If you’re in B2B sales, you know the drill: endless pipeline reviews, forecasts that feel like wild guesses, and “AI insights” that mostly just clutter your inbox. There’s a lot of noise out there. This guide is for frontline sales leaders, reps, and ops folks who want to use AI—specifically, Aviso—to actually close more deals, not just tick a digital transformation box.
Let’s get real about what works, what’s hype, and how to use Aviso’s insights to move the needle on your win rates.
Step 1: Don’t Let AI Overwhelm Your Pipeline—Start Simple
First things first: Aviso is powerful, but it spits out a ton of data. If you try to act on every insight, you’ll drown. The trick is to focus.
- Pick one or two core metrics to track. Win rate, deal slippage, and forecast accuracy are good places to start.
- Ignore the “AI Score” if you don’t know what goes into it. Some black-box scores are just a distraction unless you understand the drivers.
- Set up custom alerts only for real risks or upside. More notifications aren’t better—just more noise.
Pro tip: If you’re new to AI sales tools, resist the urge to automate everything. Get a feel for the data first.
Step 2: Use Deal Insights to Spot Real Risks—Not Just "Red" Flags
Aviso offers deal-level insights and flags. Some are genuinely useful; some are just noise.
- Actionable: Changes in deal size, close date pushed more than once, or sudden drop in buyer engagement.
- Ignore: Generic “deal risk” tags that aren’t specific (e.g., “low activity” without context).
- Ask “so what?” about every flag. If you can’t act on it, skip it.
How to use it: - Focus on deals that show multiple risk signals, not just one. - Use the “activity timeline” to look for long gaps—are you ghosted, or is it just a slow cycle? - When in doubt, call the AE and ask for context—AI can miss nuance.
Step 3: Coach with Context, Not Just Data Dumps
Aviso’s AI can suggest which deals need attention and why. But this only works if you use it to have better conversations, not just share dashboards.
- Before pipeline reviews, use Aviso to prep smart questions. Example: “This deal’s been in commit for 8 weeks—what’s changed?”
- Coach on specific behaviors. If Aviso flags low multi-threading, coach on getting more stakeholders involved.
- Don’t shame reps with AI alerts. Use them as a starting point, not a hammer.
Pro tip: The best sales managers use AI to listen for problems, not to micromanage.
Step 4: Clean Data Beats Fancy Models Every Time
AI is only as good as your CRM data. If your team’s logging fake activities or ignoring fields, Aviso’s insights will be garbage.
- Do a quarterly data hygiene check. Randomly spot-check a handful of deals. Are the next steps and close dates legit?
- Beware of “happy ears” bias. If everything looks green in Aviso but nothing’s closing, you’ve got a data problem, not a deals problem.
- Train your team to log real updates. Don’t let them treat CRM as an afterthought.
What to ignore: AI that promises to “fix” your data for you. It can help surface gaps, but it won’t make reps care.
Step 5: Make Forecasting a Team Sport
Aviso’s AI forecast is only as useful as your team’s buy-in. Don’t trust it blindly—but don’t ignore it, either.
- Compare AI forecast to human forecast every week. Where they disagree, dig in.
- Review changes in forecast category (e.g., best case to commit). Are these justified, or just wishful thinking?
- Keep a running log of “AI was right/wrong” moments. This helps build trust (or skepticism) over time.
Pro tip: Use AI as a second opinion, not a replacement for judgment. If it’s always more optimistic (or pessimistic) than your gut, figure out why.
Step 6: Don’t Automate Away the Human Touch
Aviso gets better at predicting outcomes, but it still can’t read the room, understand a buyer’s politics, or spot an off-the-record concern.
- Use AI to prioritize conversations, not replace them. If Aviso says a deal’s at risk, pick up the phone.
- Keep notes on why deals are won or lost—don’t just rely on AI tags. This is gold for coaching and future pipeline reviews.
- AI is good at pattern recognition, not relationship management. Don’t let your team forget that.
Step 7: Run Regular Post-Mortems—With and Without AI
After a quarter closes, look back at Aviso’s predictions versus reality.
- What did AI flag that humans missed? Was it right for the right reasons?
- Where did AI whiff? Was it missing data, or was the buyer just unpredictable?
- Feed this back into your process. Adjust your focus areas for the next quarter.
What to ignore: “Win/loss” analyses that just parrot AI outputs without digging into real deal stories.
Step 8: Watch Out for AI “Blind Spots”
No AI is perfect. Aviso’s models are only as good as the data—and the assumptions baked in.
- Deals with little digital activity (e.g., phone-heavy industries) can be mis-scored.
- New market segments or products may not fit historical patterns.
- Big, late-stage deals can skew the whole pipeline forecast.
Pro tip: Use your own skepticism. If an insight feels off, dig deeper. Don’t let “the AI said so” become your excuse.
Step 9: Iterate—Don’t Set and Forget
The best teams treat AI insights as a living part of their sales process.
- Adjust alert thresholds and dashboard views as your business evolves.
- Solicit feedback from reps and managers—what’s useful, what’s noise?
- Don’t be afraid to turn off features that aren’t helping. More buttons ≠ more value.
What Actually Moves the Needle
Let’s keep it real. Aviso and tools like it can help you:
- Spot at-risk deals faster (if you’re honest about the data)
- Coach reps on specific behaviors, not just gut feel
- Improve forecast accuracy—but only if you use it as a check, not gospel
- Save time on pipeline reviews and focus on what matters
But no AI tool will fix bad sales process, lazy data entry, or wishful thinking. The best results come when you use the insights to ask better questions, not just to automate old habits.
Bottom line: Start simple. Use the data to make one or two big changes. Ignore the hype, get your team on board, and keep iterating. That’s how you actually improve your win rates—with or without AI.