The journey from marketing-qualified lead to sales-qualified lead can be long, and there appear to be more exits than on-ramps along the way. However, in order to improve your lead conversion rate, this process may — and must — be sped up.

Consider how automation and AI never get weary, can’t have too much on their plate, and never grow frustrated in the face of failure, rather than employing beyond your plans and budget. When a lead talks to conversational AI, they often don’t know they’re not talking to a real person.

 

Slow follow-up on qualified leads causes lead conversion to stagnate, but conversational AI automation can always reply quickly, regardless of the amount of leads.

 

What Is Conversational AI and How Does It Work?

 

For the uninitiated, here’s a basic rundown: Conversational AI is a type of artificial intelligence that speaks and responds like a human using a combination of machine learning and natural language processing (NLP). Machine learning implies the AI isn’t bound to a static database of pre-programmed responses like chatbots; instead, it analyzes human speech and learns from previous interactions.

 

Depending on your plan, conversational AI can include chatbots, virtual assistants, automated email communication, or all three.

 

A conversational AI (like the SimpSocial platform) will reach out to a lead who fills out a form, signs up for a newsletter, or connects with you sufficiently to provide an email address. The AI may then assess the lead’s answer text and search a database for the best appropriate responses.

 

When there is a significant amount of unqualified leads, conversational AI takes over for marketing and sales. Conversational AI platforms can not only save time for the team, but they can also help decide whether leads are worthwhile and send them on to a salesman.

 

Bad Leads are weeded out through conversational marketing.

 

Lead conversion from marketing to sales (or sales to buy) might be a question of luck, charm, or tenacity, but qualified leads have a better chance of converting at a high rate. Superior leads also mean that less time is spent by salespeople on unqualified leads.

 

Leads can be responded to and sorted by relevance and potential using conversational AI. Conversational AI can answer queries about your company during the enquiry process (through chatbots on your website or through email). Conversational AI can not only answer a wide range of inquiries, but it can also ask questions and perform lead scoring depending on your lead scoring system.

 

When a priority lead has demonstrated that it is ready to move down the funnel, the virtual assistant will pass it on to real-life salespeople. It will also keep less-qualified leads engaged with the AI until the lead improves.

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