By Jordan-Ashley Walker
Rhett Epler, an assistant professor of marketing in the Strome College of Business, sits at his desk in Constant Hall on a cloudy Thursday morning in September, chatting via video call with a prospective client.
The client, dressed in business formalwear, remarks on the gloomy weather in Norfolk, saying the lack of sunshine must contribute to the coastal city鈥檚 charm before getting down to business.
鈥淒on鈥檛 waste my time with fluff,鈥 she tells Epler.
The interaction may look, sound and flow like a real client meeting with a six-figure deal on the line, but the person on the screen isn鈥檛 human at all. It鈥檚 an artificial intelligence鈥損owered avatar from Copient.AI, a cutting-edge software platform designed to simulate authentic sales conversations.
By integrating Copient.AI into Epler鈥檚 professional selling courses, the Strome College of Business is equipping students with practical, real-world experience in a safe, controlled environment, Epler said. Students can test strategies, refine their delivery and build confidence 鈥 all before stepping into an actual sales pitch.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 replace teaching,鈥 Epler said. 鈥淚t augments it. We are taking the tension out of a sales interaction and allowing students to get comfortable with what it feels like.鈥
The AI client adjusts its responses based on the student鈥檚 performance, allowing for a wide range of interactions that mimic real-world unpredictability. Instead of memorizing scripts, students must actively listen, think critically and adapt their responses on the spot.
爆料瓜 is one of the first 15 universities to implement the technology nationwide, Epler said.
And with students significantly improving their scores in just six to seven AI sales interactions, the program is an efficient and effective alternative to more traditional role-playing. The software helps Epler avoid what he calls a 鈥渞ole-play bottleneck鈥 鈥 when time constraints prevent him from longer, more involved sales scenarios with each student. At the completion of the scenario, students are presented with a rubric scoring their sales interactions. They鈥檙e graded on dozens of elements, from successfully building a rapport with the potential client to smoothly transitioning from introductions to discussions about the product 鈥 all done through the software鈥檚 AI. For example, when Epler demonstrated the software, his score was docked because he didn鈥檛 mention the name of the company for which he worked.
For students, the experience is eye-opening. Many enter the program feeling nervous about the high-pressure nature of sales, but Copient.AI provides a low-stakes environment to experiment and grow, Epler said.
Maliyah Terry, a senior double majoring in business analytics and real estate, used the AI tool in Epler鈥檚 professional selling class.
鈥淚t allowed us to freely practice real sales conversations without the need of someone else to play the customer,鈥 Maliyah said. 鈥淚t is much more efficient, and it also allows us to practice with different difficulty levels of customers, simulating real-life scenarios.鈥
To learn more about the Strome College of Business's academic programs, visit their webpage.