S1. Ep26 - Never Miss a Lead Again: Smart Sales & Onboarding with AI

Katie: Welcome to the AI Automations for Business Podcasts. We're your hosts, Katie and Null, and we'll be discussing how you can use AI for your business along with the latest news, updates and automations to help you stay ahead of the curve, allowing you to grow and scale your business more efficiently. Please be sure to subscribe and I hope you

Noel: enjoy this episode.

Katie: Hello, welcome back to another episode. Hi, I'm Katie and I have Nolol. here. Hey, Noel.

Noel: Hello.

Katie: Shall I ask you how you doing?

Noel: Oh, I am splendid this week.

Katie: Splendid. I feel like that might be a new one.

Noel: Yeah, I don't think I've used that one.

Katie: And it is a splendid week for us because this week we have launched our membership called AI Business Club over on the score platform, I'm a membership teaching you all about AI and automations, a little bit of marketing in there as well. And we're having people join from all over the world, which is really exciting.

Noel: Yeah, we seem to be really popular with those down under.

Katie: Yeah, in the southern hemisphere. How cool is that?

Noel: I know, yeah. I don't look at our stats today for the podcast, and I'm not surprised we do get a lot of people listening in that region. Well,

Katie: thank you so much if you are one of those who are listening all the way from, you know, the Southern Hemisphere. We appreciate it so, so much. And if you're listening to this podcast from anywhere in the world, just know that we also really appreciate you. Thank you so much that you for listening. Yes. Noel checks the stats. for the podcast on a regular basis and you always get very excited about the different places that people listen in from. So thank you so much. If you do want more information about our new membership that we have launched, we will leave the link below or you can come and ask in our free LinkedIn group, which is AI Automation for Business. DM one of us. on LinkedIn as well, you can also find us on Instagram as well at Make Automations. Okay, Noel, what are we talking about today?

Noel: I thought we talk about the streamlining of kind of like the onboarding and sales process to make life a lot easier for people. Yes.

Katie: So I feel like there is so much that we can do to make the onboarding and sales process so much easier because actually it can be like really time consuming and there's so many different tasks for it from you know the very first like maybe like discovery call that you have with someone and then actually onboarding them as a client like there's there's a lot of things going back and forth isn't there at this point

Noel: yeah yeah there's so much going it's kind of different for every business as well which is makes life interesting for us yeah

Katie: I mean You know, because sometimes you say to me, like, oh, well, like for, like, a consulting business, like, you know, you would do this. And then for me who does consulting and coaching, I would be like, yeah, but a coaching business might want to do it like this. So it's really interesting on not only the type of business, but I guess the person who's actually running the business and what they want to all. automate or, you know, use AI to help them. So let's start from the very beginning, Noel. Oh, yeah. Okay, I'll hand it over to you.

Noel: So I guess at the very top of the sales pipeline, you're going to have your leads are going to come in either from a website. They could be like a phone call. They might even just send you an email, things like that.

Katie: Or a DM.

Noel: Or a DM, yeah. Who knows what they? Well, some of my comfort customers send me a text message. Okay.

Katie: A WhatsApp I've had? Yeah.

Noel: So I'm not sure how I'm going to integrate that into my sales process. But anyway.

Katie: Oh, you'll find a way.

Noel: Each to the road.

Katie: You'll find a way.

Noel: But once we get that information in from that customer, we kind of then need to think with our sales hat on. And they think, well, what is it they're asking for? How can we help? And I was speaking to a customer last week, and they were like, well, there's a guy that's, you know, or a team of people that are going around. They're on the road. They're talking to prospective customers. And, you know, they just basically get the company that they need to go and see and what product they're interested in. They don't really get that much else. So these guys are already, you know, on the road three, four days a week. So they don't have that much time to go off and dig in and then figure out. well who is this business i've never heard of them yeah they could be really small if they're really big they'll know but yeah if they're really small and niche they'll have no idea um so i guess like the first part is we can go off and automate the research process uh using AI so we can use tools like perplexity uh to go off and search uh about that business uh find out what they do you know what sort of projects they work on and then how that would then feed into your products or services that you're selling to them. So from that, we can, like, create reports. So the salespeople can then be like, right, okay, well, this is the customer. This is what they do. This is what they want. They've got all that information, and they haven't had to look it up. This has already been done magically in the background.

Katie: Which is, like, oh, so, like, it's not just time, but it's also, like, energy. Like, when you were saying that, I was just like, oh my goodness like that alone just feels so good like a huge weight would be lifting from my shoulders if that you know that was exactly yeah

Noel: yeah it also gets to the other point as well it's like if they're a larger business so when when I first bought the services from that company myself like was it nearly 10 years ago now they they were like I came in as the the prospect but I was an engineer at that company. So they were like, well, is there a way, you know, that we could look at LinkedIn automatically and then figure out who the potential decision makers are within that business. I'm not reach out to them directly on LinkedIn because there's ruled behind that on LinkedIn, but, you know, you could get the URLs of those people's profiles, things like, and then you could go off, you know, and then look them up and go, right, okay, well, this person works in that team. This is their boss. You know, this is, is the person we should be targeted and talking to and aiming it at. So yeah. It's a really powerful stuff that you can automate. Yeah.

Katie: That's fine. Great. And yeah, no one really wants to receive yet another cold DM from some random on LinkedIn. Just saying.

Noel: Yeah. That isn't tailored either.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: At least do that bit.

Katie: Oh, there. asking you questions that are like, if they just took two minutes to read your bio, they would have the answer. That's always what really bothers me as well on Instagram. Like, oh, yeah, it just frustrates me. It's like, if you're doing called outreach, just please take a second to read someone's bio rather than then ask them the question in this called DM. Honestly, first and impressions are so important. I know I'm going off on the tangent here, but can you tell that it really frustrates me? It's just like, please tailor it to the person that you are reaching out to. Like, if they, I don't know, if you can see that they got a photo with them, you know, with a pet, ask them about their pet. Or if they say that, you know, they're from Manchester, maybe ask them about, you know, life in, Manchester or something. Yeah. So whenever anyone asks me a question that's in my bio, I just like delete straight away. Like no point of me is going to be polite and go, thanks so much for reaching out. Like I'm all good at the moment. Like there is no energy wasted on that. I'm like, you haven't spent any time reading my book. like especially on Instagram it's so short it like takes 30 seconds no

Noel: no I think we touched the nerve there oh blamely oh dear but yeah if anyone listen to this does send us a d don't worry we're not that bad

Katie: no it's a cold outreach that someone's trying to sell something to me if someone wants if someone DMs me and you know they want to connect or you know they want help with something I'm there I'm you know I mean I'm connecting with them I'm talking to them I'm engaging with them I really enjoyed that yeah it's the called outreach that they haven't tailored yeah it's usually like oh how long have you been going in your business and yeah stuff like that yeah

Noel: okay I guess I guess to move on from that tangent so I guess once we've got that sort of research you know we've figured out who these people are we can also then look to use AI to figure out well how good is this lead for our business so we can give AI all the information about what we do what they're after and then it can then work out and score that lead and then input all that information into whatever CRM platform you currently use so like a good one be like you know someone wants to buy a hundred products versus someone that only just wants to buy one so you're like well I'm going to prioritize the 100 because that's going to make me more money in the short term but yeah and then yeah maybe we'll go and have a have a chat in a couple of hours to the to the one with the one order. So, yeah, really cool ways of doing that. I mean, every business is different in how they score leads. So all of that, you know, formulas that they've had for years, you know, AI can do that. No problem whatsoever. You've already figured that out. We've just got to show AI how you do that internally.

Katie: Could it also, like, qualify leads? Because obviously not everyone who, you know, maybe. feels like the form on the website or gets in touch is going to be, you know, a qualified lead. So is there somehow that, you know, some way that we can even use AI to actually qualify it in the first place? So then instead of, I don't know, for example, they fill out a form that then move to the next step to book a call in your calendar. But, Maybe they fill out a form and then, like, AI qualifies it. So then it knows whether to then send, you know, a calendar link or to send an email, you know, to say,

Noel: you know, sorry. Yeah.

Katie: We're not, you know, we're not the best fit for you.

Noel: Yeah. It can do. Yeah. If you've already got those sort of criteria now down within your procedures anyway, you'll know what's going to be qualified. not on your route, so you could be, you could automate sending out emails to those prospects and then obviously tailoring it and personalising it, so it's not some sort of random cold email. We don't want that.

Katie: No, no.

Noel: So, yeah, we can tailor all of that and then say, well, you know, now go off and book a link, book a call. Or the alternative as well as you could use AI voice outreach, so you could then phone them up and then use an AI voice agent to go through, ask the questions, and qualify that lead. Obviously, put out up front that you're AI.

Katie: Yeah, yeah, we've had this conversation on previous episodes. I think we mentioned it as well with the episode with Corky Ballas.

Noel: We did, yeah. From memory 19, no, 18, 18's Corky.

Katie: Okay.

Noel: So, you see, yeah, so there's all kinds of ways. ways that we can use AI to qualify that lead. So, yeah, it all kind of depends on the company process and what you already have in place. But yeah, I would say anything's possible at this point. Yeah.

Katie: Sounds good.

Noel: And there's also another benefit for automating this process is you'll never miss an in-bound lead.

Katie: Yeah, really important.

Noel: Yeah. So let's say your lead system is getting stuff fiery. email, that's just going to get lost in someone's inbox somewhere, maybe.

Katie: Well, we are human, you know, things do get missed, you know, whether we're, you know, maybe taking some time off, whether it's because we're on holiday or sickness, things do get missed.

Noel: Yeah, and at least with AI and automations in place, you know, we can, we shouldn't probably send responses directly back, using AI, although you can, probably shouldn't, but at least we can start creating all the draft emails that you can then just check and review and then all you've got to do is click send or make a couple of edits and send. So we can get you to that point. But every single lead that you get will never be missed, which is massive. And if you're really on the ball with sending that sort of contact back, then you're always going to respond quicker than competitors that don't use AI or any sort of automation because they're going to have to sit there. I mean, I guess if they're if they're fortunate, they'll be using ChatGBT, BT, but then they've got to go ask the question. Is that a good response? No, edit it, copy, paste. We get rid of all that with automations.

Katie: Yeah, which is great.

Noel: Yeah, I'm dear.

Katie: And actually, when you just mentioned that, it's actually repulsions. to people as well. That is a thing as well that gives off a huge impression. Lately, I've actually emailed a couple of different businesses about products. I've used the web form on their website and they just haven't got back to me. so that makes me well one think they might need some help there maybe they need some automations um but i'm not going to do a cold outreach to them saying something really generic um but the other thing is as well like it does then make you kind of forget them and you know then think well actually this other company got back to me straight away so yeah i'm like because it's sort of like a no-brainer. Of course, I'm going to go with the person that's got back to me straight away.

Noel: Absolutely, yeah.

Katie: And I had this feedback as well when I was running my dog walking business. I was getting a lot of clients because they said, oh, I've reached out to quite a few other dog walkers and you're the only one that got back to me because I was so. like on it with getting back to people you know I would make sure that I took time I um you know of my day even though I was really tired from obviously walking miles and miles every day I always made sure that you know I did my admin on an evening even if it was like you know half an hour with you know um 60 minutes something like that um and just just respond to people and just say yes i can help you or no i don't have any availability um and of course as well like with a lot of services other people recommend you yeah so again like if you can get back to these people in a timely manner that just goes i think like so far it gives such a great impression.

Noel: Definitely, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you get a lot more leads, that way.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: Just being first.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: It's crazy. Yeah. I guess the things we've talked about so far are kind of, like, I would class them as more basic outputs. Yeah. But we can also get a bit fancy if we wish as well. Oh, ooh. I know you like fancy. So, you know, we could go off and start creating like tailored, customized proposal documents or sales documents that we're going to send to these clients. And normally this can take days for businesses to, you know, for someone to sit there, you know, with all of the information from a sales call and then type it all out, work out all the figures. I could take a long time to figure out. You know, some people that could take, you know, If they've got loads of calls, it could take like a week or two before they get to the point of even getting a draft. But with AI and automations, you know, you can start creating those reports within minutes of ticking a box in your CROM. They say, right, generate me the report and it will go off or the proposal and it will go off and do it. And then we can use other tools to create it in like a really fancy format. So it looks super professional. or, you know, it could even be like a Google doc template. I mean, they don't need to know, do they? No. But all we do it is we've got fields in there that the AI is going to then go off and create content form and fill out for you. So then all you've got to do at the end of it is just have a look at it, check it over, make sure it reads right, all the information is correct, and then send it off. And then I guess another step to that as well is, like, you would then have to correct the email to send that, but you can also get AI to create that for you. Yeah. And say, well, here's the email. Here's the file. Check it, send it, done. So you're taking like a week or a two week process to, you know, half an hour, 20 minutes of actual time.

Katie: Yeah.

Noel: Crazy.

Katie: Yeah. That is great time saving. Yeah.

Noel: And with all of this as well, it's kind of really helpful as well. you can interlink this into tools that you've already got. So you're not having to, we're not sitting here and say, well, you need to buy Salesforce, which is quite expensive. If you've already got that, that's great. You can use it. But if you're using, you know, Google Sheets as the lowest barrier to entry, that's fine. That can also be automated and used in this process. Yeah. Along with many, many tools.

Katie: I think what's important from our point of view is that we want to help people get these automation. So we will never say, you know, you have to use this particular CRM or you have to go and buy this really expensive piece of software. You know, we do realize that, you know, people have businesses who are all at different points. There might be people who are starting out. there might be people who have been in business like 20 years, so budgets are going to be different. So we want to make sure that, you know, whatever we are saying to automate that there are going to be options out there for different budgets. Definitely, yeah. Yeah.

Noel: Yeah. Absolutely. What I'm planning on doing this week for our AI business club community is I'm also going to show how this is done. So I'm going to. I'm probably going to use a tool called Airtable. It's a bit like Google Sheets, but it's a database. Yeah, it's a bit like nation as well,

Katie: isn't it? Yeah, yeah.

Noel: It's a table. It's a database. We all know what one of those looks like. Yeah. But what I'll do is I'll build out like a fairly generic, fairly straightforward process just to show you how this sort of stuff can work. And then how quick we can start creating all of this sort of information and tailor it for your business and things. just to give you some ideas as to how it all works. So, yeah, that's going to be my side project once I've edited this podcast.

Katie: Well, that sounds awesome. And I'm sure that people within our AI Business Club community will look forward to seeing how you build that out and how they can replicate it. Absolutely, yeah.

Noel: Yeah, I'm looking forward to doing it. Yeah, I bet.

Katie: Amazing. Thank you so much for listening to this week's podcast. episode, we hope you have found it helpful. We'll leave all the links that we have mentioned below in the show notes, including our brand new membership AI business club, which you can find over on the score community. We would absolutely love to see you in there. And we will catch you for another episode next time.