For Voice AI solutions, a well-established business with high call volume is an ideal client.
But one big problem that I encountered is that such businesses often have a human receptionist(s) at the front desk.
So when you pitch your “Voice AI receptionist” to a business with a long-standing front desk, they unconsciously stack it against their current reality:
- This stranger is asking us to replace our ‘Sarah’ with a robot. She has been working with us for the last 5 years. She knows our customers and processes better than anyone else. She does a decent job.
- “If this AI robot screws up, it hits every caller, not just a few.”
- “I don’t want to be the one who replaced ‘Sarah’ with a robot and caused a PR or customer mess.”
So the default (often emotional) response is: “Too risky; not worth jeopardising what already works.”
So even if a prospect likes your pitch in theory (works 24/7 and can handle 20 to 50 calls simultaneously, much cheaper than a human receptionist), they still can’t imagine swapping out a human who’s “good enough” with an unpredictable AI robot.
Then I realised I had been pitching the wrong product all this time.