How Reps Use AI to Crush Sales Calls

Sep 10, 2025

When it comes to sales, the winners use specific tactics that give them the best chance at winning.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in one of the most important parts of the process – the sales call. It often determines if you win or lose the deal.

Whether it's a discovery call, a demo, or a deep technical review, winning sales reps must be able to show their expertise in understanding the customers' problem.

How do the best reps do this? By leveraging AI to prepare for sales calls, sound knowledgeable, and perform better in-person.

Key Takeaways

1. Walk into every call with current context. Use a mix of AI tools (Perplexity, Claude, Gemini) to triangulate fresh news on your prospect, and lean on assistants like Gong or Gemini-in-Gmail to surface past objections and blockers buried in your CRM.
2. Use AI for talking points and live objection handling - never scripts. Generate short, buyer-specific bullets to guide the call, and pull from a knowledge base in real time to answer tough objections without hanging up to chase down internal experts.
3. Keep the human in the loop, especially on follow-up. AI-drafted "personalized" emails all sound the same, so use AI for the inputs (transcripts, key points) but write the follow-up yourself with real references to the conversation.

1. Understand What’s Happening with Your Prospect Right Now

You'd be surprised how many reps don't do this. Researching your prospect is low-hanging fruit. It’s not hard to figure out what’s happening with your client's company.

And when you know what the company is going through, you can speak to those pain points. The worst thing you could do is jump on a call and be clueless about some big event, like going public or merging with a competitor.

Tools to Use: Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, or Anthropic. Ask questions about the company, news, recent blogs, posts, etc. This will give you a sense of any big changes, like a big hiring spree or, in contrast, recent layoffs.

Triangulate: Don't limit yourself to one tool for research. Don’t rely solely on Google News, or just ask ChatGPT what’s going on, because you run the risk of getting outdated information. Instead, ask a mix of AI tools like Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. See what kind of responses you get from 2-3 sources, and then compare your notes.

Social Media: You’ll also want to use tools like Sprout Social with AI Assist to analyze your prospect's socials. This can give you a quick look into the hottest topics from their perspective, so you can speak their language when you pick up the phone.

Why This Matters: Timing is everything in sales. Understanding the current state of your customer can give you a strong edge (or help you avoid a disastrous pitch).

2. Gain Insights into Previous Interactions

Unless it's a brand new prospect, you likely have some background information already in your company files. Dig into your CRM and find those past interactions. Again, you'll be surprised how many reps don't do this basic step.

Here are examples of insights you can find buried in the CRM:

• Champions who liked your product but didn’t have the budget for it.
• Past demos with questions or concerns that you’ll have to address on the next call.
• Competing vendors, what they offer, and how your product compares.
• Any pushback on security or compliance issues.

Why It Matters: Having this information from past interactions allows you to come prepared, with guns blazing, so you don’t repeat the mistakes made in the past.

3. Prepare Answers Your Prospect WANTS to Hear

You should NOT copy anything AI gives you word-for-word. You are human, after all, and your prospect does not want to talk to a robot.

Tools to use: 1up, Microsoft Autopilot, Anthropic, or Gemini.

Why It Matters: AI is great for specific, contextual inputs. You don’t want a generic talk track because it will just be robotic, but AI can help you with "less is more." You’ll get short, sharp, buyer-specific notes to prepare for your call.

4. Be Ready for Objections in Real Time

Being ready for objections is EVERYTHING.

You can respond, in seconds, to your prospect's objections, ensuring you’re relaying the most accurate information in the fastest time possible.

Why It Matters: You now look professional and credible. You look ready for anything.

5. Follow Up… But Make it Personal

Anyone can send an email. But be different. Use AI to generate reference posts, to get critical information, to get news, and to generate a transcript from your call. AI can help you refresh your memory from your call and give you bullet points.

Why It Matters: You want to build on the relationship with the client, not destroy it. Remember, AI is your assistant, not your replacement.

Bonus Ideas: How NOT to Use AI When Prepping for Calls

1. Don't generate a sales script and read off it.
2. Don't rely solely on AI to give you company news.
3. Don't use AI to tell you a sales strategy.