By Nigel Cannings, Co-founder and CTO of Intelligent Voice.
Doubts about the ethics of sales enablement strategies have always existed. While aiming to deliver optimal results for businesses, it is crucial to ensure that sales enablement is closely monitored for compliance and always prioritizes the best interests of the customer. With increasingly advanced technology facilitating sales enablement, it can be easy to lose sight of ethical considerations, particularly in the realm of Fintech.
The Significance of Ethical Sales Enablement in Fintech
Financial decisions hold the potential to significantly impact individuals’ lives. Even with good intentions, a persuasive sales agent supported by sophisticated sales enablement technology could inadvertently influence vulnerable or uninformed individuals into making decisions with serious financial consequences. Research by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed that as many as 46% of adults display vulnerability characteristics at some point.
Vulnerability can manifest in various forms, encompassing emotional and practical implications such as high stress levels, lack of perspective, risk aversion, poor decision-making, and an inability to foresee the consequences of decisions. Vulnerability can be triggered by negative life events or health conditions, affecting anyone at any time, underscoring the importance of identifying and addressing it, particularly in a financial context.
Ensuring Ethical Practices in Fintech Sales Enablement
The key to promoting ethical sales enablement lies in the ability to identify potentially vulnerable customers at the initial point of contact, with speech AI emerging as the most effective method.
Until about five years ago, speech AI had limited application, primarily using rudimentary keyword flagging technology to review recorded interactions retrospectively. However, contemporary speech AI has significantly expanded its capabilities.
Current speech AI can operate in real or near-real-time, actively analyzing verbal content and highlighting speech features. Detection of hesitancy, vagueness, reluctance to commit, or speech disfluencies can indicate potential vulnerability. AI-driven identification of these features enables businesses to not only safeguard against compliance breaches but also provide exceptional service tailored to individual customers. Responsive sales enablement technology can modify on-screen prompts or alert call handlers to transfer the call to a more experienced colleague.
The Functioning of Speech AI in Sales Enablement
Speech AI has made significant advancements in recent years, particularly through the development of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), allowing for the automatic identification of vulnerable customers in real time.
Moreover, speech AI plays a role in fraud detection, identifying dishonest speech characteristics and inconsistencies across interactions, and enhancing sales processes by providing real-time data and insights on customer behavior and preferences.
Beyond Ethical Considerations
Speech AI not only ensures the identification and support of potentially vulnerable customers but also aids in fraud detection and enhancing sales processes. The technology empowers sales operatives to customize their approach, language, and product recommendations, ultimately improving the customer experience in an ethical manner.
As technology evolves, speech AI continues to serve as an efficient and effective means of embedding ethical standards in sales enablement practices.
About the author
Nigel Cannings, with over 25 years of experience in Law and Technology, is the Co-founder and CTO of Intelligent Voice. He is a pioneer in voice technology and a regular speaker at industry events, including presentations at NVIDIA, IBM, HPE, and AI Financial Summits.
