun gave the example of a customer having a large product launch.
“That probably necessitates a great deal of visual content created,” he noted. “Using AI allows us to get that news in an instant and communicate how Canva Enterprise can help.”
Built In Austin chatted with Adeosun to get an inside look at Canva’s success implementing AI into the sales process.
Canva is a design software company that created a free, online tool where users can create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.
What was your sales pipeline like before using AI?
Before we adopted AI, our sales pipeline was mostly managed manually, and finding and qualifying leads required a lot of time and effort. Now, with AI tools like Canva, Pocus, ZoomInfo and Gong Engage, our process has been overhauled in a fantastic way and the impact has been huge.
How have you seen the adoption of AI transform your team?
Using tools like Pocus, we’ve crafted specific playbooks for different customer segments, empowering us to have more precise targeting. As an example, one of the business development representatives on my team has booked multiple meetings with customers using our Enterprise Mortgage, Real Estate and Insurance Playbook. And tools like Gong Engage ensure we’re always providing the best value to customers by leveraging insights from our interactions with them. This has made our outreach much more efficient and effective.
Last, but certainly not least, our team also loves to harness the power of all the AI tools in Canva’s suite. We use Magic Write to craft compelling copy, dynamic presentations to wow our customers and Canva Docs to create visual-first documents supercharged with videos, images, graphics, charts and graphs.
How is AI helping your sales team make better data-driven decisions?
AI has elevated how we’re engaging with prospects, allowing us to tailor content and conversations to their needs while keeping workflows streamlined. With Gong, we’re able to search accounts to ensure that we’re speaking directly to customer objectives. For example: “Based on conversations I’ve had with X company so far, what issues are top of mind for them this fiscal year that we can address immediately?” We’re given bullet points that we can use then and there, to demonstrate value to potential Canva Enterprise customers.
How has AI impacted your sales goals?
AI has significantly boosted our ability to meet our targets. Our team is now even more efficient in engaging with and providing value to clients across a multitude of company sizes, industries and functions.
“AI has significantly boosted our ability to meet our targets.”
Did any other projects surface once your team started using AI?
With AI aiding in much of the heavy lifting, we’ve been able to reprioritize projects that were previously on hold, and spend time ideating new ways to provide even more value to potential customers. This has allowed us to develop more personalized outreach strategies and build stronger relationships through platforms like LinkedIn, expanding our network and creating new opportunities for the team.
How do your customers benefit from your sales team’s use of AI?
With AI powering our workflows, we’re able to better understand the needs of our customers and connect with them more effectively. This means our real-time communications and the insights-informed solutions we offer are even more relevant to their evolving needs. The big benefit from using AI is the personalized and efficient engagement we’re empowered to deliver.
Using AI has been transformative for our sales team. It streamlined our processes, improved targeting and increased our overall efficiency — which all resulted in higher conversion rates and boosted revenue. The time saved from using AI allows our team to focus on strategic initiatives and relationship-building, driving long-term growth and success. We’re seeing huge value from harnessing the power of AI to help us achieve our goals.
