Departments · Sales AI in Sales: Qualify Enquiries, Prepare Quotes, Keep the CRM Current

Tasks in sales: seven workflows at a glance

These are typical workflows, not client projects. In each one the AI prepares, and a salesperson checks and decides. Two of them have articles of their own: drafting quotes with AI and lead qualification with AI.

1. Read and prioritise enquiries

Enquiries come in through forms, email, phone notes and trade fairs, in very different quality.

• Input: the enquiry in any form, plus what your CRM already knows about the sender.
• AI prepares: recognises what is asked for (product, quantity, date), matches the enquiry to a customer or a new contact and scores it by criteria you set. The reasons are shown with it.
• Sales checks: the score and decides who answers and how fast.
• Output: a CRM entry with summary, score and a draft reply.

2. Prepare a quote from the enquiry

A quote consists of items, prices and terms that already exist somewhere.

• Input: the enquiry, your price list or the ERP and your quote template.
• AI prepares: selects items, inserts prices from the price list, calculates quantities, fills the template and flags what is unclear, such as missing dimensions or a custom order.
• Sales checks: the draft, changes the price or terms and approves.
• Output: a quote draft in the format of your template, nothing is sent.

3. Follow up after quotes

Following up is easily forgotten, although this is where orders are decided.

• Input: open quotes with date, value and history so far.
• AI prepares: spots quotes with no contact since, and drafts a follow-up that fits the history.
• Sales checks: every draft and decides whether to call, write or wait.
• Output: a list of follow-ups that are due, with drafts.

4. Visit reports from voice notes

A voice note in the car or after the meeting is quickly recorded, while a report is often typed only days later.

• Input: the voice note or a few keywords after the visit.
• AI prepares: writes a report from it and places the conversation note, agreed next steps and follow-up date in the right CRM fields.
• Sales checks: the report briefly and corrects what is wrong.
• Output: a visit report in the CRM with tasks for the next steps.

5. Keep CRM data current

A CRM helps only as long as the data is right: duplicates, missing contacts, outdated records.

• Input: the CRM records and new emails and appointments.
• AI prepares: spots duplicates, suggests merges, completes missing fields from email signatures and flags records that have not been touched for a long time.
• Sales checks: merges and deletion suggestions. The AI deletes and overwrites nothing by itself.
• Output: a cleaned set of records and a list of open questions.

6. Sales reports

Pipeline, quote rate and revenue per customer sit in the CRM, but rarely in a form anyone reads.

• Input: the data from CRM and ERP.
• AI prepares: code calculates figures such as quote volume, win rate and pipeline from the data. The AI writes a short description of the trend from them and names the figures it relies on.
• Sales checks: the report before it goes into the meeting.
• Output: a weekly or monthly report with commentary.

7. Find and pre-check tenders

Anyone who bids for tenders reads many documents before it is clear whether a bid is worthwhile.

• Input: tender documents from the portals you use.
• AI prepares: summarises requirements, deadlines and award criteria and compares them with your offer and your references.
• Sales checks: the summary and decides on taking part and on submission.
• Output: a short assessment for each tender with the passages, submission stays with you.

Programs and interfaces: connected to what you already use

In sales the data sits in several programs. The table lists the usual cases. Which route your system offers, we clarify before the quote.

The names are for orientation and do not mean a partnership. Where a system offers no interface, we work with export and import, a watched folder or email.

Connect, do not replace

You do not need a new CRM, and we do not sell one. The AI works next to your CRM: it reads, prepares and, after approval, enters.

• Your CRM stays in charge. Contacts, quotes and activities live there. The AI writes only into fields you release.
• Your templates stay. Quotes look as before, only the draft is there sooner.
• One workflow at a time. We start with one step, for example the visit reports or the quote drafts, and run it alongside the existing work first.
• The way back stays open. All data lives in your systems. Without the AI your sales team carries on as before.

Approvals and rules

Sales is about prices and about your reputation with the customer. So before the start we agree what the AI may do.

• Quotes: No quote goes out without approval by a person. The AI creates drafts, it sends nothing.
• Prices and discounts: only from your price list or the ERP. You set discount limits, and what lies above them remains your decision.
• Scoring of enquiries: You set the criteria, and every score shows its reasons. It is an aid for sales, not a verdict on the customer.
• Emails to prospects: The AI writes drafts, it does not send marketing emails to people who have not agreed.
• CRM hygiene: The AI deletes and overwrites nothing by itself, merges and deletions are confirmed by a person.
• Log: every suggestion is recorded with source, time and decision.

For marketing emails and calls, rules apply that depend on the country: in Germany section 7 UWG, in Austria section 174 TKG 2021, in Switzerland the Unfair Competition Act. For personal data in the CRM the GDPR applies: a data processing agreement with every provider (art. 28), processing in the EU and a legal basis for contacting people. This overview is general information, not legal advice.

Data: customer history and prices

The quality of the suggestions depends on the data the AI works with.

• Customer history: Earlier enquiries, quotes and conversations show what a customer needs and when they were last contacted. Where they sit in emails and notes, we read them from there.
• Product and price data: Price lists, tiers and terms are the basis of every quote. If they are outdated or differ in several places, we settle that first.
• Quality of the CRM data: Duplicates and missing fields distort scoring and reports. So we look at the records first.
• What the AI may read: You decide which fields and customers it sees and which it does not. Everything runs on servers in the EU, and we agree retention and deletion with you. More under AI and data protection.

Your own apps and programs for sales

Some things are missing not in the CRM but in front of it or next to it. We build them as separate programs when standard products do not fit:

• Field sales app: appointments, customer history and voice note in one interface that also works offline and afterwards fills the CRM.
• Visit report app: keywords or a voice note, the report is created in the background and briefly checked.
• Quote configurator: customers or sales choose variants, and the rules of your products make sure only what is possible is offered.
• Customer portal: quotes, orders and documents in one place for your customers.

These programs complement your CRM, they do not replace it. More under app development.

Where to start

These three questions help with the assessment:

1. How fast does your sales team answer new enquiries, and what is behind it when it takes longer?
2. Which CRM and which price lists do you use, and do the prices sit there or in files?
3. Which step costs your people the most time: writing quotes, following up or updating the CRM?

If you send us the answers, we tell you which workflow is worth doing first and what has to stay with your sales team. We begin with a trial run alongside the existing work.