This post recaps a session at the SingleStore NOW 2024 Conference, held at the Chase Center on October 3, 2024. To view the entire session, check out the video at the bottom of the blog.
Overview
How do you turn sellers into super-sellers? With AI beginning to transform the way work gets done in nearly every field, SingleStore CEO Raj Verma sat down with Abhijit Mitra for a discussion on AI for sales. Abhijit leads Outreach, the first and only sales execution platform built for AI-powered revenue workflows. Their fireside chat discussed the role of AI in sales engagement, the importance of simplifying technology for end users and the future of application development.
About the speakers
- Raj Verma, CEO of SingleStore, is known for guiding the company's vision of simplifying data management and enabling real-time analytics.
- Abhijit Mitra, who recently became CEO of Outreach, has a rich background in enterprise software, with experience at ServiceNow, SAP and Oracle. He brings a deep understanding of how AI and data can empower sales teams.
Key takeaways
The conversation covered several crucial points on the role of AI and data in modern business:
- Transforming sales with data and AI. Outreach helps sales teams move beyond traditional CRM systems by providing a platform that automates outreach activities like email, LinkedIn interactions and call sequences. With AI-powered conversation intelligence, Outreach helps salespeople understand customer intent and optimize interactions.
- AI evolution from predictive to agentic. Reflecting on his career, Abhijit described the evolution from basic analytics to predictive analytics — and now to generative and agentic AI. While predictive analytics focuses on anticipating trends based on past data, agentic AI allows AI systems to take action autonomously, further enhancing productivity. This shift is transforming workflows across industries, creating new opportunities for automation.
- Partnership with SingleStore. Outreach's use of SingleStore's real-time analytics capabilities was a key topic. Abhijit shared how SingleStore's technology has enabled Outreach to provide instantaneous data access to users, significantly reducing query latency. Now, sales managers and revenue operations teams can access critical insights more quickly, helping them make better strategic decisions.
- The need for simplification in technology. Both Raj and Abhijit emphasized the importance of simplifying technology for users. Abhijit noted that many businesses struggle to integrate the numerous tools available for AI, data management and application development. He stressed that vendors like Outreach and SingleStore must take on the burden of making these technologies more accessible and seamless, enabling users to focus on their core tasks without being overwhelmed by complexity.
- Empowering the next generation of developers. AI tools enable developers to be significantly more productive, potentially creating "1,000x engineers." Raj and Abhijit both pointed out the new generation of engineers has the opportunity to reshape industries with AI capabilities that were previously unimaginable. This democratization of power is transforming both startups and large enterprises, allowing them to compete on a more level playing field.
Take it to the next level
Unlock the power of data and AI for your business. Explore more content from the conference and start your free SingleStore Helios® trial to see how real-time data and advanced AI capabilities can elevate your sales strategies and streamline your operations.
