logo
The AI Advantage: How Your Existing CRM Can Make You More Competitive

The AI Advantage: How Your Existing CRM Can Make You More Competitive

Forbes16-07-2025
David Mattson—Executive Chairman, Sandler—The Next Evolution of Sales.
In nearly every department of an organization—finance, operations, manufacturing—leaders can expect a baseline of consistency. Sales, however, is a different beast. It's a realm of wild variance: different skills, backgrounds, mindsets and habits. And with that comes friction.
Sales leaders strive to create consistency wherever possible—in product messaging, value propositions and company storylines. CRM has always been on that list, but too often it's been a losing battle. Here's why:
• Salespeople don't see the value.
• It feels like 'Big Brother.'
• The system doesn't match the way they actually sell.
• Data goes in, but it's never looked at.
• It takes time away from closing deals.
Meanwhile, senior execs don't judge sales leaders by charisma; they judge by clarity. They say: Can you tell me—accurately—what's coming in this month or this quarter? Without that visibility, decisions get made in the dark. Resources become unaligned. Forecasts are missed. Opportunities are lost.
CRM: The Weapon Hiding In Plain Sight
If you gathered 100 CEOs into a single auditorium and handed each a blank sheet of paper with one prompt—list your top three weapons for gaining market advantage over the next six months—how many would write 'our CRM'?
Not many. Perhaps none.
But what if I told you that this often-overlooked system—your customer relationship management platform—could become the single greatest lever for growth in your sales operation? When optimized with modern AI capabilities, your CRM becomes more than a dashboard. It becomes a dynamic force multiplier. Imagine faster onboarding, smarter targeting, shorter sales cycles, larger average deal sizes and, critically, automatic visibility into patterns and outcomes without waiting for rep input. You'd know what's coming in, from whom and when. You'd stop guessing and start steering.
The Tools Have Changed; The Advantage Has Shifted
We're living through an arms race in sales technology. Every category has advanced: email automation, sales engagement, revenue intelligence. Teams now operate in real time—across time zones, across verticals—with precision and personalization.
What's more surprising is that many of the most valuable capabilities are already embedded in the tools you have. That's especially true of your CRM.
AI-Powered CRM: A Strategic Asset, Not Just A Dashboard
Today's CRMs do more than store information. They generate momentum. When enhanced by AI, a CRM system becomes a strategic operating system—one that can:
• Streamline workflows and reduce manual input.
• Surface at-risk deals and stalled opportunities.
• Personalize outreach based on behavior signals.
• Forecast outcomes with accuracy.
• Automate data entry, follow-ups and task management.
• Flag upsell, cross-sell and churn indicators before humans ever would.
Platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot are already deploying AI to scan deal data, extract patterns and recommend next moves. The result? A system that doesn't just record your activity but suggests your strategy. That's where competitive separation begins.
Voice Intelligence: The New Pulse Of Sales Conversations
Let's talk about what's quietly revolutionizing the sales call: voice intelligence. These tools transcribe, analyze and extract insight from sales conversations in real time.
The best systems can now auto-summarize meetings; identify objections, gaps and action items; update CRM records with no manual entry; track patterns across hundreds of conversations; and prompt reps with next steps and guide them through AI-powered coaching.
Tools like Gong, Chorus, Dialpad and Avoma integrate seamlessly into top CRM systems and offer real-time transcription, sentiment and keyword detection, coaching flags and automated suggestions, and CRM integration that's nearly invisible to the rep.
Even though Salesforce retired Einstein Voice Assistant in 2020, many of those core features live on in integrations. HubSpot supports platforms like Aircall, Gong, Jiminny and Avoma, providing seamless workflows where your CRM fields are filled in before the rep finishes their coffee.
Adopting AI Wisely: How To Future-Proof Your CRM Investment
Before you leap into the AI pool, consider these grounding principles:
• Audit existing tech. Ensure your current tools don't already offer the functionality you're seeking.
• Check the roadmap. The features you want may be coming soon from your existing CRM vendor.
• Standardize the stack. Don't let individual managers pick pet tools. Fragmentation kills momentum.
• Separate "nice to have" from "must have." Don't chase hype. Chase outcomes.
• Secure the data. AI is only valuable if your data is safe, private and protected.
• Start with the problem, not the tool. Clarify the pain point first: long sales cycles? Poor qualification? Lack of visibility?
• Get your data house in order. AI is only as good as the data it trains on. If your CRM is cluttered, fix that first.
• Ensure system interoperability. Look for open architectures. Your CRM should be the command center, not an island.
• Invest in change management. Without training, trust and user buy-in, even the best tool will go unused.
• Start small, then scale. Roll out one team, one tool, one metric. Build internal proof. Then expand.
• Define success up front. Know what winning looks like: faster onboarding? Higher conversion? Lower churn?
What This Means For Leadership
Let's be clear: The AI revolution in sales isn't coming; it's here. And the divide is widening between leaders who treat CRM like a compliance tool and those who weaponize it as a strategic asset. At Sandler, we have a simple mantra: AI won't replace salespeople, but salespeople who leverage AI will replace those who don't.
The same holds true for leadership. CEOs who lean in—who modernize their systems and empower their teams—don't just get better reports. They win in the market.
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

3 Dow Jones Stocks Walking a Fine Line
3 Dow Jones Stocks Walking a Fine Line

Yahoo

time31 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

3 Dow Jones Stocks Walking a Fine Line

The Dow Jones (^DJI) is made up of 30 of the most established and influential companies in the market. But even blue-chip stocks can struggle - some are dealing with slowing growth, outdated business models, or increasing competition. Finding the best companies in the Dow Jones isn't always straightforward, and that's why we started StockStory. Keeping that in mind, here are three Dow Jones stocks that don't make the cut and some better choices instead. Salesforce (CRM) Market Cap: $257.3 billion Launched in 1999 from a rented one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco by Marc Benioff and his three co-founders, Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is a software-as-a-service platform that helps companies access, manage, and share sales information such as leads. Why Is CRM Not Exciting? Annual sales growth of 11.4% over the last three years lagged behind its software peers as its large revenue base made it difficult to generate incremental demand Customers were hesitant to make long-term commitments to its platform as its 8.7% average ARR growth over the last year was sluggish Estimated sales growth of 9.1% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend Salesforce's stock price of $269.49 implies a valuation ratio of 6.2x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why CRM doesn't pass our bar. Honeywell (HON) Market Cap: $142.4 billion Originally founded in 1906 as a thermostat company, Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) is a multinational conglomerate known for its aerospace systems, building technologies, performance materials, and safety and productivity solutions. Why Does HON Worry Us? Organic revenue growth fell short of our benchmarks over the past two years and implies it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street's estimates imply tepid growth of 4.8% Capital intensity has ramped up over the last five years as its free cash flow margin decreased by 2.6 percentage points Honeywell is trading at $224.21 per share, or 20.9x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with HON, check out our full research report (it's free). Sherwin-Williams (SHW) Market Cap: $84.56 billion Widely known for its success in the paint industry, Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) is a manufacturer of paints, coatings, and related products. Why Do We Think Twice About SHW? Organic revenue growth fell short of our benchmarks over the past two years and implies it may need to improve its products, pricing, or go-to-market strategy Estimated sales growth of 2.5% for the next 12 months is soft and implies weaker demand Free cash flow margin shrank by 7.6 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive At $340.10 per share, Sherwin-Williams trades at 27x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than SHW. Stocks We Like More Donald Trump's April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities. The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don't miss out on the recovery - check out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

In AI we trust?
In AI we trust?

Geek Wire

time2 hours ago

  • Geek Wire

In AI we trust?

A recent study by Stanford University's Social and Language Technologies Lab (SALT) found that 45% of workers don't trust the accuracy, capability, or reliability of AI systems. That trust gap reflects a deeper concern about how AI behaves when the stakes are high, especially in business-critical environments. Hallucinations in AI may be acceptable when the stakes are low, like drafting a tweet or generating creative ideas, where errors are easily caught and carry little consequence. But in the enterprise, where AI agents are expected to support high-stakes decisions, power workflows, and engage directly with customers, the tolerance for error disappears. True enterprise-grade reliability demands more: consistency, predictability, and rigorous alignment with real-world context, because even small mistakes can have big consequences. This challenge is referred to as 'jagged intelligence,' where AI systems continue to shatter performance records on increasingly complex benchmarks, while sporadically struggling with simpler tasks that most humans find intuitive and can reliably solve. For example, a model might be able to defeat a chess grandmaster that is unable to complete a simple child's puzzle. This mismatch between brilliance and brittleness underscores why enterprise AI demands more than general LLM intelligence alone; it requires contextual grounding, rigorous testing, and continuous fine-tuning. That's why at Salesforce, we believe the future of AI in business depends on achieving what we call Enterprise General Intelligence (EGI) – a new framework for enterprise-grade AI systems that are not only highly capable but also consistently reliable across complex, real-world scenarios. In an EGI environment, AI agents work alongside humans, integrated into enterprise systems and governed by strict rules that limit what actions they can take. To achieve this, we're implementing a clear, repeatable three-step framework – synthesize, measure, and train – and applying this to every enterprise-grade use case. A Three-Step Framework for Building Trust Building AI agents within the enterprise demands a disciplined process that grounds models in business-contextualized data, measures performance against real-world benchmarks, and continuously fine-tunes agents to maintain accuracy, consistency, and safety. Synthesize: Building trustworthy agents starts with safe, realistic testing environments. That means using AI-generated synthetic data that closely resembles real inputs, applying the same business logic and objectives used in human workflows, and running agents in secure, isolated sandboxes. By simulating real-world conditions without exposing production systems or sensitive data, teams can generate high-fidelity feedback. This method is called 'reinforcement learning' and is a critical foundation for developing enterprise-ready AI agents. Building trustworthy agents starts with safe, realistic testing environments. That means using AI-generated synthetic data that closely resembles real inputs, applying the same business logic and objectives used in human workflows, and running agents in secure, isolated sandboxes. By simulating real-world conditions without exposing production systems or sensitive data, teams can generate high-fidelity feedback. This method is called 'reinforcement learning' and is a critical foundation for developing enterprise-ready AI agents. Measure: Reliable agents require clear, consistent benchmarks. Measuring performance isn't just about tracking accuracy, it's about defining what each specific use case requires. The level of precision needed varies: An agent offering product recommendations may tolerate a wider margin of error than one evaluating loan applications or diagnosing system failures. By establishing tailored benchmarks such as Salesforce's initial LLM benchmark for CRM use cases, and acceptable performance thresholds, teams can evaluate agent output in context and iterate with purpose, ensuring the agent is fit for its intended role before it ever reaches production. LLM benchmark Train: Reliability isn't achieved in a single pass — it's the result of continuous refinement. Agents must be trained, tested, and retrained in a constant feedback loop. That means generating fresh data, running real-world scenarios, measuring outcomes, and using those insights to improve performance. Because agent behavior can vary across runs, this iterative process is essential for building stability over time. Only through repeated training and tuning can agents reach the level of consistency and accuracy required for enterprise use. Turning AI Agents Into Reliable Enterprise Partners Building AI agents for the enterprise is much more than simply deploying an LLM for business-critical tasks. Salesforce AI Research's latest research shows that generic LLM agents successfully complete only 58% of simple tasks and barely more than a third of more complex ones. Truly effective EGI agents that are trustworthy in high-stakes business scenarios require far more than an off-the-shelf DIY LLM plug-in. They demand a rigorous, platform-driven approach that grounds models in business-specific context, enforces governance, and continuously measures and fine-tunes performance. The AI we deploy in Agentforce is built differently. Agentforce doesn't run by simply plugging into an LLM. The agents are grounded in business-specific context through Data Cloud, made trustworthy by our enterprise-grade Trust Layer, and designed for reliability through continuous evaluation and optimization using the Testing Center. This platform-driven approach ensures that agents are not only intelligent, but consistently enterprise-ready. As businesses evolve toward a future where specialized AI agents collaborate dynamically in teams, ‌complexity increases exponentially. That's why leveraging frameworks that synthesize, evaluate, and train agents before deployment is critical. This new framework builds the trust needed to elevate AI from a promising technology into a reliable enterprise partner that drives meaningful business outcomes.

Corcept Therapeutics Advances Pipeline Fueling Growth With Controlled Risk
Corcept Therapeutics Advances Pipeline Fueling Growth With Controlled Risk

Yahoo

time19 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Corcept Therapeutics Advances Pipeline Fueling Growth With Controlled Risk

Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT) is one of the . The company completes a key drug study and has submitted a new drug application to the U.S. FDA. A biologist in a lab coat studying a culture of cells to find a cure for metabolic disorders. Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT) is a California-based company specializing in cortisol modulation through glucocorticoid receptor antagonists. The company's flagship drug, Korlym®, treats Cushing's syndrome and features a growing pipeline of over 30 clinical-stage compounds targeting endocrinology, oncology, metabolism, and neurology. Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT) announced the completion of its Phase 1 study involving the examination of the effects of itraconazole on the pharmacokinetics and safety of dazucorilant in healthy adults. The trial involved single-dose dazucorilant and repeated itraconazole doses. The study ran from May 31, 2024, to June 29, 2025, and is now concluded. The findings are expected to optimize drug interaction safety. Additionally, after gaining positive results from the Phase 3 ROSELLA trial and earlier Phase 2 studies, Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT) has submitted a new drug application to the U.S. FDA for relacorilant. The data from the earlier studies indicated that relacorilant combined with nab-paclitaxel highly improves progression-free and overall survival compared to nab-paclitaxel alone. Analysts, including Piper Sandler and H.C. Wainwright, are maintaining their Buy rating on the stock, with a price target of $131 and $145, respectively. In addition to the rating, Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:CORT) increases its appeal by offering a rare low-risk, high-growth appeal, with a beta of 0.20 and projected EPS growth of 69.48%. While we acknowledge the potential of CORT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Metal Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025 and 10 Energy Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025 Disclosure. None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store