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Not too long ago, the Internet changed everything. Some companies saw the trend early, and benefited handsomely for it. Others were left in the dust.

 

Likewise, mobile phone technology has revolutionized the way consumers interact with businesses, including how they purchase products and services. Once again, early adopters saw massive increases in profits, while others slept through their opportunity.

 

 

Artificial Intelligence is set to eclipse both the Internet and mobile revolutions. I believe it's the most important and transformative technology ever to change business. Why? Because this technology is tearing down walls that have existed since the dawn of time. It is making things possible that were unthinkable only very recently. And things are moving fast. In 2017, the technologies that are available today did not exist even a year ago.

 

Today, companies now have the power to create virtual salespeople, or virtual marketing people, that can outperform even their top human producers.

 

Here are five reasons why this Artificial Intelligence technology will be responsible for tens of billions of dollars in revenue in the years to come:

 

 

Whatever makes your best people so successful is partly what makes Artificial Intelligence so powerful. Artificial Intelligence models the behaviour of your top-performing sales and marketing people. From their winning phraseology, to the finer details of their communication style, AI catches what matters and uses it to your advantage. It uses the same emails, the same letters, the same information, and provides the same answers to the same frequently asked questions for prospective customers. By modelling your highest-performing people, and adopting proven techniques demonstrated by your best human workers, AI-powered virtual assistants can reate a virtual sales and marketing experience that is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than humans could ever provide.

 

 

We live in an age of binging. There was once a time when people waited all day to watch their favourite TV show. No more. Today, no one has that kind of patience. People want to access an entire TV series instantaneously, like they get with Netflix. Your customers are coming to your website, and learning about your products, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The challenge for human beings, of course, is that we can't work 24/7. Your salespeople cannot be at the top of their game 365 days a year. However, a virtual salesperson, and virtual marketing person, will work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Imagine your top salesperson being on duty every minute of every day. Humans haven't been able to accomplish that, yet, but that's one of the amazing benefits provided by AI.

 

 

We live in a global world. Today, China is becoming the world's largest economic superpower. India is number two. English is no longer the dominant language. Today, if you want to compete, not just locally, but internationally, then your sales team needs to be able to work on a global basis. In Toronto alone, there are over 100 languages being spoken. Over 100 languages! So, if you want to be competitive in just one city in Canada, then English alone will not suffice. A virtual salesperson, and virtual marketing person, can speak and interact with clients in more than 10 languages and counting. I haven't yet met a sales or marketing person who can do that yet, either. The possibility this creates for increasing sales is huge for obvious reasons.

 

 

Artificial Intelligence is ready to serve your customers in real time. The whole notion of a "business day," or getting back to somebody "the next day," is irrelevant. If you do not respond to a lead within five minutes, the odds of ever booking a meeting, or of ever closing a sale, decrease by over 100 times. That's in only five minutes! So, imagine a virtual salesperson that can answer all of your customer's questions, and provide all of the information that your buyers are seeking, in real time. Because a virtual salesperson works when prospects are already in the sales process, while they are researching information, it dramatically enhances your odds of making sales that would otherwise be lost to you.

 

 

A virtual sales assistant can perform an entire transaction on your website, from start to finish, without any need for human intervention on your end. A virtual assistant can serve people from any country, anywhere in the world, any time of day or night. Artificial Intelligence technology enables a prospective customer to come to your website, meet someone, and get all of the information they want, on their own terms, whether they are using an iPhone, an iPad, or a laptop computer. Imagine a very well-trained salesperson that can always provide the right answers, and ask the right questions, at exactly the right time. Virtual assistants provide key information to customers exactly when they want it, then take them through to the point of sale and complete the transaction while you sleep.

 

 

Those who adopted web-based technology in the 1990's and transformed their businesses by creating websites, emails, landing pages, and online ads transacted billions of dollars in sales that others missed out on, because they weren't aware of the immense money-making potential of this new technology. Artificial Intelligence is even more powerful than the Internet, or web-based and mobile technology. As we've seen in the past, those who are the first in their industry to adopt this new, cutting-edge technology will take company revenue, and profits, to levels never seen. Welcome to the future.