MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Five Ways Predictive AI Can Improve Sales Performance Management

AI and the right data can help uncover better approaches for account scoring, quota optimization, and related decisions. Here’s how to make it part of your sales strategy.

When it comes to maximizing growth and revenue, you may be missing something — something big. It’s the harnessing of predictive AI to enhance and deploy sales performance management (SPM). Companies with sizable sales forces — whether in the technology, medical device, pharmaceutical, industrial, or consumer goods industry or some other sector — must consider adopting AI-driven SPM.

Consider the example of NovaMed, a fictitious medical device business based on a composite of companies I’ve worked with and observed. In 2022, the company faced a challenging crossroads: Revenue had declined for three consecutive years, and the previous year’s annual sales had fallen short of targets by 20%.

A closer look suggested that there were significant problems in the sales organization and its processes. Specifically, an outdated sales-territory structure had resulted in overcrowded markets, with too many sales reps fighting over too few accounts. Meanwhile, misaligned quotas and unmotivating incentives resulted in uneven performance across the broader sales team and individual groups within it. As NovaMed’s top sellers departed in frustration, revenue plummeted, helping to explain much of the downward business trend.

About the Author

Joel Shapiro is a clinical associate professor of managerial economics and decision sciences at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he leads the Analytical Consulting Lab and teaches advanced analytics electives in the MBA curriculum.

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