AI Budget for 2024? Here’s what to look out for in the world of Go-To-Market Sales

In 2024, as AI continues to reshape the landscape of Go-To-Market (GTM) sales, budgets are increasingly being redefined by this new technology. 

A McKinsey Global Survey highlighted that one-third of organisations already use generative AI regularly in business functions, with sales and marketing being the main focus. 

Gartner predicts that by 2025, 35% of Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) will have established a generative AI operations team as part of their GTM strategy, signalling a significant shift towards AI integration in sales processes.

However, as with all emerging tech opportunities, there’s a good chance that the budget will be wasted. According to Forbes, the average business already spends $3,500 annually on SaaS per employee – an increase of 18% last year. 

It isn’t enough for sales teams to spend money on AI in 2024 – they have to spend it well, and this isn’t exclusive to simply choosing the right tools. 

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Generative AI literacy

A study by Forrester found that customers are 78% more likely to buy from companies that answer their questions quickly and accurately. 

Generative AI can be extraordinarily useful in rapidly crafting messages for leads and customers while still retaining relevancy and personalisation. 

However, outputs can be flawed or inaccurate, a problem known as “AI hallucinations”. At best, these falsehoods take time to fix before sending. At worst, they can cause teams to lose leads and compromise their reputation if they aren’t caught. 

One key area where the AI budget could be spent is developing AI literacy in sales teams, including teaching reps the limitations of AI. 

It also means learning how to craft effective prompts by establishing guardrails, using an emphatic voice, and leveraging templates to enhance the quality of outputs in the first place. 

Advanced Analytics 

Advanced analytics is another domain where AI is making significant strides. McKinsey's research shows that AI can boost the value derived from traditional analytics by 30% to 128% across various industries and departments. 

Metrics and analytics are hugely important in sales, but understanding the numbers takes time, with entire teams and review periods often being allocated to assess minor things. 

AI applications can leverage large datasets generated between businesses and customers, as well as the performance of the sales reps themselves, to give teams in-depth and tangible insights. 

Businesses that apply this principle in all areas, including sales, would be making the most out of their budget. ‍‍‍

Choosing the right B2B Sales tools 

With the rapid proliferation of AI startups, particularly in the United States, where the number of AI companies will reach 5,749 in 2023, it's important to discern between the right tools. 

Some tools are GPT with a little extra code or a pre-written prompt, known as “GPT wrappers”. At best, GPT wrappers enhance functionality. At worst, they save an ounce of time that writing the prompt yourself would do. 

In other words, only some offer substantial added value over what can be done with standard GPT interfaces. Businesses must assess whether potential tools genuinely enhance sales team performance and, in turn, reflect a solid budget allocation. 

Minoa's AI helps sales teams develop compelling value-oriented business cases, streamlining the process of summarising customer priorities and articulating how products solve their challenges. 

Unlike many tools that merely repackage existing AI technologies, Minoa provides a tailored, in-house solution that prioritises customer collaboration and efficient value case creation without sharing data with providers like OpenAI.

Our approach to utilising AI in sales exemplifies how targeted AI solutions can enhance the sales process, providing a model for how companies can effectively use their AI budget in 2024 to boost sales.

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If you’d like to learn more about using Minoa’s AI to streamline your sales process, please book a demo today. 

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