Artificial Intelligence is reshaping B2B sales by reducing administrative workloads, accelerating complex processes and giving sales teams more time to build stronger customer relationships. Fares Asadi, Director, CRM Solution Consulting – EMEA South at ServiceNow, tells us how AI-native CRM platforms can transform the sales process by automating quoting, improving accuracy and personalisation and enabling Middle East enterprises to deliver faster, more consistent customer experiences.
As Middle East countries pursue diversification programmes to reduce their reliance on petrochemicals, B2B enterprises are taking centre stage.
And since, in the digital era, we cannot discuss the sales field without mentioning customer relationship management (CRM) systems, we should take time to consider how AI is evolving the CRM arena. A 2024 global report from LinkedIn and Ipsos claimed that by “[offloading] administrative tasks”, AI could “double every salesperson’s average selling time from 10 to 20+ hours per week”.
Any job role that finds 75% of its daily time swallowed by non-productivity tasks is a prime candidate for review. But when that review reveals that the non-productivity tasks are in many ways created by legacy CRM platforms, it is time to review CRM itself to find out what is going wrong. CRM is supposed to be a productivity engine for sales executives, but after a cursory examination, we can see that much of the performance bottleneck lies in the quoting process. Quoting workflows in digital CRM should be quick and accurate but current tools place many hurdles between the seller and the quote – obstacles that require the salesperson to consult with colleagues and comb through many different spreadsheets before manually preparing the quote.
Manual data entry seems out of place in the AI-driven present, as does screen-hopping and touring multiple systems. In a business that has access to AI, we would not expect to find such disconnected systems, and we certainly would not expect to be waiting for approvals from other humans. Meanwhile, the potential customer is either waiting and becoming more frustrated or has moved on to a competitor who can quote more rapidly. Additionally, in this legacy ecosystem, repeat customers may also churn when they grow weary of pricing inconsistencies. Lost opportunities and dwindling customer loyalty are the results.
Greater brand loyalty through deeper relationships
A change is necessary within CRM, and it arrives in the form of an AI-native sales platform. The admin-bloated legacy system is replaced with an automated, frictionless experience. Embedded AI takes care of quoting; it oversees sales and order management; it takes the admin away from sales teams so they can focus on building meaningful, lasting relationships with customers. AI helps sellers further by delivering pre-contact and real-time insights that allow human salespeople to understand the needs of the customer. Buyers remember impactful experiences, whether they are positive or negative. With the help of AI, sales professionals can deliver the right solution every time, which deepens the relationship and builds brand loyalty.
AI CRM empowers sales teams in multiple ways. Faster quotes come from the capability of AI to pull real-time pricing, including any relevant discounts or configuration options. There will be no need for a seller to sift through data manually because AI can link together CRM, ERP and product catalogues in a unified workflow. AI is well known for handling complexity with ease; this allows it to use customer context to craft granular configurations and build solutions with far higher requirements fits. AI’s autonomy allows it to – within certain trust thresholds – accelerate approvals, either by making compliance-driven decisions itself or by instantly routing requests to the right authority.
The value-add of AI in CRM continues by reducing error rates along the entire pipeline, including the quote process. Additionally, configurations can be validated against margin and policy requirements in an instant. The customer experience has been overhauled. Quotes are an on-the-spot capability in many instances and they are more accurate, thereby building trust throughout the market. On top of this, the experience benefits from sellers having more time to dedicate to customer interaction.
Consistency, accuracy and trust
The other side to AI CRM is the culture shift that occurs within the selling organisation. AI-centric businesses have stopped automating old workflows and have pivoted to reinventing the sales process for an AI-native world. In the new paradigm, consistency and accuracy build trust. Most Middle East businesses will have direct experience of potential sales flaming out because of an inaccurate quote. AI always retrieves correct pricing and never applies expired discounts or configurations in breach of policy.
AI also routinely sidesteps other stumbling blocks, such as change orders, and is excellent at exception-handling and other delivery challenges. The culture shift that occurs when embracing AI as a native component of the sales function means the C-suite never has to worry about teams manually checking each line item against pricing rules and approval policies that may be scattered across many different spreadsheets, memos and other resources. AI-native platforms remove guesswork from the quote-to-cash process. Policy, pricing and configuration become the domain of AI – automated and verified without admin headache for the seller or frustration for the customer.
All of this leads to a more profitable business. Reps do not waste time chasing status updates; instead, they drive revenue. B2B customers enjoy an experience often reserved for the B2C segment, which leads to longer-term relationships and higher lifetime value. AI-native CRM platforms bring personalisation to the fore and allow sellers to close transactions more quickly and land more profitable deals. This is a sea change in the B2B sales arena because AI can do something that humans, despite all their ingenuity, cannot do accurately in real time: analyse transaction data to recommend further purchases.
Awaiting your command
In an AI-driven sales team, with pipelines resident on an AI-native platform, order fulfilment is a more efficient process, moving seamlessly from quote to delivery. With approvals now automated, waiting times are a relic of the past. AI-driven insights feed finance and legal teams, leading to more effective decision-making at all levels. Legacy systems created friction, but AI is here to lubricate the wheels of business and allow Middle East enterprises to switch up from the current grind. When a quarter of a sales executive’s work week is soaked up by administrative burden, it is time to re-evaluate what it means to sell. AI-native CRM is purpose-built for this reimagining. It awaits your command.
