AI Voice Chatbot for a Comprehensive Sales Reps' Training

The main qualities that are absolutely vital for the sales industry worker are agility, adaptability, excellent product knowledge, confidence, and outstanding communication skills. And while all of those can be advanced during the interactions between the sales rep and the potential customer, adding innovative digital tools into the arsenal of the training instruments can speed up the process.In 2017, when Light IT Global started working on the project, the AI/ML-powered education and professional training trend was not as popular as it is now. Consequently, there were not so many options for AI voice chatbot development and high-quality software to offer to potential customers. Our client nt decided to change that and develop a flexible and easily scalable platform that would allow different companies to train their sales departments via an AI-based chatbot.The solution should have combined all of the benefits of interactivity and swiftness with customization. The system should have been easily scalable to meet all of the user’s requirements (e.g. the number of trainees, the number of educational scenarios, etc.)

As the solution was initially targeted towards a large audience (any company that might be interested in improving the quality of the sales department workers’ training), we’ve made it browser-based. This helped to boost accessibility and eliminate possible inconveniences for the end users.To bring our client’s idea to life, Light IT Global utilized ChatterBot, which is a Python library to create an AI voice chatbot. It uses Machine learning algorithms to generate different types of responses based on the users’ input. The ML-based functionality, however, was intentionally limited during the development stage. The bots shouldn’t have been able to educate themselves automatically but only to analyze the information they receive and find the best answers.To prevent different bots from learning the same scope previously entered by the manager, we have created a new module for the database and modified ChatterBot library, which helped to diversify conversational schemes.Per the client’s request, the core of the system should have consisted of voice chatbots and not text ones, so Light IT Global introduced Web Speech API to secure stable audio stream processing. The SpeechSynthesis and SpeechRecognition interfaces ensured uninterrupted communication between the software’s back-end and its client side. The SpeechRecognition interface identifies the words a user is saying, transforms them into text. The text is transmitted to the back-end where the data are processed and then returned to the SpeechSynthesis interface, which transforms the text back into the sound.Another technical aspect our team took care of is the platform’s ability to record all the interactions between the user and the AI voice chatbot, save them and allow the manager to review the calls later. During the review, the manager can leave comments on specific time stamps and return the examined calls to the user.

Light IT Global has successfully created a web-based MVP for our client. The training platform could be accessed via the most popular browsers and ensured smooth interaction between the user and the AI voice chatbot in real-time.The company’s manager could train the bot to process an unlimited number of different interaction scenarios and then assign said scenarios to individuals or groups of trainees. The sales reps enhanced their communication skills during the training session with the bot asking and answering different questions that typically appear in a conversation with a customer. Each session is recorded and is available for the manager to review once completed.The manager has access to all of the conversations of the assigned trainees, can review and analyze those by leaving comments connected to specific time stamps within the recorded conversation.

The final product was presented to the potential buyers as a private demo. Many business owners were interested in giving this innovative solution a try, and after the introduction of voice chat training, the users claimed that sales and customer retention increased by 47% in comparison to the previous training methods.The solution has shown strong market potential as it can be utilized by all types of businesses regardless of the industry. The software can be monetized using several most popular models, including license-based and subscription-based monetization. The platform has proven to be effective for companies that are willing to better the quality of the sales reps' training while simultaneously reducing the time required for it.