• by Ray Schultz , June 9, 2023

B2B sales teams are deploying AI to make their jobs easier, according to the Outreach Sales Confidence Index Report: Spring 2023.  

Of the sales leaders polled, 63% have used AI during the spring, and 62% did so in the winter.

Among those who use it, 60% use Gen AI to enhance customer interactions. Specifically, they deploy it to: 

• Update CRM data — 56%
• Respond to proposal requests — 46%
• Generate emails — 44% 
• Organize notes — 39%

Meanwhile, 85% expect to increase revenue in the current quarter with a slight to significant increase. That’s up from 82% in during the winter.

On a separate note, 65% of sales leaders hope to boost headcount in the next months, and 82% of those are looking for increases of up to 15%. But the overall percentage is down from 74% in January and 77% last October. 

The top factors attributed to the revenue outlook are: 

• Customer buying intentions — 37%
• Overall sector performance — 34% 
• Customer budget — 32% 
• Intro of new sales tech — 29%
• Focus on new industry(ies) — 27% 
• Focus on new geographies — 26%

Outreach partnered with Dynata to survey 500 B2B sales leaders in the U.S. and UK in April 2023.