Is AI Helping or Hurting Sales?

In this episode, we interview John Alba, a sales enablement leader overseeing operations for CloudKitchens in Latin America, the U.S., and Canada. With a rich background in B2B sales, customer service, and training, John shares his expertise on integrating AI into sales processes effectively.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How AI tools streamline sales tasks like outreach and coaching.
• The risks of over-reliance on AI and losing human connection.
• Ethical considerations for leveraging AI in sales.
• Practical steps to start integrating AI into your sales processes.
• The role of continuous learning to stay ahead in AI-driven environments.

Tune in for actionable insights that will help you navigate the evolving intersection of AI and sales!

Transcript

John Alba (00:02)
AI cannot fully replace the nuances of human empathy and connection, but automated responses may lack the warmth or understanding that's needed in complex cell situations. And that can harm relationships or even slow down the cells process. And it's not just within sales. It's when we're not able to really have that genuine connection, let's say with our significant other, with our family.

Hey, this guy, he's not interested. He's not showing any interest. My brother, my nephew, he's not interested in what I'm talking. Same thing happens in sales. And if there's no genuine interest, people are going to lose that connection with the reps, with the sales team. so it's those things where I see that AI is hurting us in the sales process.

Ben (01:08)
Welcome back to another episode of Content Amplified. Today I'm joined by John. John, welcome to the show.

John Alba (01:14)
Ben thank you very much happy to be here

Ben (01:16)
John, I'm excited for this episode. It's going to be fun. Thank you so much for coming on. But John, before we dive in, we always want to get to know our guests. Let us know who you are, a little bit about your career. And then really, what do you love about content and marketing, sales, things like that in general?

John Alba (01:21)
But John, before we dive in, we always want to get to know our guests. Let us know who you are, whatever about your career. And then really, what do you love about content, marketing, sales, things like that in

general? Yeah, of course. So yeah, my name is John. I'm based right now in South America, in Columbia. I'm currently overseeing all of the sales enablement for Latin America, for Cloud Kitchens.

I'm also overseeing some different projects for our US and Canada markets as well. last six years I've been involved in B2B sales. I've had the opportunity to be involved in all sorts of sales roles from SDRs to account executives to managers, sales training and

That's where I've gotten, you know, all this experience regarding B2B sales. I've had also experience working as an ESL teacher for a private school here in Columbia and a private institution as well, but also in the BPO industry or the call center industry here in Columbia. So I'm happy to say I've developed different skills, especially within communication that who would have thought has helped me in sales. And I started working in customer service and tech support.

And I was working in customer service. I used to say, I hope I never get to work in sales. And life throws curve balls at you, Ben, I'll tell you that much. So yes, that's I've had experience in customer service, tech support, group team management as well within those call centers and training, new hire and onboarding, and also in the past six years focused heavily on B2B sales. Mainly in technology and SaaS.

But yeah, and so nowadays my experience, my leadership, everything that I've done and learned has led me to where I am right now.

Ben (03:03)
I love it. love it. So John, your background is super relevant for our conversation today and it's super timely. People are always wondering about this new technology. How is AI impacting everything in business? And we're going to focus specifically on sales enablement. How AI is kind of changing the game. So first and foremost, how is AI helping sales and sales enablement?

John Alba (03:27)
The thing is Ben, AI is, we talk about AI and that's a word that's thrown a lot nowadays. And I even saw a meme that says, founder of a startup company after putting AI in their name and they're just laughing and lame in a beach. It's funny that everything is AI, but how is AI helping itself specifically? I'd say that it's transforming sales processes across all levels of sales organizations. So from sales managers and leaders,

to SDRs, know, sales development representatives, to even account executives, right? So when we focus, for example, on automated outreach and personalization, okay, AI driven tool, I've seen that they've helped AI as an SDR streamline outreach, automating email generation, follow-up sequences, crafting templates, right? So AI can now create highly targeted data-driven email content.

And I think it makes outreach more personalized and relevant to prospects. And of course, increasing the likelihood of engagement. And I think that this saves time for reps, allowing them to focus on high priority relationships and also building those relationship building tasks. Also an analytics, as I say, for coaching and feedback.

Being in sales enablement, being involved in sales training, giving proper and solid coaching, but also feedback. It tends to have its areas of opportunities for different leaders. Because when you think you're giving feedback, you might be thinking, am I doing it right? Am I giving the right information? Am I getting through? Luckily, AI has enhanced that. So AI, from what I've seen and I've experienced,

It enables sales managers and sales enablement leaders to analyze vast amounts of data from customer interactions. And it's just fantastic what these tools nowadays can give you. So this means that managers can give highly specific data-backed coaching to improve rep performances. And it gives us tools, tools that tracks call metrics, analyze the quality of interactions.

We can now even offer SDRs and AEs actionable insights, right? So helping them define their pitch, their timing, their approach. Another one that I can think of is predictive insights for customer understanding. We want to make it all as well-focused in the customer. Sales is not just about, I'm the best sales person, I'm the best SDR, because I have a way with words and I have the great tools. sales is also about what does the customer need? What does the customer understand?

and AI helps us with that. So AI has also been very beneficial for customers and buyers. It gathers insights on customer behavior and in marketing customer behavior, it's fundamental and sales it is as well, right? The needs, the buying signals, right? Those things help sales teams provide the right information at the right time, right? And that makes the buyer's journey smoother and more informative. And I'm a big fan of informing

the buyers like in the sales process, when I have the opportunity to train or onboard a team, I always focus on inform, educate. Don't just throw a bunch of random information that you find, but actually identify what would be of value to them and inform them, guide them. And ultimately this builds trust and speeds up the decision making process.

Ben (06:50)
I love it. That's amazing. So many good uses for AI right there. You talked about, know,

John Alba (06:51)
Yeah. yeah. Yeah. And it's not just,

you know, AI is not just to create funny images of political leaders as I've seen in the past couple of days. Right? It's just, you know, you have everything. You have things that help you and just things that are just absurd.

Ben (07:07)
Yep, exactly. And just like any technology, can be used for productive things or things that are less productive and more entertainment based, things like that. So you mentioned so many good uses of AI. On the flip side, does AI hurt sales at all? Is it doing anything to damage the industry, the process, anything at all? Have you seen any negatives and what's your perspective there?

John Alba (07:10)
Yeah. Well said.

Great Well, AI has considerable benefits. I'd say there are challenges that the sales teams need to address. So one of the most important ones is over-reliance on AI for creativity. Because I think that one of the pitfalls of AI is that reps can become way too dependent on AI-generated suggestions, which can reduce creativity.

and make interactions feel generic. And we don't want to be too generic, because we're just coming off of the age of, I pick up the phone, and then I have to talk to a computer, and I just want to talk to a person. So now when I talk to a person, I don't want to talk to a person that sounds too generic. So when AI templates and scripts are overused, for example, customers may start noticing a lack of personalization.

and that really ticks people off and it makes sense, right? This can make buyers feel like they're part of a formula leading to this engagement. Another one I'd say is reduce critical thinking and decision-making. Now, AI can sometimes lead to complacency in decision-making. Okay, so what I mean is when sales teams rely solely on AI recommendations,

they might not develop the critical skills that are needed for that unique real-time decision making. Then it is important to ensure that AI augment human expertise rather than just replace the thoughtfulness of, you know, that the reps bring to each conversation. And I'd say that also well, the loss of genuine customer connection. We can't let that, you know, get away.

AI cannot fully replace the nuances of human empathy and connection, but automated responses may lack the warmth or understanding that's needed in complex cell situations. And that can harm relationships or even slow down the cells process. And it's not just within sales. It's when we're not able to really have that genuine connection, let's say with our significant other, with our family.

Hey, this guy, he's not interested. He's not showing any interest. My brother, my nephew, he's not interested in what I'm talking. Same thing happens in sales. And if there's no genuine interest, people are going to lose that connection with the reps, with the sales team. so it's those things where I see that AI is hurting us in the sales process.

Ben (09:53)
I love that. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So when we're looking at it, anyone who's saying, okay, I get it. I need to have AI in the sales process. I need to do a better job. I need to expand my horizons. If they haven't really implemented AI much into their process or looking to get started or trying to discover where to go, how do they kind of prepare themselves? How do they start? What are the first steps with AI in the sales process to really kind of build some momentum?

John Alba (09:58)
Anyone who's saying, okay, I get it. I need to have AI in the sales process. need to do a better job. I need to expand my horizons. If they haven't really implemented AI much into their process or looking to get started or trying to discover where to go, how do they kind of prepare themselves? How do they start? What are the first steps with AI in the sales process to really kind of build some momentum?

Ben (10:22)
understand where it can help, understand how it functions. Where do you recommend people kind of go to kick things off?

John Alba (10:23)
understand what it can help, understand how functions, what do you recommend people kind of build or take things

up? On how can people get prepared and learn more about AI moving forward? Well, if we want to leverage AI in a responsible and effective manner, I think that let's focus it on self-seems, for example. We can adopt a balanced approach to AI.

Okay, so it is very essential and I love this word to educate. Educate teams on benefits of AI. Of course, while we encourage them to maintain a human first mindset, important of course, AI should be used to enhance human potential, not replace it. So

Sales teams should experiment with AI for specific tasks or even recognize where it can free up time. But they must also stay actively engaged in decision making. Another way in which AI can be beneficial or how we can help is focus it on those ethical and responsible users.

And that's, you know, and I think that's a conversation that a lot of tech companies need to have with their own teams when it comes to AI. Cause look, Ben, AI has a vast potential. There's no lie in that, right? And nowadays, as I mentioned, everything in companies is AI, AI, AI, but it's use, it needs to be ethical.

This means being transparent with customers and avoiding over-reliance on AI to the point where it detracts from authenticity of that sales experience. Now, organizations can create AI guidelines and regularly revisit them as technology evolves. Like a lawyer cannot be stuck the same thing he or she learned in the beginning of the 2000s. They need to constantly update themselves in law or just like the doctor needs to constantly

inform or educate themselves on the changes of science and health. Same thing with us. In sales or any company that requires or any department that requires technology, we need to understand that technology involves and it's very important that we revisit them as that technology evolves. Also coming from a sales enablement perspective here, my favorite, continuous learning and training without a doubt. Sales teams,

they should be encouraged to stay up to date on AI advancements, whether through workshops, online courses, collaboration with tech teams, listening to great podcasts, understanding AI's capabilities, but also those limitations. What's going to do is it's to empower, right? If we focus, let's say with reps, so it's going to empower the reps to use these tools to their full potential. And also to discern

when a personalized human touch is necessary.

Ben (13:19)
I love that. I love that. So we're running out of time. These episodes go by so quick and it's great to give people this daily advice. Any other feedback, advice or recommendations for anyone saying I need to just do a better job of utilizing and harnessing the power of AI for our sales, our sales enablement, our company in general, anything that you'd recommend.

John Alba (13:23)
I love that yeah

Well, this is quite simple then

If we want to think about where this technology can be best used, let's say for sales enablement. The thing is sales enablement has seen a leap forward with AI powered tools that focus on data driven coaching, focus on call analysis, but also focus on those targeted content. So where AI can shine is let's say call recordings and analytics. I love this part of my job where I use AI it's in this because AI driven tools like conversational intelligence platforms.

but one that we use in Cloud Kitchens, that platform analyzes calls and meetings in real time or post call. And it offers actionable insights into tone, sentiment, and even competitive mentions. They also highlight key conversation points and opportunities for improvement. Now, this is crucial for cells enabling because it provides a record of real world conversations, which we can use.

to coach reps on everything from objection handling to aligning on brand messaging. Also personalized learning pathways. In onboarding, AI can track performance of new hires and we can assess them. And it assess where they need additional support and suggest those tailored training resources. And this is particularly useful when scaling teams. Now, as we ensure each step receives customized training,

especially in global organizations where sales techniques or customer behaviors may vary by region. And to finish it up, I'd say also in optimizing outreach cadences. know, AI also supports SDRs, AEs by, you know, fine tuning outreach sequences and cadences. Now, based on past performance, AI can recommend the best times to reach out, the optimal frequency touch points, tech, even the messaging that resonates the most

with certain personas. This enables reps to achieve more effective outreach and with less trial and error.

Ben (15:41)
I love that. John, this has been an absolute masterclass in everything AI sales enablement related. Thank you so much. If anyone wants to reach out and continue the conversation with you online, how and where can they find you?

John Alba (15:45)
Thank you very much,

If anyone wants to reach out and continue the conversation with you online, how and where can they find

you?

On Instagram is more of wacky sports related things that you'll see on my profile. But yes, on LinkedIn, you guys can reach out to me. Happy to connect. And I do want to thank you, Ben, for this time as well. You we can talk all day about AI and sales.

Ben (16:31)
I love it. love it. And for anyone listening, we will link to John's LinkedIn profile in the show notes below. So you just have to look up his name, click on the link and you connect with him there. It's nice and easy. John, again, thank you so much for the time and the insights today.

John Alba (16:44)
Thank

you Ben for this time. to help. Look forward to continue talking with you.