This article is not being written by AI. Honest. Every last word will be authored by an actual, human VSA employee.
But the fact that it could be written by AI—and few if any people would know the difference—is more than a little scary.
During a time of the year rife with creepy costumes, spooky decorations, and all-night horror movie marathons, the most frightening trend might be the rapid rise in AI technology and the chilling long-term effects it could have on human employees across a wide range of industries. From ChatGPT and other content-creating tools to automated customer service agents to increasingly skilled robots, it’s easy to fear the loss of the human touch in the future.
But AI advancements do not have to be scary. Using these tools to enhance, not replace, human capabilities is key to maintaining personal relationships and ensuring genuine emotional connections are not lost.
VSA has always embraced available technology that allows us to perform more efficiently and effectively on behalf of both our outbound and inbound call center clients, and AI is no exception. But the company was built on human-to-human conversations, and we will never abandon that personal touch, no matter how advanced the technology.
Here are four ways AI can help with lead generation and customer service campaigns without sacrificing human involvement:
1. Quality Assurance & Skills Assessment
On a recent episode of the “Market Dominance Guys” podcast, guest Helen Fanucci spoke of using ChatGPT to assess the capabilities of a large group of cold callers. The technology rated callers on a 1-to-5 scale across specific criteria, analyzing skills such as their ability to provide rebuttals to common objections.
QA teams were then able to use this information to know which callers needed coaching in which areas, and, in Helen’s words: “Focus on those who give you the best opportunity to achieve your strategic goals.”
VSA has already begun incorporating AI into our QA process. Automation doesn’t eliminate the need for human coaches and trainers, but rather allows them to identify strengths and weaknesses quicker and helps them customize teaching strategies based on reps’ individual skillsets.
2. Expediating time between calls
An effective cold calling campaign hinges on the ability to make each call “smarter” than the last. That means logging call dispositions and taking extensive notes after each conversation, such as the best time to call back, information about gatekeepers, budget timelines, or any other details that will make it easier for you to convert during the next touch in the sequence.
The only drawback is that compiling this information takes time, and can significantly slow the pace of dialing. But what if AI could log all this data for you automatically and instantaneously? Suddenly, you’ve significantly increased your dials per hour while ensuring all information is readily available the next time you call a particular prospect.
That combination of human ingenuity (asking the right questions, gathering the pertinent information, finding an emotional connection) and AI’s power to process and record data can go a long way toward increasing production.
3. Performing Mundane Tasks
Think about your own work experiences. How often have you been tied up with a simple but time-consuming responsibility, preventing you from immediately tending to a more important matter?
This is especially prevalent in the world of customer service, where inquiries can range from basic to incredibly complex. A rep might be stuck on the phone addressing easily rectified complaints or questions while a more pressing request goes temporarily unanswered—extending hold times and perhaps costing a company business.
But what if you had the technology in place to handle the simpler calls, ensuring a live human representative is always available for more in-depth discussions? Sure, there are people who would rather talk to a human no matter what, but if their questions can be answered quickly and accurately by an AI bot, they are unlikely to complain. (Especially since as technology advances, they may not even realize they’re speaking with a bot.) And if the bot can’t provide the necessary assistance, the call can be seamlessly escalated to a human representative.
This also applies to outbound campaigns, where AI can handle basic tasks such as appointment confirmations and reminders, freeing up the human Business Development Representatives to spend their time making calls that require more detailed conversations.
4. Balancing the Best of Both Worlds
There are countless ways to leverage AI behind the scenes to increase lead generation production, such as automating list building to help prioritize targets; utilizing AI writing and editing tools to sharpen scripts and emails; capitalizing on AI-powered customer insights to spot trends and gain valuable knowledge about your ideal buyers.
In each of these examples, the technology provides the Program Manager or rep with added resources to perform their job more effectively—far more friend than foe. Ideally, these tools are there to support human employees, not replace them.
Balancing the vast power of AI with human creativity and resourcefulness seems like the blueprint for success in the call center industry moving forward. Your prospects, buyers, and customers are human, and connecting with them on a personal level will remain critical to fostering meaningful relationships.
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It’d be naïve to believe that jobs and personal connections won’t be lost as AI becomes more and more advanced. Surely, it’s happening in large numbers across certain industries already. Even within the call center industry, there are companies now relying almost exclusively on AI. Businesses that choose to eschew these advancements are destined to quickly fall behind their competition.
VSA will continue to embrace this new and powerful technology. But the company was built on human-to-human conversations, and that’s not going to change.
AI’s seemingly limitless capabilities might be scary, but they’re also incredibly exciting, and VSA can’t wait to see what the future holds as we continue to find new and innovative ways to help companies grow their business.