In the fast-paced world of sales, personalisation is the name of the game. But let's be real for a moment. Many sales teams I've spoken to have admitted to 'fake customising' their email pitches. You know, dropping a casual comment about a recent post the target made, just to seem like they're in the loop. But are they really?

I get it. Highly paid salespeople are all about closing deals. They don't have the time to trawl through a local plumber's blog or sift through a startup founder's latest Medium post. With hundreds of prospects to reach out to, reading 100,000 words a day for that golden nugget of personalisation just isn't feasible.

Enter AI.

AI isn't about replacing the human touch. It's about solving real business problems. And one of those problems? The tedious task of manual email personalisation. Harvard Business Review underscores how AI and automation are bridging the gap between creativity and personalisation, allowing businesses to deliver relevant and innovative content at scale.

AI doesn't tire. It doesn't get bored. It'll read as much as you want, giving sales teams the insights and personalisation they need. It's not just about making you look like you care. It's about providing enough information to genuinely care when crafting those customised emails. No more pretending.

With the fine-tuning capabilities of models like GPT3.5-turbo from OpenAI, it's now possible to have your customisations written by the AI itself. These customisations can reflect your unique style, experience, and views. But a word of caution here – always check before sending. As VentureBeat rightly points out, while AI can create a personalised customer experience at scale, the human touch is irreplaceable.

Sales teams that have embraced AI, especially with fine-tuning and prompt engineering techniques, are reaping the benefits. They're cutting down on the prospecting and client research phase, freeing up more time for what they do best – closing deals. AI equips sales development representatives with innovative prospecting tools, making their outreach efforts more effective.

In conclusion, the future of sales development is intertwined with AI. It's not about replacing the human element but enhancing it. By leveraging AI, sales teams can focus on building genuine relationships with their prospects, backed by data-driven insights from tools like Google Bard, GPT4, and more, all while benefiting from AI task automation.

Remember, it's not about selling a service. It's about offering value. And with AI, that value is personalised, scalable, and genuine.