If you’ve been successfully selling for years, you might wonder why you should consider AI for sales prospecting.
The answer is simple: artificial intelligence amplifies your expertise. While your current system might work, today’s competitive market demands tools that save time and give you an edge.
In this post, you’ll learn how to use AI for sales prospecting – including leveraging CRM AI features – to personalize outreach at scale, focus on high-potential leads and close deals faster.
What is AI for sales prospecting?
AI for sales prospecting uses artificial intelligence technology to help companies find and connect with potential customers more efficiently.
Instead of spending hours on manual tasks like lead generation or writing emails, AI tools do much of the heavy lifting. This software can quickly analyze data, identify the best prospects and help you craft personalized outreach.
For example, here are some of the insights Pipedrive’s AI offers:
Imagine a sales team trying to find the right people to contact. Instead of going through a long list of names one by one, they can use an AI tool that:
Looks at past buyers to figure out what their ideal customer looks like
Finds new prospects that match that customer profile
Sorts the list by who’s most likely to say yes to an offer
Technology like generative AI, automated data analysis and machine learning work in the background so you can focus your sales efforts and reach out more confidently. It also gives your team more time for crucial activities that build relationships with prospects and lead to sales.
Why are sales teams using AI for prospecting?
Both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales reps are turning to AI to streamline their processes and drive better results.
Here are the four most common reasons teams switch to AI-driven prospecting efforts.
1. Save time and money
AI can handle time-consuming tasks like finding leads, organizing data and scheduling automated email follow-ups.
By automating these processes, your team can focus on making sales calls and closing deals instead. You can also cut costs by requiring fewer resources for the same output.
According to an MIT study, generative AI – in this case, ChatGPT – “substantially raises average productivity”. A McKinsey study also suggests that automation can free up around 20% of a sales team’s capacity.
For example, instead of sales reps spending hours collecting and validating email addresses, AI tools can manage contact lists in minutes.
2. Speed up your pipeline
AI helps teams move prospects through the sales pipeline faster. For example, these tools can prioritize the most promising leads and recommend the best next steps.
In fact, a McKinsey survey of commercial leaders suggests that “lead identification” will be the top way generative AI impacts sales.
These valuable insights allow you to focus energy on best-fit prospects with a real need for your product or service. For example, AI can identify users who recently downloaded your whitepaper, visited your website’s pricing page or clicked on a sales email link.
This timely data helps salespeople engage while prospects’ interest is at its peak to keep your pipeline healthy and moving.
3. Create hyper-targeted outreach messages
AI tools analyze sales prospect data to craft highly personalized emails and messages that resonate with individuals. By showing people you understand their needs, you’re more likely to increase response rates and convert them into warm leads and customers.
According to Twilio research, almost nine out of 10 leaders believe personalization is crucial to their company’s success.
Over 70% of brands also agree that AI will fundamentally change these personalization strategies.
For example, AI may analyze a prospect’s social media activity and notice they recently posted about expanding into new markets. With this knowledge, you can generate tailored content about this expansion that will likely strike a chord.
4. Scale efforts across large datasets
AI allows sales teams to manage and analyze vast amounts of data efficiently. For example, these tools can identify valuable leads and patterns that humans might accidentally overlook.
Instead of manually sifting through massive datasets, AI can quickly pinpoint prospects that match your ideal customer profile (ICP). Your team can focus on high-quality leads and expand outreach efforts efficiently while maximizing productivity and maintaining a manageable workload.
AI also makes segmenting and prioritizing these prospects easier to help you capitalize on every potential opportunity.
According to Gartner research, generative AI will handle 60% of B2B sales tasks by 2028 – showcasing its potential to streamline and grow your sales operations.
6 best AI tools for all elements of sales prospecting
Artificial intelligence is changing sales, making prospecting faster, smarter and more effective. Many tools now offer (or are starting to integrate) AI add-ons and features.
For example, you can learn more about Pipedrive’s AI upgrades in this video:
Here are six useful AI-powered sales prospecting tools to help you find and reach out to more best-fit leads in less time.
1. AI Sales Assistant
Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant removes the guesswork and ensures reps always know what to focus on next when prospecting. The actionable insights and automated reminders highlight high-value opportunities to improve productivity and close rates.
Your digital assistant integrates with Pipedrive’s customer relationship management (CRM) software. This connection allows it to constantly analyze contacts and emails and pinpoint the most valuable metrics and activities in one place.
These time-saving suggestions reduce manual work and boost sales performance by recommending what to do and when.
For example, AI analyzes your pipeline and identifies who will most likely convert based on past data.
Your assistant will also send automated reminders when the most promising prospects need attention so no sales opportunities slip through the cracks.
As it learns from your patterns, Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant can continuously improve its recommendations to help refine your sales strategies.
2. Pulse
Pipedrive’s Pulse feature tracks real-time sales data about your pipeline and activities to help you focus on the most promising prospects. With clearer visibility, you can also home in the most engaged leads for follow-up.
Spotting gaps or slow-moving deals early allows you to adjust your prospecting strategy to stay on track and hit your sales quota.
For example, Pulse can track how engaged prospects are so you know when to reach out. With this insight, you can send personalized, timely messages that align with the prospect’s stage of the customer journey.
AI summaries of your deal history (alongside customer sentiment analysis) help you understand which prospects and leads will most likely become buyers.
Insights like these are hugely beneficial when prioritizing your daily sales activities. Pulse lets you focus on meaningful interactions while automating repetitive tasks to ensure prospecting efforts are scalable and personal.
3. Prospector
Prospector is a unique AI-powered database that’s part of Pipedrive’s LeadBooster add-on. It lets you find and connect with your next potential customer using verified contact details for over 400 million profiles and 10 million companies.
Prospector makes the typically time-consuming prospecting process faster and more effective. For example, you can narrow down bloated lists in seconds using filters like job title, location and industry:
Use these filters to identify key decision-makers within your target organizations and reveal their contact details (e.g., emails, phone numbers and social profiles).
With its AI-powered verification, Prospector ensures all data is accurate and up-to-date. It’s also fully GDPR-compliant, giving you peace of mind while engaging prospects.
4. AI email writer
You can use Pipedrive’s AI email writer tools to keep conversations flowing with prospects. Two powerful tools assist your outreach efforts by personalizing email content and summarizing past discussions.
These features help create engaging messages and craft informed follow-ups to save time and improve prospecting effectiveness.
The AI email generator creates tailored email drafts based on natural language prompts. For example, here’s what the tool suggests to the email description “Introduce our product to a mid-level marketing manager in the tech industry”:
Ensuring your messages are relevant makes it easier to capture recipients’ attention, meaning they’re more likely to resonate.
At the same time, AI summarization condenses long email threads into concise summaries. Quickly reviewing past interactions helps you create more informed follow-ups without needing to sift through lengthy conversations.
Together, these tools enable more efficient email strategies and effective communication. Draft more personalized outreach in less time and refresh your memory before sending responses.
5. AI-powered Marketplace
Pipedrive’s AI-powered Marketplace helps you discover the best third-party integrations to extend your CRM system’s capabilities and streamline prospecting efforts.
Marketplace contains two helpful AI tools:
AI-powered search. Find the perfect integration using natural language (e.g., “Which app can help me follow up faster?”) rather than exact terminology.
SmartApps recommendations. By analyzing your business needs and current workflows, AI suggests apps that can automate tasks, save time and boost productivity.
Its AI can suggest tools that best support your prospecting goals instead of mindlessly scrolling to look for one.
Let’s say you’re looking for ways to improve lead scoring. Type this prompt into Marketplace, and you’ll see integrations that offer AI-powered data analysis and prioritization features.
By streamlining your prospecting tech stack, you can optimize your workflows, automate routine tasks and focus more on engaging with qualified leads.
6. ChatGPT
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that helps salespeople generate, refine and personalize written content. The tool can help you ideate outreach messages, optimize sales copy and craft compelling communication that resonates with prospects.
The quality of your outreach is crucial. ChatGPT can generate creative content with relevant ideas that are engaging, clear and aligned with a prospect’s pain points.
For example, you can use ChatGPT to brainstorm fresh approaches to cold email outreach, LinkedIn direct messages (DMs) and follow-ups.
ChatGPT can help you refine drafts by providing instant feedback and suggestions to increase the chance of engaging recipients.
You can even ask it to generate multiple message options to see which you prefer. Feeding ChatGPT relevant data (e.g., the prospect’s role, company or recent activities) helps it create more tailored messages that are more likely to engage your target audience.
A day in the life of a sales professional using AI prospecting
AI can reshape your sales process and workflows, minimizing repetitive tasks and enhancing productivity.
For example, you may spend one morning using AI to build and enrich prospect lists with up-to-date, accurate data. Then, you may dedicate the afternoon to generating tailored email templates, LinkedIn messages or follow-up scripts based on these insights.
Here’s a fictional day in the life of a sales professional using AI for prospecting:
Finding prospects: 8:00–9:00 AM
Overnight, an AI-powered tool gathers potential prospects based on your company’s ICP – offering a refreshed, qualified list to start the day.
You don’t have to comb through social media or email lists. Instead, you can target decision-makers in specific industries or roles by filtering the list AI has gathered for you.
Supplementing data: 9:00–10:00 AM
As you review the list, AI builds each prospect’s profile with real-time updates and intent signals (e.g., recent promotions, company news and key leadership changes).
These data enrichment insights are automatically included in the prospect’s contact record, making it easy for you to tailor outreach effectively.
Prospect/lead scoring: 10:00–11:00 AM
Using predictive analytics, AI organizes prospects based on their likelihood of converting into warm leads. You now have a ranked list, with the highest-priority prospects at the top.
The AI sales tool suggests the most promising prospects to contact first. This prioritization helps you focus on those most likely to become customers.
Start generating quality leads with your B2B Prospecting ebook
Crafting personalized outreach: 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
Leveraging the gathered insights, you use AI to generate customized cold emails and LinkedIn messages. For example, if a prospect recently announced a new product, the message might highlight how your service can streamline operations for the launch.
Instead of starting with a blank page, email generators allow you to review rich drafts and make tweaks where necessary before sending them.
Spotting trends: 2:00–3:00 PM
Checking your AI-powered dashboard highlights which messages or outreach strategies are performing best.
The AI tool may flag high-performing strategies you can replicate in the future. It may also suggest adjustments for those that could use improvement.
Handling other tasks: 4:00–5:00 PM
AI software handles all types of repetitive sales tasks, from scheduling follow-up emails to contact verification.
For example, your tool can send automated reminders when it’s time to reach out again. These features ensure you stay on top of next steps without manually tracking each process.
By the end of the day, AI should have helped you:
Automate time-consuming tasks
Prioritize high-value prospects
Provide data-driven insights to keep your pipeline full and flowing
Final thoughts
While AI can feel like a vast topic, taking the time to research and understand it will save you time and effort in the long run. Using AI-powered tools to collect prospects, narrow down your lists and automate outreach, you can focus more on building relationships and closing deals.
Ready to see how artificial intelligence can transform your prospecting? Try Pipedrive free for 14 days and discover how its AI features can help you streamline workflows and make more sales.
