AI agents for SME sales: quotes, CRM and follow-ups

Today

Before a meeting, the salesperson goes through the prospect’s website, the commercial register, recent e-mails and the CRM history, often in the car for lack of time.

With AI

As soon as a customer meeting appears in the Outlook calendar, the agent checks the CRM, recent e-mails, the commercial register via Zefix and the prospect’s website, then posts a one-page brief in Teams the day before: what the company does, contacts, open quotes, questions to ask. The salesperson reads it, corrects anything wrong and decides how to approach the meeting.

Today

Prospect lists are bought in or compiled by hand, poorly qualified, and the first message is the same for everyone.

With AI

Each week, the agent matches your criteria (region, sector, size) against public signals: new entries published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, job adverts, websites. It creates or completes the records in the CRM, citing the source of each piece of information, and prepares a tailored first message for each one as a draft. The salesperson chooses whom to contact, reviews each message and sends it personally, in line with the Unfair Competition Act.

Today

Visit notes stay in a notebook or a voice memo, the CRM is only half filled in and promises made in conversation get lost.

With AI

After a Teams meeting or a site visit, the salesperson drops in their notes or a voice memo; the agent transcribes them, fills in the CRM fields (need, budget mentioned, next step, deadline), creates the follow-up tasks and drafts the summary e-mail to the customer. The salesperson approves the record and sends the summary; the agent logs every change.

Today

Quotes that have been sent go unanswered for weeks, and nobody sees which ones deserve a follow-up before the Monday sales meeting.

With AI

When a quote has had no activity beyond the period you set, the agent built into the CRM reviews the history and recent e-mails, summarises where the deal stands, drafts a follow-up message and adds the opportunity to the sales meeting agenda. The sales manager sets priorities; the salesperson adapts and sends.

Today

An enquiry arrives with a specification, drawings or a quantity table; the quote manager copies out the requirements, looks for comparable past quotes and rewrites the same technical paragraphs.

With AI

As soon as an enquiry lands in the quotes mailbox, the agent extracts the requirements from the specification, finds comparable past quotes in the archive, checks items, availability and reference prices in the ERP, then creates the quote there as a draft with your standard texts and a list of points to clarify. The quote manager checks feasibility, quantities and prices; management approves before it is sent.

Today

For each tender, the contractor reads a specification running to dozens of pages, picks out the relevant standard bill of quantities (NPK/CAN) items and enters its prices by hand in its estimating software.

With AI

When a tender file comes in, the agent reads the specification, carries the relevant NPK/CAN items into your estimating software with your reference unit prices, flags unusual items, conditions and deadlines, and drafts the questions to send to the client. The project manager or estimator checks every item; management sets the final price.

Today

Tenders published on simap.ch are checked whenever someone remembers to; the ones you pursue take hours to check against the suitability criteria and to compile references.

With AI

Every day, the agent checks new notices on simap.ch against your CPV codes and criteria, retrieves the documents for relevant tenders, summarises the specification and creates a SharePoint folder with the list of required documents, the deadlines and draft answers drawn from your previous bids. Management decides whether to bid; the bid owner reviews and signs.

Today

Each new proposal starts from an old Word file: pieces from another client get left in, and the text barely reflects what the prospect actually asked for.

With AI

On request, using the notes from the first meeting and your templates, the assistant writes the understanding of the brief, the proposed approach and the deliverables, in your firm’s tone. The partner or account lead sets the fees, reviews and signs.