How AI is Changing the Sales Process (for the Better)

How AI is Changing the Sales Process (for the Better) 

AI isn’t replacing your sales team—it’s upgrading it. But what does that really mean, especially if you’re still early in your AI journey? Here’s what we’re seeing—and why our clients and partners should care. 

AI in sales isn’t just about tools—it’s about transformation. That transformation isn’t instant. At IDM, we’re not claiming full AI maturity. Instead, we’re doing what many businesses are: testing, integrating, learning. And we’re already seeing real impact. 

That evolution is playing out in real-time—across industries, tools, and teams. At IDM, we’ve started seeing firsthand how AI can reshape sales by unlocking deeper insights, streamlining outreach, and aligning better with modern buyer behavior. 

This isn’t a theoretical playbook. It’s a firsthand look at how AI is changing the way we think about pipeline, performance, and personalisation. From early experiments to measurable wins, we’ll share how AI is helping us—and how it can help others—sell smarter, respond faster, and serve more meaningfully across the CPaaS and CRM ecosystem. 

Why AI, Why Now? 

We’re living through a moment of accelerated transformation. In B2B sales, AI is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s a present-day necessity. Buyers are increasingly self-directed, research-savvy, and digitally native. They expect faster, more personalised, and value-driven communication. 

According to Gartner, 70% of the buying journey now happens before any direct contact with a sales team. So if you're not using AI to guide your approach, you’re likely not showing up in the right way—or at the right time. 

Salesforce reports that 66% of sales reps find their role harder than last year. This reflects the rising complexity of managing digital-first buyer journeys. At the same time, Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of B2B buyer-seller interactions will happen across digital channels—fewer meetings, fewer calls, more asynchronous touchpoints. 

To stay effective in this environment, sales teams need technology that doesn’t just track engagement but anticipates it. IDC forecasts that 60% of B2B sales teams will be leveraging AI to drive decisions by 2025. That means analysing real-time signals, automating follow-ups, and delivering relevance before a buyer even asks for it. 

AI is no longer a competitive edge for early adopters—it’s becoming core infrastructure. It underpins how you listen to your market, personalise your approach, and respond at scale. For modern sales organisations, it’s the foundation—not the fringe. 

Step One: Data Hygiene Before Data Intelligence 

The path to effective AI doesn’t start with automation. It starts with structure. 

AI is only as smart as the data it’s fed. If your CRM is incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent, even the best AI tool will produce unreliable results. At IDM, we started with a data clean-up strategy before adding any predictive layer. 

We: 

• Merged fragmented records across tools. 

• Standardised lead statuses and funnel stages. 

• Ensured tagging consistency across sales and marketing. 

Forrester research shows that businesses with well-governed data pipelines are more than three times as likely to achieve consistent revenue growth. That aligns with what we’ve experienced at IDM. 

This kind of foundational work isn’t flashy. It doesn’t generate headlines or instant ROI. But it’s what separates meaningful AI implementation from short-lived experiments. It ensures that when AI does step in, it’s working with signals—not noise—and delivering insight, not guesswork. 

Ultimately, AI is only as strong as the data that powers it. Prioritising data hygiene isn’t optional. It’s the groundwork for every successful AI-driven sales strategy that follows.

Real Use Case: Prioritisation for SDR Teams 

AI doesn’t need to take over your entire sales operation to deliver real results. Sometimes, the greatest impact comes from solving one high-friction problem with precision. 

When applied thoughtfully to just one key area—like prioritising outreach for SDRs—AI can dramatically improve efficiency and effectiveness. It’s not about replacing people or processes. It’s about enhancing decision-making where it matters most. 

One of the first areas we introduced AI was in helping our SDR team decide who to contact, and when. Instead of relying on “last touched” filters, we used AI to surface accounts based on recent intent signals—like downloading a compliance whitepaper or browsing pricing pages. 

This meant: 

• Reps focused their time on warm accounts. 

• Outreach was more relevant and well-timed. 

• Conversion rates improved without increasing headcount. 

According to McKinsey, companies that integrate AI into their sales operations can generate up to 50% more leads and appointments. But this isn’t just about chasing bigger numbers—it’s about redefining how sales teams create value. 

The power of AI lies in its ability to reduce wasted effort. It filters noise, prioritises high-intent leads, and equips reps with actionable insights. That means less time navigating clunky CRMs or chasing unresponsive prospects, and more time building real momentum with the right opportunities. 

In this context, doing more isn’t the goal. Doing what matters—better, faster, and with sharper focus—is what drives sustainable growth. 

For us at IDM, this shift was about stripping away busywork and noise. It helped us focus on relevance. We spent less time chasing every lead, and more time engaging the right ones, at the right moment. This focus on precision over volume didn’t just improve conversion—it gave our team time back to do what humans do best: listen, adapt, and connect. 

Why This Matters for CPaaS Buyers 

If you’re selling CPaaS, messaging solutions, or CRM integrations, your clients aren’t just buying technology. They’re buying outcomes. And AI is how you deliver them. 

Today’s buyers want: 

• Messages that arrive when they’re most likely to engage. 

• Contextual interactions—not just automation. 

• Results they can measure. 

Juniper Research projects that enterprise CPaaS spend will exceed $60 billion by 2027. But the winners won’t be those with the widest coverage. They’ll be the ones offering intelligent orchestration: the right message, via the right channel, at the right time. 

At IDM, we’re focused on translating this shift in buyer expectations into smarter infrastructure. For us, AI isn’t a bolt-on feature—it’s an enabler of next-gen service delivery and client outcomes. We’re not trying to automate for automation’s sake. We’re building toward a more intelligent, adaptable CPaaS experience that scales across use cases and industries. 

Here’s where we’re currently investing: 

• Dynamic content templates based on recipient behavior. 

• Real-time fraud detection to protect quality. 

• Delivery optimisation across RCS, WhatsApp, and SMS. 

AI is quickly becoming a competitive advantage in the CPaaS landscape. Clients now expect more than just message throughput—they want contextual, results-driven engagement that scales. Those who embrace AI now will be the ones defining industry benchmarks tomorrow. 

If you’re a CPaaS vendor or reseller, the question isn’t whether to adopt AI—it’s how soon you can build it into your offering before someone else captures that value first. 

Common Pitfalls We’re Avoiding (and You Should Too) 

Many AI projects fail—not because the tech doesn’t work, but because the business isn’t ready. 

BCG reports that 70% of AI initiatives underperform. The problem is usually misalignment, not capability. 

Here’s what we’re watching for: 

• AI without a clear goal: Avoiding the “shiny object” trap. 

• Lack of human oversight: Keeping humans in the loop. 

• Disconnected teams: Ensuring sales, product, and marketing work together. 

We believe meaningful innovation doesn’t require sweeping changes—it thrives in the details. Our approach is deliberate: we begin with small-scale experiments, define success with clear metrics, and only then scale what proves valuable. 

This method isn’t fast—but it’s effective. It allows teams to build confidence, reduce risk, and adapt organically. The goal isn’t to deploy AI everywhere at once—it’s to embed it where it adds real value, with the teams who’ll use it every day. 

What’s Next for Us—and What You Can Try Too 

We’re not at the finish line—but we’re building meaningful momentum. 

The AI journey doesn’t come with a universal roadmap. It’s different for every organisation. At IDM, we’ve learned that what matters most is having a shared direction, a willingness to experiment, and a culture that values progress over perfection. 

We’re leaning into what works, learning from what doesn’t, and staying flexible as the technology—and our customers—evolve. Each step forward sharpens our ability to deliver faster, smarter, and more personalised experiences across the sales lifecycle. 

AI adoption isn’t a single decision—it’s a series of steps that require experimentation, learning, and alignment across teams. At IDM, we’re not chasing perfection. We’re chasing progress. 

Every step we take is about creating more meaningful engagement, not just more automation. From simplifying internal workflows to helping clients personalise at scale, the journey is ongoing—but the benefits are already tangible. 

In the next quarter, we’re testing: 

• Proposal generation tools that reduce manual effort. 

• AI-assisted call summarisation to improve handoffs between SDRs and AEs. 

• Feedback tagging systems that highlight product feature requests from sales calls. 

We’re focusing on reducing friction across the funnel—and bringing intelligence into every handoff. 

If you’re in CRM, martech, or messaging, this is your signal to start experimenting. Find one area where a manual task slows down your team. Introduce AI there. Measure the impact. 

That’s how we started—and we’ve never looked back. 

Final Word: AI is the Assist, Not the Answer 

AI isn’t a silver bullet—but it is a catalyst. It won’t solve every challenge overnight, but it will fundamentally shift how sales teams operate. It enables a move from intuition to insight, from lagging indicators to predictive signals, and from reactive workflows to proactive engagement. 

At IDM, we see AI as a co-pilot—one that helps us navigate complexity with greater clarity. It gives our team the headroom to focus on strategic conversations, while handling the heavy lifting in the background. 

We’re using AI to: 

• Cut the noise. 

• Highlight signals. 

• Move faster, with better precision. 

And just as we’ve applied these principles internally, we’re actively collaborating with our partners to do the same—guiding them through AI integration strategies that align with their goals, ecosystems, and customer expectations. Whether it's co-designing smarter outreach, improving end-user personalisation, or embedding intelligence into their product offerings, we're walking this journey together with the same shared ambition: better outcomes, powered by insight. 

📌 If you're a CRM vendor, CPaaS reseller, or messaging platform looking to move past automation and into intelligent engagement—let’s talk.