You Can Already Leverage AI to Make Your Salespeople More Effective

Our industry plays a vital role in the financial well-being of a wide range of customers, from high-net-worth individuals to mass-market investors. However, significant challenges and opportunities have caused asset managers to rethink their approach to the market as customer preferences, competitive forces, regulatory pressures and technological innovations reshape the industry. 

One of the key technologies that can help firms thrive in this changing environment is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is a technology that can augment and enhance the human capabilities of salespeople, and help them deliver more value and satisfaction to their customers. Let’s explore some of the ways that AI can transform sales for asset management firms, and how salespeople can learn and adopt AI to improve their work. 

AI can help salespeople find and qualify leads 

One of the most important tasks for salespeople is to find and qualify potential customers who have a need for and interest in their products and services. This can be a time-consuming and tedious process, especially in a crowded and competitive market. AI can help salespeople automate and optimize this process, by analyzing data from various sources, such as web pages, social media, CRM systems and email campaigns. AI can also help salespeople prioritize and score leads based on their likelihood to convert and their value to the business. 

For example, SS&C Technologies launched SS&C Blue Prism Process Intelligence 2.0, a next-generation AI-powered process and task mining solution that accelerates process discovery and identification time by up to 80%. This can help salespeople identify and target the most promising prospects and streamline their sales workflows. 

AI can help salespeople personalize and optimize communication 

Another important task for salespeople is to communicate and engage with their prospects and customers, and to persuade them to buy their products and services. This can be a challenging and complex process, as salespeople need to understand and address the pain points and goals of their customers, and to adapt their style and tone to different audiences and situations. AI can help salespeople craft personalized and persuasive messages and content for their prospects, by using natural language generation (NLG) and natural language understanding (NLU) to understand the context, tone and intent of the communication. AI can also help salespeople optimize the timing and frequency of their outreach, and automate the follow-up and nurturing process. 

For example, JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the largest and most reputable banks in the world, uses AI to enhance its investment research, portfolio optimization, risk management and client service. For instance, it uses natural language processing (NLP) to analyze earnings calls and financial reports and to generate insights and recommendations for its clients. This can help salespeople provide relevant and valuable solutions to their customers, and to demonstrate their credibility and authenticity. 

AI can help salespeople forecast and manage pipeline 

Yet another important task for salespeople is to forecast and manage their sales pipeline, and to predict the outcomes and revenue of their sales activities. This can be a difficult and uncertain process, as salespeople need to deal with various factors and variables that can affect their sales performance and results. AI can help salespeople predict and manage their sales pipeline by using machine learning and data analytics to identify patterns, trends and anomalies in the sales data. AI can also help salespeople optimize their sales strategy by providing insights and recommendations on the best actions to take at each stage of the sales cycle. 

For example, Wealthfront, a robo-advisor that offers automated and low-cost investment services to its clients, uses AI to construct diversified portfolios, rebalance them periodically and optimize them for taxes and fees. This can help salespeople achieve their sales goals and maximize their revenue, and to provide transparent and consistent performance to their customers. 

AI can help salespeople improve their skills and performance 

One of the most essential tasks for salespeople is to improve their skills and performance and to seek and apply feedback and guidance to enhance their sales outcomes and career growth. This can be a continuous and lifelong process, as salespeople need to keep learning and updating their skills and knowledge and to cope with changing customer needs, preferences and behaviors. AI can help salespeople improve their skills and performance, by using speech and sentiment analysis to evaluate their sales calls and interactions and provide feedback and coaching on how to improve. AI can also help salespeople access and benefit from learning and development opportunities, such as online courses, certifications and microcredentials. 

For example, Chorus.ai, a conversational intelligence platform for sales teams, uses AI to analyze and improve sales conversations. It uses AI to transcribe and record sales calls and meetings, and to provide feedback and coaching on how to improve. It also uses AI to generate insights and action items from sales conversations and to share best practices and learnings across the sales organization. This can help salespeople develop and enhance their sales skills, such as active listening, emotional intelligence, storytelling and personalization. 

AI can help salespeople collaborate and coordinate with others 

Another crucial task for salespeople is to collaborate and coordinate with others, both within their own team and across other functions, such as marketing, operations and customer service, to provide a seamless and satisfying buyer experience. This can be a complex and dynamic process, as salespeople need to work well with others and to communicate and share information effectively and efficiently. AI can help salespeople collaborate and coordinate with others by facilitating communication and information sharing and automating tasks and workflows. AI can also help salespeople coordinate and schedule meetings and appointments with their prospects and customers by using chatbots and calendar integration. 

For example, Vanguard Group, one of the world's largest investment companies, uses AI to provide personalized advice and guidance to its clients and to improve its operational efficiency and compliance. It uses machine learning and NLP to create customized financial plans and to automate tasks such as document processing and verification. AI can help salespeople work better with their team and other functions, and to provide a smooth and satisfying buyer experience. 

How to learn and adopt AI for wealth management sales 

AI is a powerful technology that can help wealth management salespeople improve their work in various ways. However, learning and adopting AI is not easy, as it requires nuanced insights, reasoning and judgment across many areas. Salespeople can take several steps to learn and adopt AI: 

• Educate: The first step is to educate themselves about what AI is, how it works and what benefits it can bring to their work. This can be done through online courses, webinars, podcasts, articles and other resources that explain the basics and applications of AI.
• Demonstrate: The second step is to demonstrate how AI can be used in practice, by showing real-life examples and use cases of AI providing benefits to asset management salespeople. This can be done through case studies, testimonials, videos and live demos that showcase how AI can help salespeople achieve their goals and overcome challenges.
• Experiment: The third step is to experiment with AI, by finding opportunities to try AI and test different AI tools and platforms. This can be done through free trials, pilot projects, sandbox environments and feedback mechanisms that allow users to explore and evaluate various AI solutions. Some examples of such tools and platforms are SS&C Blue Prism Process Intelligence 2.0, SS&C Lyric, and SS&C Aloha.
• Adopt: The fourth step is to adopt AI, by integrating and implementing the AI solutions that best suit the needs of the business. This can be done through training, support, incentives and governance that ensure users can leverage AI effectively and ethically. This also involves monitoring and measuring the impact and outcomes of AI on sales performance and customer satisfaction.

AI is a technology that can transform the future of wealth management sales and help salespeople deliver more value and satisfaction to their customers. AI can help salespeople find and qualify leads, personalize and optimize communication, forecast and manage pipelines, improve skills and performance, and collaborate and coordinate with others. To learn and adopt AI for wealth management sales, salespeople can educate themselves, demonstrate how AI can be used, experiment with different AI solutions and adopt the best ones for their work. AI can be a powerful ally for salespeople, and help them thrive in the changing and competitive industry.

Want more in-depth content from SS&C? See our "Humans and Machine: The AI-Influenced Distribution Team of the Future" whitepaper on AI’s impact on distribution, or check out our other Research Resources.