AI for Sales Prospecting: Tools to Boost Lead Generation and Conversions

Introduction

Artificial intelligence has accelerated prospecting from a casual Sunday afternoon jog to light speed. Traditionally, sales reps have spent two hours per day 4- 5 days per week looking for leads (According to Salesforce).

They’d start by scouring the internet looking for outreach triggers- these could be things like funding announcements, new job openings, or a key manager joining a team. Then, the hunt for contact data begins, often involving email checker tools or even wild guesses based on other company email formats when initial attempts fail.

Finally, sales reps have to dig deep into an account, hoping to find a compelling reason to connect. This requires “outreach.” But what should you say in your opening email or call? “Congrats on the new job, now buy my stuff…?” Yeah, that’s not the best way to get a response.

In today’s article, I’m going to show you a tool that will complete the entire prospecting process for you in just 3- 5 minutes. From gathering data, to identifying prospects, and creating personalized sales messaging, this all-in-one prospecting and sales solution can cut your lead research time from days to mere minutes- making it easy to fill the pipeline with qualified leads. This is one of the best sales prospecting tools available today.

But first, let’s define sales prospecting.

What is Sales Prospecting?

Sales prospecting is actually quite simple- and it’s only two steps:

1. Find an ideal customer profile (ICP)- this is a potential customer who would benefit the most from your products and services.

2. Reach out to that potential customer, either directly or through a referral.

But let’s be real—no one said prospecting was a walk in the park. Traditional sales prospecting means you have to stay super-focused to catch every opportunity that comes your way. You’ve got to find qualified leads, gather all the necessary info, and reach out with messages that really resonate. It can be a pretty time-consuming and labor-intensive process. That’s where A.I. sales prospecting tools come in to save the day, empowering sales professionals to streamline tasks, automate processes, and enhance the efficiency of their sales activities.

How Do A.I. Sales Prospecting Tools Work?

A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) based sales prospecting tools are completely changing commercial services. Instead of using human intelligence to identify potential customers and gather insights for outreach, tools like Convex use data.

Have you ever been on a website and seen a “cookie disclosure?” It’s a little banner that pops up at the bottom of a page and asks if it’s okay for the page to keep information that will help your search journey. These pages work together with Google to track what’s called intent data (or Signals) – which is information on the products and services someone is actively searching to find.

AI tools integrate into the sales cycle by streamlining the comprehensive process that sales teams go through when engaging with prospects and customers. This includes identifying and qualifying leads, as well as optimizing interactions from initial contact to closing deals.

This intent data is then blended with sales intelligence data – or data on a company or account. This data is known as “firmographic” data and includes things like contact information, company size, industry, and revenue.

Since you’re in commercial services, having property intelligence data is also helpful. Property intelligence data is information specific to the 5.9 million properties across the U.S. This could be age, permit history, square footage, tenant data, ownership information, or even email addresses and phone numbers for decision-makers.

Tools like Convex can gather data from various sources, such as social media profiles, company websites, job listings, and more, to create a comprehensive profile of potential customers.

Once this data is gathered and analyzed, AI sales prospecting tools can then identify the most promising leads based on your ideal customer profile. This eliminates the need for manual research and guesswork, allowing you to focus on reaching out to potential customers – but they can also use that data to create high-converting sales outreach.

Benefits of Using Sales Prospecting Software

AI sales prospecting tools offer a range of benefits that streamline the sales process and boost efficiency:

• Faster Prospecting: Automate time-consuming tasks like data gathering, lead qualification, and outreach, reducing manual effort.
• Improved Market Understanding: AI tools analyze vast amounts of data, providing insights into your target market and potential customers.
• Stronger Customer Relationships: By delivering personalized outreach at scale, AI tools help nurture relationships and increase engagement.
• Increased Productivity: Sales teams can focus on closing deals while AI handles research and data analysis.
• Enhanced Sales Intelligence: Tools provide in-depth analysis of prospects, allowing for better decision-making and targeting.

Case Study: Comfort Systems USA & Convex

Four years ago, Comfort Systems began the hunt for better sales tools. As a multi-million dollar company, sales reps had access to all the traditional platforms but onboarding still took 6 – 9 months and reps were spending 2 full days per week prospecting to fill the sales pipeline.

When they discovered Convex, everything changed. Today, sales reps only spend about 2-3 hours per week filling the sales pipeline, and onboarding has been cut down to just 2-3 months. What’s even more incredible- over the last four years sales have doubled.

In other words, they’re not just more efficient and effective; they’re also more profitable.

But this article isn’t just about Convex, there are other tools on the market that help you do similar functions – in fact there are half a dozen different categories of sales prospecting tools.

Types of Sales Prospecting Tools

Sales prospecting tools come in various forms, each designed to support different aspects of the sales process. Here’s a breakdown of the key types:

1. List Building and Prospecting Tools

These tools help you build lead lists by pulling data from various sources. They identify key decision-makers and provide contact details to make your outreach faster and more targeted. Examples include Dealfront Target, Leadfeeder, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

2. Contact and Email Finding Tools

These tools specialize in finding accurate contact information and emails for prospects, ensuring you reach the right person. Examples include Cognism, RocketReach, and Lusha.

3. Qualification and Scoring Tools

AI-powered qualification tools analyze leads based on behavior and intent data to determine which are most likely to convert. Examples include 6sense, Dealfront, and Bombora.

4. Meeting and Scheduling Tools

These tools make it easy to schedule and manage meetings, helping you streamline the process of getting prospects on the phone or in a demo. Examples include Chili Piper and Ocean.io.

5. Sales Engagement and Automation Tools

These tools automate follow-ups and outreach while tracking interactions, helping you stay organized and on top of every lead. Examples include Outreach and Salesloft.

Choosing the Right Sales Prospecting Tool for Your Team

1. Identify Sales Needs

Start by figuring out what your sales team struggles with most. Is it finding leads, following up, or tracking customer interactions? Knowing where the bottlenecks are will help you find the right tool. For example, if finding contact information is a pain point, a contact and email-finding tool would be ideal.

2. Audit Your Sales Process

Look at your current process. Map out each step, from lead generation to closing. Identify inefficiencies—are your reps spending too much time on repetitive tasks? Knowing your workflow will help you find a tool that fits into your existing process without over-complicating things.

3. Target Market/Tool Fit

Not all tools are designed for every industry. As a commercial services business, look for tools that align with your market. For example, Convex’s property intelligence data is tailored to commercial services, making it a better fit than general tools built for e-commerce.

4. Consider Tool Types

Each tool offers different features. If you’re focused on finding leads, consider a list-building tool like LinkedIn Sales Navigator. If the issue is follow-up and tracking, sales engagement and automation tools like Salesloft may be better suited. Choose based on your specific needs.

5. Scalability

As your business grows, your prospecting tool should be able to handle more leads, contacts, and automation tasks. Look for tools that can grow with you, allowing you to add more users and integrate more data as your operations expand.

6. Budget

Start by knowing how much you’re willing to spend. Many tools offer tiered pricing based on the number of users or features. It’s important to choose a tool that fits within your budget but still offers the features you need to be successful. Explore free trials or lower-tier packages as a starting point.

7. Integration

To avoid siloed data, ensure the tool integrates with your existing systems, like your CRM (e.g., Salesforce or HubSpot). Integration makes it easier to track your sales pipeline, ensuring you don’t have to switch between tools constantly. Check if the tool syncs data automatically to keep everything in one place.

Finally, you may want to consider the tech-savviness of your team. If your team is super high-tech, it doesn’t really matter what solutions you choose as long as they’re well-designed and effective. If they’re less savvy, consider tools that are easy to use and don’t require complex workflows to produce results.

This will help your team get results in no time!

Conclusion

AI will change the world. Whether that change is for the better or worse is up to us. These tools have the potential to revolutionize how your commercial services business identifies prospects completely, generates leads, and closes deals.

By automating repetitive tasks, personalizing outreach, and providing data-driven insights, these tools allow you to focus on what really matters—building relationships and closing sales.

Whether you’re streamlining lead generation or improving customer engagement, selecting the right tool will significantly enhance your team’s productivity.

If you follow the steps outlined above and consider the tools we’ve discussed, you’ll be able to choose solutions that fit your business and integrate seamlessly into your workflow.

Ready to see how Convex can revolutionize your sales operations? Schedule a demo to explore how our tools can help you close more deals today!