If your C-suite isn’t entertaining conversations about artificial intelligence, is it interested in profitability? Perhaps that’s not a fair assessment. Maybe the C-Suite just needs a crash course in what the technology can do for distribution. Justin J. Johnson, founder and CEO of Motivate AI, is the perfect spokesperson for the job. Jason caught up with Justin to learn more about Motivate AI’s purpose-built automated solutions for distribution and how they boost sales team performance, enhance customer engagement, and streamline the quote and order process.
“I spent my early career as a software developer before I moved into the product management side,” says Justin. He fondly recalls digitizing the massive print catalogs and building one of the first CPQ (configuration, pricing, quotation) products in the early 2000s. “This is now my fourth company in the distribution space. I love it because there’s a lot of opportunities and challenges to solve. There’s amazing people writing great technology and automating those processes, helping people sell more.”
Motivate AI creates solutions in three distinct areas: sales performance, quote and order processing, and customer contact. Regarding sales performance, Motivate AI helps distributors maximize sales talent by providing actionable insights (like lead scoring and predictive analytics) and innovative efficiencies (like follow-up email replies). This type of sales automation allows teams to concentrate on building stronger customer relationships.
As for quote and order processing, Justin maintains that with the AI tech, “you can read the content in an email or a part of a text to a very high degree of accuracy.” Then, you can match that info with several possible items within 10 seconds rather than 15-30 minutes to manually search the ERP. “You allow the CSR to spend more time with the customer,” says Justin.
Finally, using Motivate AI to automate client communication ensures that they aren’t left hanging after hours or when staff is otherwise engaged. “Distributors are busy,” says Justin. “Identifying how some of these basic tasks can be automated so that they can spend more time at what they’re so good at––client relationships and product knowledge––that’s what’s so special and needs to be recognized.”
QUOTES
“The goal in this whole thing is to automate and improve the process for the CSR.”
“Empowering the customer to control their own destiny at the time that they need to do it, that’s what everyone’s been saying for 10, 20 years. But the technology’s here and the people that are here to implement it which is really fun and exciting.”
“There’s a lot we can do with AI and client communication to give them the information they need when they need it, and they don’t have to wait until we show up at 8:00 AM the next day.”
“It’s an amazing satisfaction to a buyer that somebody heard you and is responding to your need.”
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Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth, and achieve personal goals.
This episode was edited by The Creative Impostor Studios
Special thanks to our sponsors for this episode: Connected Peers, providing virtual communities for wholesale distributors, and INxSQL Distribution Software, an integrated distribution ERP software designed for the wholesale and distribution industry.
