The Sales Cheat Code: How AI Can Turn Average Sellers into Top Performers with Usman Sheikh

Sales is often seen as an art, relying on intuition, charisma, and relationship-building. However, top-performing sellers bring more than charm to the table. They:

Build vast networks of meaningful connections

Understand the industries they sell into better than anyone else

Personalize every interaction with their buyer's needs in mind.

While these skills are critical, only a small fraction of sellers consistently demonstrate them. In fact, less than 5% of sales professionals embody the best practices that close high-value deals. Most salespeople, constrained by time and resources, can't achieve this level of preparation. 

Yet AI is here to change the game. Usman Sheikh, Founder and CEO of xiQ, shares how AI can bridge this gap by enabling sellers to operate at the top 5% level.

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Understand the Foundation of High-Performing Sales Practices

Before diving into AI tools, it's essential to understand what makes top sellers stand out. According to Usman, elite sellers excel because they:

1. Research Extensively: They gather insights about the buyer's company, industry trends, and competitors.
2. Personalize Buyer Engagement: They tailor their pitches to address specific buyer motivations and challenges.
3. Collaborate Strategically: They align their messaging with team and organizational goals.

However, replicating these practices across an entire sales team is challenging without automation. AI steps in to democratize these capabilities by replicating and scaling the behaviors of top performers.

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Leverage Behavioral Science to Decode Buyer Personalities

Usman's approach is rooted in behavioral science. His platform, xiQ, uses personality assessment methodologies like DISC to predict buyer behavior based on publicly available data.

How it works:

• AI analyzes a buyer's digital footprint (LinkedIn activity, published articles, etc.) to figure out their personality type.
• Sellers receive tailored insights on how to engage with the buyer effectively, including communication style, tone, and decision-making preferences.

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Focus on Value-Driven Buyer Engagement

The modern buyer expects more than a friendly pitch; they want actionable value. Usman highlights the importance of shifting from "likability-driven" interactions to value-driven engagement.

AI's Role:

• Opportunity Identification: AI uncovers opportunities based on buyer pain points and industry trends.
• Custom Messaging: AI crafts hyper-personalized emails and presentations that emphasize the buyer's potential ROI.

For example, instead of sending a generic follow-up email, AI can generate a detailed, customized message showing how your solution addresses the buyer's specific challenges, such as reducing operational costs by 20%.

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Automate Time-Consuming Tasks to Free Up Selling Time

One of the biggest challenges sellers face is the sheer volume of non-revenue-generating activities, such as research, data entry, and tool management. According to Salesforce, sellers spend only 18% of their time engaging with customers.

How AI Helps:

• Sales Preparation: AI consolidates buyer and company research into a single, easy-to-digest report.
• Content Generation: AI creates personalized outreach emails, social media posts, and call scripts.
• Account Mapping: AI identifies decision-makers and builds a network map of key stakeholders.

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Democratize Best Practices Across Your Team

Usman's mission is to use AI to replicate the behaviors of top sellers across an entire team. By embedding best practices into AI-powered tools, sales leaders can ensure consistency and scalability.

Key Benefits:

• Standardized Processes: AI enforces a consistent approach to buyer engagement, ensuring every seller is prepared.
• Skill Development: AI acts as a virtual coach, providing real-time feedback and suggestions to improve seller performance.

Develop an AI-enabled onboarding program that equips new hires with pre-built prompts, best practices, and real-time coaching.

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Measure, Optimize, and Repeat

AI doesn't just enhance performance; it provides valuable analytics to track what's working and what's not. Usman highlighted the importance of closing the feedback loop through data-driven insights.

Metrics to Track:

• Email open and response rates
• Conversion rates from initial contact to closed deal
• Time spent on non-selling activities

Use AI-driven analytics to identify bottlenecks in your sales process and continuously refine your strategies.

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As Usman points out, we're at a turning point in sales. AI isn't just a tool; it's a game changer that can transform average sellers into top performers.

Focus on purpose-built AI solutions like xiQ that align with your specific sales goals. Equip your team with the tools, prompts, and playbooks they need to succeed, and watch as your organization outperforms the competition.

Start small. Identify one area where AI can have an immediate impact, such as automating email personalization or analyzing buyer personas, and scale from there.

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Now that you have discovered how to become a top sales performer with the help of AI, discover the full list of episodes at The B2B Revenue Executive Experience. If you enjoy the show, instructions to rate and review it are found here.

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