Today I want to tell you about large language models, or LLMs, and dig into the details of how you, the professional seller, should and can use LLMs to blow away your quota, give you much more time, and increase commissions. For real.
You’ve heard the chatter, who hasn’t?
AI. LLMs. Prompts.
Some of you are using them while some are self-appointed experts. Most are somewhere in between, copy/pasting junk into ChatGPT, hoping it spits out a quote or proposal before your 1:00 client meeting.
No worries, we’ve got you covered.
This is the first in a four-part series on how copier sales professionals are using LLMs as a daily tactical assistant. To increase sales. Cut the time it takes to close. Bump commissions. That’s it. No hype. No theory. You’re not an AI sales rep. You’re a sales rep who uses AI. I call that being an AI native.
Let’s set a few definitions.
AI, artificial intelligence: Think of it like a massive, digital brain. Not conscious. Not creative. Just a machine trained to respond to input.
LLM, large language model: That’s the interface. The part you talk to. The system that takes your words, finds a pattern, and gives you something back.
The cool thing is that an LLM doesn’t use programming code or macros. You don’t need to put formulas together or design reports. It doesn’t care if you’ve ever opened Excel’s formula builder. It listens. Thinks, sort of—not really. It does respond in plain language. For copier sales, any sales, it can do a lot.
- Build side-by-side comparisons of machines
- Summarize meetings and notes
- Draft proposals with margin baked in
- Create tailored emails and follow-ups
- Track patterns in your calls, accounts, or pitches
It’s not futuristic. It’s happening now. Reps in the field are running needs assessments, dumping the raw notes into ChatGPT, and getting back summaries, ideas, even cold call scripts. All within minutes.
One rep I know uses ChatGPT right after a first call. He drops in the notes and gets back a clean comparison matrix. Two competitor models, the rep’s preferred config, pricing insights, and quick advantages. It takes less than seven minutes. It looks better than what most reps can build manually.
Another takes those same notes and has the model generate a full proposal, tailored to the prospect’s stated needs and industry. Pricing is auto-adjusted to include margin. The rep tweaks language and formatting. The core structure is already there.
None of these reps are coders. They didn’t go to prompt engineering school. They just practiced. After 30 days, the LLM becomes a kind of CRM. A digital partner.
So, let’s break it down.
The prompt. This is where everything starts. Think of it like Google, but better. A search engine returns links, but a prompt returns answers.
Let’s say you want a list of five manufacturers in Mooresville, NC. Google will give you pages of links. Maybe a few Yelp reviews. Most assuredly advertisements, right? You still need to hunt, digest and distill raw data into usable knowledge.
But an LLM? Ask for the list, and it’ll return company names, phone numbers, industries. Even the contact person, assuming it can find that data. It might be right, it might be wrong, but it’s a start. And it’s faster than calling your leasing rep or querying the CRM to pull a list.
The response. Once you get your answer, you can follow up. Just like a conversation. You ask, “Who’s the decision maker at each company?” Or “Which of these is most likely to need wide format in the next six months?”
Each follow-up sharpens the result. This is the loop.
Prompt. Response. Better Prompt. Better Response.
The iteration. You don’t need to start over every time. You stack prompts. Build on them. Like this:
“Thanks. Now include each company’s last known copier brand, their typical purchase volume, and suggest three talking points based on industry challenges.”
That’s not magic or hocus pocus. It’s workflow, and you know workflow, don’t you?
Now, don’t get all LLM-crazy—it is not perfect. It’s not always accurate. Think of it like a human assistant. Fast. Tireless. Yet sometimes they mix up your Starbucks order. If you asked a new assistant to pull a list of prospects, draft email intros, and build a pitch deck, could they? Maybe. Would it be flawless? No. But it’s something.
Better prompt example:
Here’s a typical prompt:
“I just started selling copiers in Mooresville, NC. I need five manufacturers to prospect for color, black-and-white, wide-format, and document management.”
Here’s a better version, rewritten by the LLM itself:
I’m a new copier sales rep based in Mooresville, NC. I’ve been tasked with finding five local manufacturing companies that could be good prospects for our office technology solutions. I’m specifically targeting businesses that may have a need for:
• Color copiers
• Walk-up black & white copiers
• Wide format printers
• Document management systems
Please return a list of five companies in Mooresville, NC that fit this profile. For each, include:
• Company name
• Address
• Phone number
• Key decision maker (name and title)
• Industry they serve
• Common operational challenges in that industry that our solutions could help with
This is my point, prompting is the key. Clear, structured and specific question based in curiosity. That’s where the value is. Not in just asking questions. In knowing how to ask the right ones.
But here is the special gift — as a salesperson, you already know how to ask questions. You do it in every single sales call. Don’t you?
Hey, nobody wants to be a prompt engineer. You shouldn’t be one.
With an LLM, you’re a copier rep with a sharper assistant. An assistant that isn’t too technical but is conversational. With a system that doesn’t sleep, doesn’t complain and doesn’t need a SPIFF to hit quota.
Greg Walters
is an entrepreneur and founder of the notorious destination site TheDeathOfTheCopier, where he comments on all things imaging, the rise of managed services and the advance of business technology. A prolific writer and frequent speaker, Greg shares his passionate, unique – and often provocative – view of technology and people, addressing the impact of digital on 21st century business. His 2014 book, Death Of The Copier, offers a controversial summary of the early days of Managed Print Services and the not-so-distant future of the hard copy industry. Reach out to Greg at greg@grwalters.com.