Collaborative Intelligence: How Human and Artificial Intelligence Create Value along the B2B Sales Funnel

Abstract

The B2B sales process is undergoing substantial transformations, fuelled by advances in information and communications technology and specifically by artificial intelligence (AI). The premise of AI is to turn vast amounts of data into information for superior knowledge creation and management in B2B sales. In doing so, AI can significantly alter the traditional human-centric sales process. In this article, we describe how AI impacts the B2B sales funnel. Specifically, for each stage of the funnel, we describe key sales tasks, explicate the specific contributions that AI can bring and clarify the role that human contributions and human decision-making plays at each step of the AI-enabled sales funnel. We also outline managerial considerations to maximize the contributions from AI and people in the context of B2B sales.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, natural language processing, machine learning, B2B, sales process, sales funnel, knowledge