Last Updated on August 18, 2023 by Rakesh Gupta

Revenue leakage is the hidden threat that all businesses face. From the initial stages of lead qualification to upselling and cross-selling, potential income can be lost at any point in the sales funnel to gaps and inefficiencies.  

In this article, we will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) and data can be used by companies to combat revenue leakage in conjunction with the expertise of Salesforce admins. 

In its simplest form, revenue leakage is the loss of winnable revenue due to unforced errors and misalignments in the revenue generation process. According to the Boston Consulting Group, weak go-to-market strategies are causing companies to miss out on $2 trillion a year in lost potential revenue and excess costs.  

We’ll be delving into this critical issue at Dreamforce in San Francisco from September 12-14, 2023. As a proud sponsor of the event, Revenue Grid will share insights on how businesses can effectively tackle revenue leakage using the power of AI and data. Our mission is simple: empower companies to safeguard their hard-earned revenue, and as a Salesforce admin, you hold the key to this initiative! Join us at Dreamforce to dive into the exciting world of AI-driven revenue protection and discover how to address this critical business challenge. 

Revolutionizing the Battle Against Revenue Leaks with AI 

Fighting revenue leakage has never been an easy job. With the rise of generative AI, a powerful tool against revenue leaks emerges, transforming how businesses combat this challenging issue. The adoption of AI among B2B organizations is on a steady rise. McKinsey research indicates that 90% of commercial leaders anticipate frequently utilizing generative AI solutions in the next two years. Additionally, organizations investing in AI are experiencing substantial revenue uplifts, ranging from 3% to 15%, according to the same report. 

AI is a powerful ally in the fight against revenue leaks. However, it can’t go it alone. The key point to understand is that AI learns from human-generated data. In simpler terms, AI’s effectiveness is directly tied to the quality of your data. To fully harness AI’s potential and unlock its capabilities for revenue protection, it’s essential to connect reliable and trusted data from diverse sources. 

However, in many organizations, data is frequently isolated in various systems, creating silos. Even large organizations with robust data management procedures often encounter data quality issues, such as missing data in their CRM. This reality brings us face to face with a vicious cycle, as bad data is one of the most common causes of revenue leakage. Without ensuring data integrity and leveraging AI, effectively combating revenue leaks becomes an impossible task. 

Ensuring data integrity includes handling security and addressing compliance concerns which require technical know-how and specific expertise. With their knowledge and skills, Salesforce admins play a vital role in bridging the gap between AI capabilities and data quality, enabling businesses to combat revenue leaks effectively. 

Ensuring Data Integrity with Activity Capture and Admin Power 

One of the main reasons behind data issues for businesses is reliance on manual processes, which can lead to time-consuming and labor-intensive data entry, resulting in missing data, errors, and duplicates in CRM. 

Automated activity capture overcomes these challenges by offering an effective alternative to manual data entry. By collecting and saving 100% activity data across multiple customer touchpoints, activity capture solutions eliminate data entry errors and ensure accurate and always up-to-date data in Salesforce. 

Moreover, having complete data allows businesses to see the big picture, enabling them to gauge pipeline health and identify deals that are moving, stalled, or at risk, helping them identify potential leaks before they occur. Additionally, automated activity capture improves efficiency by freeing sales teams from spending time on manual data entry. 

While activity capture seems like the go-to solution for ensuring data integrity, not all activity capture tools are created equally, and some may come with serious handicaps. These may include not having reportable data in Salesforce, limited customizable sync options, lack of bi-directional sync causing scheduling issues, and security vulnerabilities due to the absence of on-prem and private cloud deployment options. 

Salesforce admins’ expertise and technical know-how are crucial to successfully navigating these challenges. Empowering admins to choose and implement the right activity capture solution and handling data-related issues when they occur ensures the maintenance of high-quality CRM data. 

Leveraging AI to Fight Revenue Leakage 

With data integrity ensured, the AI engine is now fueled by essential information and ready to act. Activity data includes invaluable signs about the pipeline, sales opportunities, and potential gaps in processes. Identifying these insights requires an in-depth analysis of data, which is impossible with manual evaluation. AI automates data analysis to visualize pipeline health and identify execution gaps that indicate revenue leaks. 

Next, AI creates actionable insights through revenue intelligence. After parsing massive amounts of data, AI spots patterns and transforms them into actionable insights through real-time and contextual AI recommendations. This gives teams the guidance they need to address potential revenue leakage immediately. 

The final step is to ensure these recommendations are followed and assess their effectiveness. Advanced reporting features and AI signals show the exact impact in real time as the pipeline evolves. This enables necessary adjustments to processes and establishes an execution platform for implementing company-wide changes and process improvements to combat revenue leaks throughout the entire company.  

Join Our Dreamforce Speaking Sessions to Learn More 

Revenue leakage is a critical business problem that needs to be handled, and AI emerges as a powerful tool to address it. To fully harness AI’s potential, combining it with quality data becomes essential. This is where Salesforce admins play a pivotal role, empowering AI with valuable data and leveraging their expertise and technical know-how to combat revenue leaks effectively. 

If you’re eager to learn more about how AI can revolutionize your revenue protection strategies, we invite you to join our Dreamforce speaking sessions. Meet us at booth #1126 to explore the exciting possibilities of AI-driven revenue optimization! 

Author

Maria Gordienko is Head of Communications at Revenue Grid.

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