Sales teams using AI are seeing real results:
- A McKinsey report found that companies using AI in sales see a 13–15% lift in revenue and a 10–20% increase in ROI.
- Gartner predicts that by 2027, 95% of seller research will begin with AI.
- A recent study shows sales teams using AI tools experience 20–40% gains in productivity.
So why aren’t more companies training their people to use it?
What this means in practice
Most organisations are now investing in sales technology—AI-powered CRMs, chatbots, lead scoring tools—but training hasn’t kept pace. Many salespeople are either unaware of what the tools can do or are unsure how to use them in a way that adds real value.
That’s the gap: tools are improving, but behaviours aren’t changing fast enough. Sales training is still focused on models and messaging from a pre-AI world.
How to incorporate AI into your sales training
Here’s how you can start closing that gap and bringing your training up to speed:
1. Make AI part of onboarding
Introduce new starters to the AI tools they’ll be expected to use. Go beyond showing where the buttons are—give them time to explore use cases in your sales context.
Example: Walk through how an AI tool can summarise a LinkedIn profile or generate a personalised outreach message. Let reps practice editing AI outputs to fit your tone and values.
2. Use real sales examples in training
Incorporate prompts, screenshots, or outputs from your AI tools into existing sales training. Don’t treat AI as an “extra”—weave it into how you teach objection handling, customer research, and call planning.
3. Coach managers to reinforce good use
Managers need to model and coach around AI use. That might mean reviewing an AI-drafted email together or discussing the insights from a Gong call report as part of 1:1s.
4. Update your sales playbook
If your playbook doesn’t reflect the AI tools your team is expected to use, it’s out of date. Include tips, prompts, and examples for using AI effectively (and ethically) in key sales activities.
What the benefits look like
- Better preparation: Sales people spend less time researching and more time selling.
- More personalisation: Outreach that feels relevant and human, not templated.
- Faster ramp-up: New hires get up to speed quicker because they’re not starting from scratch.
- Higher confidence: Reps feel supported by the tech, not overwhelmed by it.
The real win is this: when salespeople understand how to use AI, it doesn’t feel like a shortcut—it feels like smart selling.