AI Sales

AI and Cold Outreach: How to use AI to increase your sales

Mihaela Cicvaric
LAST UPDATED
July 24, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

Personalized messages have a 32.7% higher response rate.

And sending mass emails has a  93% higher response rate in comparison to single recipients.

Here comes the problem: Where are you going to find the time to personalize all your emails?

Enter AI cold outreach, the solution to your problems.

How is AI involved in cold outreach?

Outreach AI is a technology that uses artificial intelligence to improve outreach tasks and make outreach campaigns more effective.

It automates and optimizes processes like campaign creation, and email personalization, and helps businesses generate more responses and grow faster.

For example, let's say you have a business and want to email potential customers. AI tools can help you automatically create hyper-personalized multichannel sequences based on your value proposition, and your recipient’s info.

This saves you hours of manual work, avoids the blank-page anxiety, and increases your reply rates.

AI personalization

AI personalization helps you build ultra-targeted and hyper-personalized outreach sequences at scale.

It analyzes your prospects' data and automatically creates custom campaigns with personalized icebreakers that resonate with individual prospects.

This level of customization and personalization increases the chances of capturing prospects' attention, generating higher reply rates, and ultimately driving better outcomes for your outreach efforts.

Why is AI important in cold outreach?

AI can be leveraged to optimize your outreach and increase your reply rates in several ways.

You can use AI-powered outreach tools, such as lemlist, to generate highly personalized multichannel campaigns without the need to be an outreach expert or have any prospecting experience.

By tailoring messages to individual recipients, AI increases the relevance and resonance of outreach efforts, leading to higher engagement and response rates.

With AI, you can save up to 1 hour per campaign creation and focus on other tasks that matter to your business.

According to Gartner, Inc., by 2025, 75% of B2B sales organizations are expected to incorporate AI-guided selling solutions to enhance their traditional sales playbooks.

✅ Pros of AI in Outreach

  • Save time
  • Save resources
  • Save money
  • Generate more revenue
  • Book more meetings

6 use cases of AI for your business

95% of salespeople would meet their sales goals faster if they could reduce time spent on non-revenue-generating activities like admin, note taking, and updating CRMs.

This is where AI comes into play.

Here are 6 of the most frequent and powerful use cases of AI in sales.

1. Define your target audience with AI

You can use AI to understand who is your target audience, what challenges they face, and how your offering meets their needs.

By honing in on your ICP and buyer personas, you'll create messages that resonate and forge genuine connections.

You can use ChatGPT to create your buyer personas with this prompt:

You're a senior consultant with 20+ years of experience.

You're a master at creating the most unique and unusual growth strategies. You've helped the fastest-growing companies in the world skyrocket their growth and customer acquisition.

Your tone of voice should be actionable, no-fluff, approachable, casual, and storyteller.

Generate 5 detailed buyer personas for an individual who would be interested in [DESCRIPTION OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE].

The buyer personas should include the following information:

1. Name: (insert the name of the persona)

2. Position: (insert position or role of the persona)

3. Professional background: (describe the professional background, experience, or expertise of the persona)

4. Goals and objectives: (specify the goals and objectives that the persona wants to achieve in their professional life)

5. How they heard about [YOUR COMPANY NAME]: (indicate the channels or sources through which the persona became aware of your company)

6. Path to purchase: (describe the typical journey or steps the persona takes when considering and making a purchase related to your product or service)

7. Potential barriers: (identify the factors or concerns that might hold the persona back from buying your product or service)

Remember to provide sufficient detail and context to ensure the generated personas are accurate and useful. Please present the buyer personas in the form of a table.

For example, we ran this prompt for lemlist and got 5 detailed buyer personas. Here’s an example of one of them:

A screenshot of a chat GPT-generated buyer persona. The nae is David Patel, he is an Inside Sales Representative, coems from 3 years at a mid-sized software company, with the primary goal to enhance his sales performance and surpass his targets.

To dive deeper into defining your target audience with AI, use this guide on defining ICPs and buyer personas with AI.

2. Define your ICP with AI

You can speed up the process of defining your business’s ideal customer profile with lemlist's free ICP generator.

You can even try it out for yourself right now ⬇️

All you need is your value proposition and your product or service description.

The ICP generator will create 3 buyer personas that you can download, analyze, and use to personalize your cold outreach.

Use them to customize email copy, increase reply rates, get more LinkedIn connections, and boost your business revenue.

3. Reach your target audience

Once you know who your target audience is, you’ll need to track them down.

Reaching out to your leads on the channel where they are most active, such as LinkedIn, increases your chances of getting replies and accelerates your growth.

But, manually searching for LinkedIn prospects

❌ takes too much time

❌ is an endless back-and-forth

❌ doesn't always provide your leads' contact information

With the help of AI, you can get access to databases that contain millions of LinkedIn profiles with easy search and advanced filtering.


You can also use Taplio to connect with individuals based on your specific criteria or preferences.

Check out how to find LinkedIn leads in 3 steps with AI

4. Improve daily outreach tasks with AI email assistants

Imagine having someone dedicated to sorting your emails, writing them, and even reminding you when to send them..

Thanks to the power of AI, it's possible to save hours of manual work with AI email assistants!

For example, you can

→ Boost teams’ collaboration with Missive→ Organize inbox with SaneBox→ Predict responsiveness with Boomerang for Gmail

and much more!

Wondering which AI email assistant is the best for your business? What tool can help you boost efficiency and let you focus on more revenue-driven tasks?

Get the 7 best AI email assistants on the market and simplify your sales process.

5. Create personalized multi-channel outreach sequences

With AI you can create personalized outreach sequences that will increase your response and conversion rates.

For example, lemlist's AI allows you to create fully custom multi-channel campaigns in seconds.

Simply fill in your

  • target audience
  • value proposition
  • trigger
  • language
  • tone of voice

... and watch the AI magic happen.

Check out this video to help you create your first lemlist campaign!

Read this step-by-step guide to create an outreach sequence that generates replies X2 faster.

6. Craft engaging outreach messages

If you’re not using AI to speed up your writing processes, you’re already behind.

We know you want to, try out this cold email generator.

Tips: You can also use simple prompts to power your sales pitches, calls, and LinkedIn messages so that you can back to the human side of sales.

For example, you can use AI prompts to improve your CTA, such as:

Write 3 calls to action for the following outreach email. Ensure each CTA directs the recipient to take a specific action or next step. Use a friendly but assertive tone. Keep the writing concise and clear. Each CTA should be up to 5 words.

Outreach email: [Paste]

Or, you want to beat the competition over cold call:

You are an experienced sales representative for [ClickUp]. You are looking to win over a project manager who previously used [Trello] for all their [project management] needs but hated that they couldn't integrate with Google Drive, or customize their workspaces. Write a list of 5 talking points that would be helpful to convince the customer to move to [ClickUp].

Or, simply network your way to sales via LinkedIn:

Write a short, 50-100 word message to [Graham, the content marketing manager] at [Benevity], congratulating them on their new position. Based on their profile summary, ask how your [Content Marketing Agency] can help in the new company, and list the top 3 ways [Content Marketing Agencies] can help in-house [content marketing managers] look great to their boss.

PROSPECT: [Paste linkedin URL.]

AI prompts like this should give you a massive leg-up when it comes to building yourself the best, automated base to start outreach with. And then, you do what you do best: close those deals.

To access a full list of top 12 chat AI prompts that will help you avoid writers block and get replies, check out this article!

3 top sales AI tools

Now you know just how useful AI can be in your cold outreach.

But you still need the top tool to help you. We’ll leave you with our three absolute faves!

1. lemlist

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

G2 4.5/5 (248 reviews)  | Capterra 4.6/5 (381 reviews)

Overview

lemlist’s AI sequence generator will help you create ultra-targeted multichannel sequences in seconds.

How can lemlist help you?

  • avoid writer’s block with custom copies
  • save > 1 hour per campaign with predefined steps
  • get 3x more replies with unique sequences
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5de921a1902d8d39a699f77e/648c82e96401c013822214cc_gif AI lemlist (1).gif

lemlist also offers a +450 lead database with advanced filters to help you find your perfect leads.

Free trial ✅

lemlist offers 4 different paid plans, with a 14-day free trial.

Additionally, you can also access the Freemium plan and scrap up to 100 emails per month.

Pros

  • Personalize your texts, images, and videos at scale
  • Automate your email warmup
  • Full personalizable sequences
  • Very helpful support team (and onboarding process)

Cons

  • Freemium version does not allow sending campaigns
  • High learning curve

2. Setsail.co

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

G2 4.6/5 (126 reviews) | Capterra 4.7/5 (3 reviews)

Overview

SetSail is a Sales Data Layer that centralizes and interprets sales data across go-to-market teams and tools.

Setsail allows you to:

  • use machine learning to detect buying signals and productivity patterns
  • access insights in your CRM, data lake, or via SetSail’s dashboard
  • improve sales rep performance via performance metrics and improvement suggestions
  • get an instant view of all your sales activity

Free trial

Paid plans:

  • Custom pricing

Pros

  • Custom tracking and metrics
  • Works seamlessly for teams

Cons

  • Unresponsive customer support
  • Limited personalization
  • Undisclosed pricing

3. Clay

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

G2 4.9/5 (139 reviews) | Capterra 4.7/5 (10 reviews)

Overview

Clay is an automated sales prospecting platform that creates personalized messages via data from multiple sources.

What will you be getting from Clay?

  • enrich your customer data from 50+ data sources (tech stack, OpenAI GPT-3, Google, etc.)
  • identify qualified leads through data about the latest events, such as fundraising
  • add contacts to personalized campaigns in Customer.io, your outreach tool, or CRM
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5de921a1902d8d39a699f77e/648c82d46401c0138221f7d2_gif clay (1).gif

Free trial ✅

Aside from a 14-day free trial, Clay also offers a totally free plan.

Starter, Explorer, and Pro plans range from $149 to $800, and increase depending on the amount of monthly credits you choose to purchase. Meaning that pricing can get quite expensive.

The Enterprise plan has custom pricing.

Pros

  • API integration
  • Easy integration with Google Sheets

Cons

  • Credit plan is confusing
  • You burn credits very quickly
  • Pricing increases exponentially
If you're not satisfied, we'll leave you with the 8 best AI sales tools.

The best resources to learn about AI

Hungry for more?

AI is a constantly changing field, so if you want to take full advantage of it, you’ll need to stay up to date with the latest tools and updates.

To help you with that, we did a roundup of the best AI resources to stay on the cutting edge.

Here are our top recommendations:

AI newsletters

#1 The Rundown is a daily newsletter that keeps you up to date with the latest news in AI.

#2 Mindstream provides the most relevant news, insights, tools, and trends involving AI.

AI YouTube Channels

#1 Matt Wolfe will keep you updated about the latest AI news, hottest trends, and tested tools.

#2 AI Andy posts daily AI content that keeps you on top of AI trends while making you laugh.

AI social media channels

#1 Kosherplug is a TikTok channel that shares viral news, life hacks, and tips around AI.

#2 Wgmimedia is an Instagram account that shares sensational clips, updates, and viral moments related to AI.

For a full resource list of newsletters, social media, and videos to help you get the most out of AI in cold outreach, check out these resources to learn about AI.

Use AI in your cold outreach to increase results

Here’s a quick recap of everything you can do to harness the power of AI in your cold outreach:

  1. Use AI to craft personalized messages for your prospects, addressing their specific needs and interests to create a stronger connection and boost response rates.
  2. Automate your follow-ups to stay on prospects’ minds, increasing the chances of getting a reply.
  3. Thoroughly research AI outreach tools to find the perfect match for your needs, considering features, compatibility, and value for investment.

Embrace AI as your digital assistant, helping you connect with prospects on a more personal level, and optimize your sales performance!

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G2 Rating
Price
Best for
Standout feature
Con
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/mo
$75/mo
$2,999/mo
Large, distributed sales teams
AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs
Lack of tracking system
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Sales operations and finance teams
Powerful configurability
Limited training resources and complex to navigate
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Mid-market and enterprise businesses
Comprehensive incentive management
Potentially high cost and steep learning curve
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
$15/user/mo
$40/user/mo
Enterprise: custom price
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Collaborative teams
Connected planning
Complexity and steep learning curve
4.6
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with complex sales structures
Complex incentive compensation management (ICM) with high efficiency and accuracy
Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts
Simplicity and ease of use
Lack of features like redirection
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
$30/user/mo
$35/user/mo
Custom: upon request
Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software
Ease of use and adoption
Lack of ability to configure the product based on user needs
4.8
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights
A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility
Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow
4.9
star
star
star
star
star
$30/user/mo
$50/user/mo
Smaller sales teams
Powerful automation
Lesser user base and average user interface
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Not publicly available
Companies with scalable needs
Automated Commission Calculations
Lack of filtering by date, no mobile app
ERP vs. CRM
ERP
CRM
Summary
Backbone of a business's internal operations.
Backbone of customer-centric interactions and operations.
Goal
To centralize and streamline core business processes in a company.
To increase customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty, and boost sales.
Focus
Internal operations and processes across departments (finance, accounting, inventory, supply chain, HR, and sales).
All interactions with leads and customers.
Manages
Internal business data like financial data, inventory levels, production details, supply chain, HR info.
All customer data like contact info, purchase history, communication history, customer preferences and more.
Users
Finance, accounting, operations, supply chain, and HR departments.
Customer-facing teams like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Benefits
Streamlines operations, improves data accuracy, enhances decision-making, boosts collaboration, increases productivity.
Improves customer relationships, increases sales, strengthens customer service, personalizes marketing campaigns, provides insights.
Price
$150 per user per year on average.
$10 to $30 per user per month on average.
PRM Tool
Rating
Feature
Pro
Con
Mobile App
Integrations
Free Plan
Pricing
4.65
star
star
star
star
star-half
Org-wide alignment
User-friendly layout and database
Suboptimal as a personal CRM
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-check
Team: $20/month
Business: $45/month
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Social Media Integration
Easy contact data collection
No marketing/sales features
square-check
Lack of tracking system
square-xmark
7-day trial
$12/month
4.75
star
star
star
star
star-half
Block Functions
High customization capability
Not a dedicated CRM
square-check
Limited
square-check
Plus: €7.50/month
Business: €14/month
N/A
Open-source
Open-source flexibility
Requires extensive manual input
square-xmark
Limited
square-check
Self-hosted
$9/month or
$90/year
3.1
star
star
star
Simple iOS app
Ideal for non-tech-savvy users
iPhone only
square-check
iOS only
Limited
square-xmark
1-month trial
$1.49/month or
$14.99/month
3.6
star
star
star
star-half
Smart Contact Management
Feature-rich and flexible
Reported bugs
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
7-day trial
Premium: $13.99/month
Teams: $17.99/month
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Customizable Interface
Customizable for teamwork
Pricey for personal use
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
Standard: $24/member
Premium: $39/member
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Integrated Calling
Integrated Calling
Too sales-oriented & pricey
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
Startup: $59/user/month
Professional: $329/user/month
4.8
star
star
star
star
star
Business Card Scanning
Business Card Scanning
Mobile only
square-check
Limited
square-check
$9.99/month
4.45
star
star
star
star
star-half
160+ app integrations
Comprehensive integrations
No free app version
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
$29.90/month or
$24.90/month (billed annually)
Capterra Rating
Free Trial
Free Plan
Starting Price (excluding the free plan)
Maximum Price (for the most expensive plan)
Best for
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-check
€15/month/seat billed annually
€792/month/3 seats billed annually + €45/month for each extra seat
Versatility and free plan
4.2
star
star
star
star
square-check
30-day
square-xmark
But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations
€25/user/month
€500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI)
Best overall operational CRM
4.3
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-xmark
square-check
Limited to 3 users
Comprehensive incentive management
€52/user/month billed annually
Small-medium businesses and automation
4.5
star
star
star
star
star-half
square-check
14-day
square-xmark
€14/seat/month billed annually
€99/seat/month billed annually
Sales teams and ease of use
4.1
star
star
star
star
square-xmark
square-check
Limited 10 users
$9.99/user/month billed annually
$64.99/user/month billed annually
Free plan for very small teams up to 10
CRM goal
Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months.
SMART Breakdown
1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation).
2. Measurable: The desired increase (10%) is a clear metric, and the timeframe (6 months) allows for progress tracking.
3. Achievable: A 10% increase is possible based on historical data and potential improvements.
4. Relevant: Boosting sales from marketing efforts aligns with overall business objectives.
5. Time-bound: The 6-month timeframe creates urgency and a clear target date.
Actions
Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation.
Step 2: Personalize marketing automation campaigns based on lead demographics, interests, and behavior.
Step 3: Develop targeted landing pages with clear calls to action for qualified leads.
Step 4: Implement lead scoring to prioritize high-potential leads for sales follow-up.
Step 5: Track and analyze campaign performance to identify areas for optimization.
Outcomes
Increased sales and revenue
Improved marketing automation ROI
Marketing and sales alignment
Data-driven marketing optimization
Table
CDP Software
CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
Interactions across various channels and touchpoints, both online and offline.
Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
Automatically collects, organizes, tags, and makes data available in real-time.
Helps businesses track customer interactions, sales pipelines, prospects, and service requests.
Goals
Personalized customer experiences across all channels.
Better customer relationships, streamlined processes, and improved profitability.
Benefits
Data integration, management, and accessibility, allowing for detailed analysis and segmentation.
Better communication within teams and with customers by organizing information about customer interactions and history.
Data Handling
Handles both identified and anonymous data, stitches together various data points.
Deals primarily with identified customer data.
Use Cases
Personalized marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, content customization across multiple channels.
Managing campaigns and leads, enhancing customer service, providing better customer support, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples
Insider, Bloomreach, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CDP
HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Professional, and Zoho CRM

What you should look at next

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