Feel like AI is taking over everything?

The rules keep changing on this, but what I want you to remember is this: ChatGPT is nothing more than a very hyperactive search engine. Don’t run from it! ChatGPT is a tool to leverage. Embrace it!

ChatGPT can give you a tremendous amount of information, but don’t think for a moment it’s going to replace you as a salesperson. Rather, keep one thing in mind: Not only are you using it to help you sell, but your customers are using it to help them make buying decisions. Let’s break this down.

Customers Aren’t Always Receiving Good Information

One thing happening right now is customers are using ChatGPT to find out information about what to buy. This gives them knowledge and information, but it can also give them bad information.

For example, I can ask ChatGPT a very specific question. However, I can turn around and ask that same question an hour later and get a different answer. You see, AI is using real time, so guess what? Answers change. It’s one of the risks of our customers using AI, so you’re going to have to spend more time re-educating.

How Should I Use it?

Let’s put that aside for now. Let’s talk about you as a salesperson. ChatGPT is a powerful tool to help give you lists, ideas, as well as talking points to help guide you in what you should be looking for. However, it is not the tool to help you write a perfect email, or to give you the perfect introduction to something.

If anybody is thinking, “I’m going to get AI to crank out a perfect prospecting email and then I’m going to send it out to 10,000 people.” Guess what? You just sent out 10,000 stupid emails. Nice job. Thank you for messing it up for everyone else.

The key to using ChatGPT is not to type in something general, like “how to sell.” Rather try, “how to sell to CEOs who are looking for a….” The more specific you can get, the better the answer you’re going to get. But remember, it still pulls all its information from the internet.

ChatGPT is a Tool to Start Your Thinking

It is not a tool to finish your thinking or to develop the exact commentary you’re going to share. For example, I can ask ChatGPT to provide me with the questions that customers might have regarding a specific product or service, or how to use them. And it’s going to give me back some questions — great!

Now it’s time to use your best judgment. Some of those questions can be pretty lame and dumb. I’m definitely not going to ask those, but there could be other questions that could spur a great idea.

This is the value of ChatGPT. It’s going to help you level up because your customer is using it.

Think Like a Customer

Want to see things from a prospect’s perspective? Ask ChatGPT what a customer is (probably) asking about your services, or about how what you do helps them, et cetera. Leverage ChatGPT to level yourself up with the customer.

Be Irreplaceable

I’m very optimistic about the future of AI. It is going to help us sell — it’s not going to replace us unless we’re bringing no value to our customers.

What ChatGPT is doing today is no different than what Google and other search engines did 15 years ago when they exploded and began to be used. And remember, we were scared back then that it was going to replace us, too. Well, it didn’t replace us.

Instead, it sped up our ability to get more knowledge, because prior to that, we were having to spend hours in libraries researching different topics. Now we suddenly had a search engine that could help get us insights faster. Likewise, we have AI, the next generation, allowing us to have that knowledge even faster.

Ten Ways to Use ChatGPT to Prospect

There are multiple uses for AI, some you may not have thought of.

I’m all about helping you find and retain better customers that you can close at full price, and using ChatGPT certainly works. Here are 10 uses you can try today.

1. Define your ideal customer — Ask GPT specific questions. Get specific about what it is that you’re looking for.

What are the outcomes that you create? Who are the customers that would benefit most from your outcome? It’s going to help you define who your ideal customers are.

2. Prepare a rough draft — Emphasis on the rough draft. ChatGPT can help you write a rough draft of an email or a presentation. Don’t use it as the final word, but use it as a starting point.

3. Understand what questions to ask — What questions should I ask a customer? Who is looking for X? See what ChatGPT comes back with.

4. Write scripts and talking points — Again, these are starting pieces, not ending pieces. Use your best judgment. Nevertheless, it’s going to give you ideas that you can run with for your next interaction with a prospect.

5. Get information regarding prospects — Let’s say you have a specific prospect that you’re going after or a specific company. Ask GPT what’s going on in that company. What are the major business issues this company is dealing with in the current year? You can even ask about a specific department or specific people.

6. Industry information — Ask: What are the 10 big issues this (specific) industry is dealing with right now?

7. Identify prospects — In other words, who are people who would benefit from using this type of service, this product, whatever it might be? This is going to help you get names, titles, contact information.

8. Ideas and information about the customer’s business — ChatGPT, what does X company do? How long have they been in business? Who are their key customers?

9. Future trends — Ask ChatGPT, what are some of the big issues that this industry could be dealing with? Or, what are some of the regulations that this industry could be dealing with on a regular basis?

10. Downstream insights — Who are the types of customers that they sell to? How do they use the product? What’s going on in their customer’s industry? In other words, find out about your customer’s customer.

AI isn’t going to replace you. It’s going to help you prospect more efficiently, and more effectively. That’s why I love the tool.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].